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, DC. She also provides strategic counsel to corporations, nonprofits, and think tanks that advance US national security interests, including the US Global Leadership Coalition, Meridien International, 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.

Heather has served on the board of 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.

From 2017 to 2019, Heather served as Spokesperson for the US Department of State, shaping US foreign policy messaging and coordinating communications across the Department, its embassies, and consulates worldwide. She was also responsible for coordinating messaging between the State Department, the White House, the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, and the US 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.

Prior to her tenure in the US Department of State, Heather served as a correspondent and news anchor at Fox News Channel, WYNW-TV, and ABC News in Los Angeles. 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.

Heather joined the Spirit of America Advisory Board in 2025.