U.S. Department of State
Kasey “Ace” McElhinny is a Foreign Affairs Officer in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism. She works in the office of Military Coordination and Crisis Response, where she develops counterterrorism operations policy and leads coordination with the U.S. government interagency. Ace previously served as a strategy management officer in the Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center, where she led national-level strategic planning on regional counterterrorism efforts in the Middle East and Africa. Prior to her government service, Ace worked in private sector consulting and non-profit organizations. She earned her master's degree in security studies from Georgetown University and her bachelor's degree in political science from New York University.