Amanda J. Rothschild, Ph.D.
Amanda J. Rothschild is a national security professional, former presidential speechwriter, and
strategic communications expert with experience in senior roles in government, the nonprofit sector, and the private sector. In government, she served on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff as a Senior Advisor and Member, and at the White House as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior National Security Speechwriter. Her service at the White House and National Security Council included traveling with the president for major foreign policy engagements, including visits to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, U.N. General Assembly meetings, the World Economic Forum, NATO, G20, and G7 meetings, and the Helsinki, Singapore, and Hanoi Summits. She also served as a chief speechwriter to several U.S. National Security Advisers. Rothschild is a recipient of the National Security Council’s Outstanding Service Award and a presidential "Certificate of Appreciation" for her service during the Singapore Summit.
Outside government, she has held senior positions in strategic communications and policy organizations, including as Vice President at a public affairs firm, Senior Policy Director at the Vandenberg Coalition, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center, and an Advisory Council member of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy.
Rothschild's research and commentary on international and political affairs have appeared in outlets such as International Security, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the National Interest, Newsweek, the New York Times, the New York Sun, Forbes, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Hill.
She received her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was a member of the MIT Security Studies Program, and she completed predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. While completing her doctoral studies, Rothschild received the International Studies Association's Patricia Weitsman Award, which recognizes the best research paper on any aspect of international security studies written by a graduate student. To learn more about her doctoral research, see Sarah Baldwin's profile for MIT, "The Courage to Dissent: Political Science Meets Personal History," or Casey Campbell's for Belfer, "Investigating U.S. Debate and Response to Mass Killings."
Rothschild received her B.A., summa cum laude, in Political Science from Boston College, where she was a member of the Division I women's ice hockey team and a Rhodes Scholar Finalist (Final Selection Round, District 2 MA/CT). At commencement, she received the Finneran Commencement Award, the College of Arts and Sciences' highest award, for the senior who has “achieved outstanding success in studies, while also devoting time and talents to other activities for the enrichment of the College.” She also received the Donald S. Carlisle Award for outstanding achievement in political science and the John McCarthy S.J. Award for the most distinguished "Scholar of the College" thesis in the social sciences. As a student-athlete, she was twice named to the six-player Division I Hockey East Academic All-Star Team in the goaltender's position. Prior to Boston College, Rothschild received the Ethan Wyatt Bisbee Prize from Milton Academy for Outstanding Independent Research in United States History, Hockey Night in Boston's "Top Goaltender Award," NEPSAC All-New England in field hockey, the Saul Nechtem All-Around Athlete Award by New England Sports Lodge of B’NAI BRITH for the top all-around Jewish female athlete.
Amanda J. Rothschild is a national security professional, former presidential speechwriter, and
strategic communications expert with experience in senior roles in government, the nonprofit sector, and the private sector. In government, she served on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff as a Senior Advisor and Member, and at the White House as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior National Security Speechwriter. Her service at the White House and National Security Council included traveling with the president for major foreign policy engagements, including visits to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, U.N. General Assembly meetings, the World Economic Forum, NATO, G20, and G7 meetings, and the Helsinki, Singapore, and Hanoi Summits. She also served as a chief speechwriter to several U.S. National Security Advisers. Rothschild is a recipient of the National Security Council’s Outstanding Service Award and a presidential "Certificate of Appreciation" for her service during the Singapore Summit.
Outside government, she has held senior positions in strategic communications and policy organizations, including as Vice President at a public affairs firm, Senior Policy Director at the Vandenberg Coalition, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center, and an Advisory Council member of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy.
Rothschild's research and commentary on international and political affairs have appeared in outlets such as International Security, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the National Interest, Newsweek, the New York Times, the New York Sun, Forbes, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Hill.
She received her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was a member of the MIT Security Studies Program, and she completed predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. While completing her doctoral studies, Rothschild received the International Studies Association's Patricia Weitsman Award, which recognizes the best research paper on any aspect of international security studies written by a graduate student. To learn more about her doctoral research, see Sarah Baldwin's profile for MIT, "The Courage to Dissent: Political Science Meets Personal History," or Casey Campbell's for Belfer, "Investigating U.S. Debate and Response to Mass Killings."
Rothschild received her B.A., summa cum laude, in Political Science from Boston College, where she was a member of the Division I women's ice hockey team and a Rhodes Scholar Finalist (Final Selection Round, District 2 MA/CT). At commencement, she received the Finneran Commencement Award, the College of Arts and Sciences' highest award, for the senior who has “achieved outstanding success in studies, while also devoting time and talents to other activities for the enrichment of the College.” She also received the Donald S. Carlisle Award for outstanding achievement in political science and the John McCarthy S.J. Award for the most distinguished "Scholar of the College" thesis in the social sciences. As a student-athlete, she was twice named to the six-player Division I Hockey East Academic All-Star Team in the goaltender's position. Prior to Boston College, Rothschild received the Ethan Wyatt Bisbee Prize from Milton Academy for Outstanding Independent Research in United States History, Hockey Night in Boston's "Top Goaltender Award," NEPSAC All-New England in field hockey, the Saul Nechtem All-Around Athlete Award by New England Sports Lodge of B’NAI BRITH for the top all-around Jewish female athlete.