Heather Nauert is an accomplished public affairs strategist with extensive experience advising corporate and government leaders on high-stakes policy and crisis communications.

She currently serves on the Advisory Board of BGR Group, a bipartisan lobbying and public relations firm based in Washington, D.C. She also provides strategic counsel to corporations, non-profits, and think tanks that advance U.S. national security interests, including the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, Spirit of America, and the Center for a New American Security. Most recently, Heather advised retired General Keith Kellogg, Assistant to the President and Special Presidential Envoy to Ukraine.

A dedicated and compassionate champion of young professionals, Heather has served on the William J. Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Program and the President's Commission on White House Fellowships, after President Trump appointed her to these roles in 2019. She continues to mentor young students in her recent role as a Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for Politics and Public Service, where she led weekly seminars on foreign affairs and the foreign policy objectives of the second Trump administration.

From 2017 to 2019, Heather served as Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, shaping U.S. foreign policy messaging and coordinating communications across the Department, its embassies, and consulates worldwide. She led Department press briefings and worked closely with two U.S. Secretaries of State, Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo. As a key member of Secretary Pompeo’s senior executive team, she traveled extensively with the Secretary, attended crucial bilateral meetings, and spearheaded communication efforts on top initiatives, including U.S. negotiations in North Korea with Chairman Kim Jong Un, discussions with U.S. counterparts in China and Russia, and the release of American prisoners wrongfully detained abroad.

She was also responsible for coordinating messaging between the State Department, the White House, the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Treasury on high-profile international matters.

In 2018, President Trump appointed Heather as Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the State Department, where she was responsible for several bureaus, including Global Public Affairs and Educational and Cultural Affairs. These offices oversee communications and public diplomacy, as well as the design and implementation of educational and other exchange programs that advance U.S. foreign policy interests.

Prior to her tenure in the U.S. Department of State, Heather served as a correspondent and news anchor at Fox News Channel, WYNW-TV (20th Century Fox's owned and operated broadcast station in New York City), and later, ABC News in Los Angeles. For nearly 20 years, she covered almost every major domestic news story and global crisis affecting Americans, including the 9/11 terror attacks, the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and numerous natural disasters. Her experiences abroad allowed her to observe the vital role of diplomacy in U.S. national security–a perspective that would later inform her work in government.

Heather’s firsthand experience covering the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City inspired her to become an advocate for post–9/11 combat veterans. She is a proud member of the National Advisory Board of Warrior and Quiet Waters, a nationally recognized veterans service organization in Montana.

Heather currently resides in New York and Montana with her family. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Mount Vernon College.