Meghan O'Sullivan Photo
Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs
Assistant: Chloe Holt
617-496-8238

Meghan L. O’Sullivan is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. On February 21, 2023, she was named the Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, effective July 1, 2023. The Belfer Center – which includes more than 300 scholars, practitioners, and former policymakers and consistently ranks as the world’s top academic think-tank – advances policy-relevant knowledge in the areas of international relations, security, technology, science, and energy and the environment. 

Dr. O’Sullivan draws on her broad experience in government, diplomacy, academia, and business to contribute insights that benefit her students and colleagues, the U.S. government, global businesses, and the public debate. She takes pride in teaching and mentoring the world’s future leaders as a member of the Harvard Kennedy School faculty since 2008.

O’Sullivan’s scholarship continues to be at the nexus of traditional disciplines, examining topics at the intersection of geopolitics, science, markets, and policy. Her work on how large changes in the energy system – from advances in technology to extract oil and gas to the global move away from carbon-intensive fuels – has shaped how policymakers and academics alike view these issues. Her publications in this area include her award-winning 2017 book Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power and “Green Upheaval: The New Geopolitics of Energy,” a co-authored Foreign Affairs article with Jason Bordoff was selected as one of the “Top Ten” print articles published in that journal in 2022. O’Sullivan also has written on the intersection of economic tools, markets, and foreign policy, including her 2003 Shrewd Sanctions: Statecraft and State Sponsors of Terrorism which is still used in syllabi across the country today. Her most recent book, Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy that George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama, was co-edited with Steve Hadley, Peter Feaver, and Will Inboden, and was released on February 15, 2023. 

O’Sullivan has served in multiple senior policymaking roles and has advised national security officials in both Republican and Democratic administrations. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her public service, including the U.S. Defense Department’s highest honor for civilians (the Distinguished Public Service Medal) and the State Department’s Superior Honor Award (which she has received three times).

O’Sullivan is currently a member of U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s Foreign Policy Advisory Board. Between 2004 and 2007, she was special assistant to President George W. Bush and was Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan during the last two years of her tenure. In her job at the National Security Council, O’Sullivan was responsible for identifying and building consensus around new policy directions in these countries as well as overseeing their execution. From July 2013 to December 2013, O’Sullivan was the Vice Chair of the All Party Talks in Northern Ireland, which sought to resolve outstanding issues in the peace process. 

O’Sullivan also has extensive experience advising the private-sector on geopolitical risk and in board leadership and advisory roles in non-profit organizations. She is a Partner at the strategic consulting firm, Macro Advisory Partners, and is the Chair of the North American Group of the Trilateral Commission. Beginning in 2017, she was a director on the board of United Technologies, and continued on the board of the successor company, Raytheon Technologies, after the merger between United Technologies and Raytheon in 2020; her tenure on this board will end in the spring of 2023. She is also a member of the International Advisory Group for the British law firm, Linklaters. O’Sullivan serves on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, is a trustee of the International Crisis Group, and is a member of the board of The Mission Continues, a non-profit organization helping veterans.

O’Sullivan earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, a masters of science in economics, and doctorate in politics from Oxford University. She was a Henry Crown Fellow from 2015-2017 and a Henry Luce Fellow in Indonesia from 1991-1992.

Transparent Engagement 

Harvard Kennedy School is proud of its energetic involvement in the world. To better understand how to solve public problems by improving policy and leadership, we engage directly with policymakers, public leaders, governments, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses whose activities affect those problems. However, we recognize that such engagement can raise questions about perceived and potential conflicts of interest, so we disclose publicly the key professional activities of our faculty outside the Kennedy School. The activities disclosed below are for the most recent reporting period, as defined by University policy. Some may be paid, some may be unpaid, and others may be in exchange for expense reimbursement only.

Outside Professional Activities For Meghan O'Sullivan

Organization Relationship
Council on Foreign Relations Fiduciary board membership
Hess Corporation Consulting
Linklaters LLC Membership on a scientific or other advisory board
Raytheon Fiduciary board membership
The Mission Continues Fiduciary board membership
Trilateral Commission Fiduciary board membership
Columbia University Global Center on Energy Policy Membership on a scientific or other advisory board
Macro Advisory Partners Consulting
Aspen Institute Reimbursed travel
Aspen Institute Speaking engagement, invited lecture, or presentation
BDT Capital Partners Speaking engagement, invited lecture, or presentation
Boston College Speaking engagement, invited lecture, or presentation
Council on Foreign Relations Reimbursed travel
George W. Bush Presidential Center Membership on a scientific or other advisory board
International Crisis Group Membership on a scientific or other advisory board
International Crisis Group Reimbursed travel
Linklaters LLC Reimbursed travel
Macro Advisory Partners Reimbursed travel
Middle East Institute Reimbursed travel
Middle East Institute Speaking engagement, invited lecture, or presentation
Tellurian Annual Retreat Reimbursed travel
Tellurian Annual Retreat Speaking engagement, invited lecture, or presentation
Trilateral Commission Reimbursed travel
U.S. Department of State Membership on a scientific or other advisory board
Wharton Global Family Alliance Roundtable Reimbursed travel

Contact

Assistant: Chloe Holt

Expertise

Politics
Environment & Energy
Democracy & Governance
Decision Making & Negotiation
Public Leadership & Management
International Relations & Security

Mailing Address

Harvard Kennedy School
79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138