July 16, 2026

#48 - Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau

Show Notes

The key to good diplomacy, according to Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau, is showing up. And, as a very good diplomat, she always showed up. To places beautiful and places troubled. Places dangerous and places divided. Places important to the United States. The other key to good diplomacy is how you show up. And that leads us to this week's episode...

Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau is the Bradford M. Freeman managing director of global policy at the Bush Institute. In this role, Trudeau leverages her decades of experience as a senior member of the United States Foreign Service and her significant knowledge of international relations, diplomacy, and strategic communications to lead the development of the Bush Institute’s global policy portfolio.

As a diplomat for the U.S. Department of State, Trudeau served as deputy chief of mission in Baghdad, Iraq. Before that, she worked in Ukraine as acting deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. Trudeau was also based in Pakistan, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, among other overseas postings for the U.S. Foreign Service. In Washington, she served as the acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of Global Public Affairs and as the principal deputy assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs. She also completed details with the National Security Council and NATO’s international staff. Before joining the Foreign Service,
she was communications director for a private charitable foundation.