On the Record Talk with John F. Kirby
John F. Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications for the White House's National Security Council, will address the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA (AFPC-USA) during a private meeting in Washington, DC. He will answer questions from representatives of the foreign correspondents' community. A drinks reception will follow the meeting.
WHEN: Friday, April 19 at 5 PM EDT.
WHERE: Washington, DC (the location will be disclosed upon confirmation of your RSVP)
To attend this program, you will need to have an RSVP. To request an RSVP, please email your full name, media affiliation, phone number, and LinkedIn profile to contact@foreignpresscorrespondents.org
About the Speaker
John F. Kirby is the Coordinator for Strategic Communications for the White House’s National Security Council. In this role, he advises the President on national security messaging and works to amplify the Biden-Harris Administration’s foreign policy goals from the White House and across the government.
Most recently, Kirby served as the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Here, he advised Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on public communications and community engagement. He also served as the Department’s chief spokesperson.
Prior, Kirby was an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a military and diplomatic analyst at CNN. Kirby previously served at the Department of State, as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Public Affairs from December 2015 to January 2017 and as the State Department’s spokesperson from May 2015 to January 2017.
Prior to the State Department, Kirby served as the Pentagon Press Secretary under Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, the first uniformed officer to hold the position of chief spokesman for the Department of Defense.
Kirby commissioned in the U.S. Navy in September 1986 after completing Officer Candidate School at Newport, R.I. He served in uniform for more than 28 years, before retiring in 2015 at the rank of Rear Admiral. His naval career included duty at sea and ashore, including deployments to the Middle East and Mediterranean. His last Navy posting was as Chief of Navy Information, where he served as the principal spokesman for the Department of the Navy.
He is a 1985 graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, where he received a Bachelor's degree in History. He holds a Master of Science degree in International Relations from Troy State University and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.