Meredith Ashley Berger is an American government official who had served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment. From August 25, 2021, until April 13, 2022, she concurrently served as the designated official

performing the duties of The Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (commonly called the Vacancies Act) ( ''et seq.'') is a United States federal statute establishing the procedure for filling vacancies in an appointed office of an executive agency of the government ...

the

United States Under Secretary of the Navy The under secretary of the navy is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the United States Department of the Navy. The under secretary reports to the United States Secretary of the Navy, secretary of the navy (SECNAV). Before the creati ...

Education

Berger holds a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in American Studies and Spanish from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

; a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Nova Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a Private university, private research university in Florida with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida, Davie, Florida, United States. The university consists of 14 colleges, offering over ...

; and a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

from the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

."President Biden Announces Key Administration Nominations in National Security", White House, April 27, 2021
"Mitchell W. Berger"

Public service career

Berger began her career in public service at the state of Florida Chief Financial Officer's office where she developed and executed state policies on climate, insurance, risk, energy, public finance, and housing. She previously served for two years at the Pentagon as a Defense Fellow, providing support to key offices in the Department of Defense. She joined the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

in 2011, serving as the policy advisor at the

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

where she worked on the Presidential Task Force focused on the long-term recovery of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

and surrounding areas following the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum in ...

. She then served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DON) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary of War James McHenr ...

during the Obama administration, where she advised the

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

on the formulation, prioritization, and execution of Department-wide strategy, policies, plans, and standards.

Professional career

She worked at

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

with the Defending Democracy Program where she works to protect democratic processes, people, and institutions from cyber-enabled interference while advancing norms of responsible behavior in cyberspace. She has been a non-resident Fellow at the

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. From 2 ...

at the

Assistant Secretary of the Navy

On April 23, 2021, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

announced Berger as his nominee to be the United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment. On April 28, 2021, her nomination was sent to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. On July 22, 2021, Berger was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a propo ...

as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment. She was sworn into office on August 5, 2021.

Awards and recognition

Berger is the recipient of the Secretary of the

Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award {{infobox military award , name = , image = DON Distinguished Civilian Service.png , image_size = 100px , caption = Department of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medal , presenter = Depart ...

, the

Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

, and the Environmental Protection Agency Gold Medal for Exceptional Service. She is the sponsor of the USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28).

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Meredith Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers Biden administration personnel Florida lawyers Harvard Kennedy School alumni Harvard Kennedy School people Nova Southeastern University alumni People of the United States Environmental Protection Agency United States Assistant Secretaries of the Navy United States Department of Defense officials Women government officials Vanderbilt University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award