Title: MSFS Welcomes New Deputy Director, Ashley Thomas Lenihan
MSFS is thrilled to welcome SFS alumna Ashley Thomas Lenihan back to Georgetown as the new Deputy Director of the M.S. in Foreign Service program.
Ashley Thomas Lenihan comes to MSFS as an expert on economic statecraft, foreign investment, and national security, and author of Balancing Power without Weapons. Her policy work in the U.K. and Europe focuses on improving the impact of research on policymaking, and she regularly provides testimony to the U.K. Parliament and consults for public and private sector bodies internationally.
In addition to stepping into her role as a Professor of Practice and the MSFS Deputy Director, Ashley will remain a Senior Policy Advisor at the British Academy of Management (BAM), a non-resident Fellow at the Centre for International Studies at the London School of Economics (LSE), and an Associate at the foreign policy think tank LSE IDEAS. In the coming semester, she will be teaching one of the sections in our core course on International Relations Theory and Practice for MSFS.
Previously she was Head of Policy & Engagement at BAM, a Senior Policy Advisor at the Academy of Social Sciences and its Campaign for Social Science, and a Senior Fellow at the Legatum Institute. She has taught at SOAS, University of London and Georgetown. She began her career as an investment banking analyst at DLJ/CSFB, and obtained her BSFS and Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an individual member of the U.K.’s Parliamentary & Scientific Committee.
Director of MSFS, Prof George Shambaugh shared his welcome saying,”It is a pleasure to welcome Ashley Thomas Lenihan back to Georgetown University as the Deputy Director of the MSFS program. Since graduating from the School of Foreign Service (BSFS’00) and the Government Department at Georgetown (Ph.D.’09) she has been very active in British and European politics,” he noted, “She brings a wealth of knowledge about economic statecraft and the interaction of the private sector and national governments on matters of national security.”
Reflecting on her new role, Lenihan shared, “Georgetown and the School of Foreign Service have had a formative and powerful impact on my life and career, both at home and abroad. I am passionate about teaching and excited for the opportunity to give back to a community I love. I am particularly honored to join the MSFS leadership team, and look forward to working with everyone to ensure that each student leaves Georgetown feeling empowered to make a positive difference in this world.”