Georgetown Law

Mary B. DeRosa served as Deputy Assistant and Deputy Counsel to the President, and as National Security Council Legal Adviser in the Obama Administration. After leaving the White House in the Summer of 2011, she served as Alternate Representative of the United States to the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly, an Ambassador-level position with the US Mission to the United Nations. Prior to joining the Obama Administration in 2009, Ms. DeRosa was Chief Counsel for National Security for the Senate Judiciary Committee, working for the Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy. She has also been a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, served on the staff of the Clinton Administration National Security Council as Legal Adviser and Deputy Legal Adviser, and was Special Counsel to the General Counsel at the Department of Defense. Before joining the government, Ms. DeRosa was in private practice at Arnold & Porter. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard Cardamone, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Ms. DeRosa currently serves as the Chair of the Advisory Committee to the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security. She has been a Member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB), Chair of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Legal Advisory Board, and a Member of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Legal Advisory Board. She has received multiple awards and honors, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service, the Joint Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service, from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the National Intelligence Superior Service Medal from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Agency Seal Medal from the CIA, the State Department Superior Honor Award, the Department of Defense Exceptional Civilian Service Award, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence.