Laura McAleer leads the University of Notre Dame’s Washington Office, serving as the Associate Vice President for Federal and Washington Relations. In this capacity, she seeks to strengthen Notre Dame’s strategic impact with key research and policy thought leaders and constituencies, as well as provide campus leadership with advice and counsel on federal policies and regulations.

Previously, Laura served for more than 20 years as a senior executive leader, analyst, and advisor in defense and international security, most recently in the Pentagon as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Senate Affairs and acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs.  Additionally, she was a senior legislative advisor on Capitol Hill, serving as a national security and foreign policy advisor to four U.S. Senators and on the Majority Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Laura’s extensive public service includes assignments as a strategy and plans officer for U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, as an analyst and program manager with the Office of Naval Intelligence, and as the Director for Strategic Initiatives for the Secretary of the Navy.  She also served for more than a decade as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Laura currently serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the National Defense Industrial Association, the National Council of Women in Defense, and the Leadership Council of Women in National Security.  She has a Bachelor of Arts in Government/International Studies and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and an Advanced Project Manager Certification from Stanford University