The Year Robin Brooks Had Kamala Harris’ Ear

In April 2023, Robin Brooks ’95 began a yearlong detail with the U.S. Department of State, working alongside Vice President Kamala Harris as a special adviser on foreign policy. Her work focused on U.S. relations with Europe and Eurasia, U.S. engagement with the United Nations, and global issues like human rights and democracy. She also prepared Harris for meetings with foreign leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, former U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the presidents and prime ministers of Poland, Romania, and Slovenia, among others. Before joining the vice president’s national security affairs team, Brooks served as director for Central Europe and the Balkans at the National Security Council (NSC) and held several positions within the State Department, including director of the Office for Multilateral Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, deputy political counselor at the U.S. embassies in Serbia and Bulgaria, and chief of staff to the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Brooks, who is prohibited from commenting on Harris’ presidential candidacy as a government staffer, shares insights into the vice president’s leadership, her commitment to human rights, and her expectations of those who work for her.

Talk a little bit about your career path. What led you to a career in governmental service? Did you ever imagine you’d be working alongside the vice president of the United States?

I took the Foreign Service Officer Test toward the end of graduate school because I had held a National Security Education Program Boren Fellowship for some of my field research, and this carried a service requirement. I don’t think I had really considered a career in foreign policy before then, and I always expected I’d teach at the university level. However, I’m proud of the opportunities I’ve had to shape policy—and in many cases to hold space for democratic values and human rights—and I have managed to remain engaged with students and academic audiences along the way. For 18 years, I held progressively responsible positions along the State Department career ladder, implementing policy and making my personal mark on the margins when possible. My invitation to work for the NSC in 2021 came as a surprise to me, as did the invitation to come back to work for the VP. But I think what these invitations demonstrate is that hard work and a willingness to speak one’s mind and defend one’s values get noticed positively. Both of these jobs have been incredible and unforgettable opportunities to serve my country and to advance America’s democratic values through foreign policy.

How did Smith shape the person you are today?

Oh my goodness, my Smith experience 100% shaped my path! I came in thinking I’d major in theatre, or maybe something that could lead to a career in architecture. Of course, I was 18, and I really believe it’s impossible to know what you want to do at that age, which is why I’m incredibly glad I went to a liberal arts college, and to Smith in particular! My first government class on Eastern European politics got me hooked, so I majored in government and also took a lot of Russian language and literature. In my senior year, my Smith adviser in the government department encouraged me to do a summer research fellowship in Bulgaria after graduation. I subsequently went on to write a Ph.D. dissertation on Bulgarian politics, taught at Sofia University in Bulgaria, and served at the U.S. Embassy there in 2014–15. I’m still in regular touch with my adviser, Luan Troxel, who has become a valued mentor and good friend whom I call whenever I have a major life decision ahead of me. I don’t think this could have happened at some big university or really any other school.

Describe the work you did with Vice President Harris.

I was special adviser to Vice President Harris for Europe, Eurasia, multilateral affairs, and democracy. This is one of six special adviser positions that make up the VP’s national security affairs team, together with her national security adviser (NSA) and deputy NSA. My job was to propose engagements for the VP with leaders—both government and civil society—from my region or on the topics I covered, prepare her for those engagements, and keep her updated on developments. The majority of the day-to-day was related to Russia’s war in Ukraine, whether working with allies and partners on security and economic assistance, finding better ways to hold Russia accountable for its violations of international norms, or meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to urge continued progress to consolidate Ukraine’s democratic institutions and implement anticorruption reforms. In my year with her, the VP also met with European and global leaders to advance global cooperation on climate; launch a multilateral effort to ensure artificial intelligence is used for good to improve people’s lives; and help secure the prisoner exchange that led to Russia’s release of unjustly detained Americans Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva.

You first worked with Harris in 2021. What were your initial impressions?

I love the VP’s determination to fully understand an issue before speaking on it. I think this is because she’s a former prosecutor; knowing that human lives hang in the balance, she doesn’t want to get anything wrong. One of my favorite tasks was briefing her for meetings or calls because she asks a lot of questions and makes a true effort to understand the details and their connections. In 2021, I briefed her for a call to the president of Kosovo to thank Kosovo for hosting Afghans who had fled, and the VP wanted to know all about Kosovo’s own history and domestic politics. This may not have been directly relevant or needed for the topic at hand, but it made for an especially warm, genuine conversation with President Osmani. In 2022, immediately after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I traveled with the VP to Poland and Romania, and appreciated both the questions she asked during prep—which forced us to carefully evaluate things we had previously taken for granted because no one had asked!—and her obvious and genuine empathy for those affected by this war and its related displacement.

Give us some insight into the vice president’s leadership style.

One thing I loved about working for the VP, and this White House in general, is that no one ever asks you a question unless they are really going to listen to and take into consideration your assessment. There are no rhetorical or “gotcha” questions. This National Security Council and the office of the vice president have built teams of qualified experts whose recommendations they rely on to make decisions and set policy. These experts are also empowered to advance the policy through meetings, calls, etc., at their level when appropriate. This means the VP’s, NSA’s, and president’s time can be used efficiently for the most sensitive or high-level issues.

Based on your experience working so closely with Harris, what did you learn about the values that guide her?

The VP told her chief of staff she respects me as her adviser because I have “a social conscience and a sense of humor,” which is not so much about me as it is a reflection of the importance Vice President Harris puts on these two characteristics. She has a strong social conscience and desire to put people first in all our domestic and foreign policies; to improve people’s lives; to advance security, prosperity, freedom, equity, and human rights; and she seeks out nd values advisers who share those priorities. She is kind and has her own great sense of humor. She hosts a really fun annual party for elementary school students where she interacts with each child genuinely and with respect. She cares about staff morale and wants people to be happy and fulfilled and not to take themselves too seriously, though they take their jobs and responsibilities to the American people very seriously.

What does Vice President Harris expect from those who work with her?

At this level, a leader chooses advisers because she has faith in their expertise and in their ability to quickly find the answers when they don’t already know them. I think this a very reasonable expectation, and when you accept a position like this, you know up front that you’ll always be on call to brief and update the principal if something happens in your region or another part of your portfolio, even if it’s after hours or on the weekend. Given her prosecutorial background, she wants an even deeper level of detail than other foreign policy leaders I’ve worked with, and I think this is admirable because it forces the adviser to make sure they’ve considered all the circumstances and potential consequences before making a recommendation. It’s also worth mentioning that Vice President Harris has built a team that looks like America and that’s one of the most diverse in the history of the White House. She values and can benefit from the perspectives and unique contributions that a diverse team can bring.

Now that your work with Harris has ended, what’s next for you?

I spent this summer working in the State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs, developing a long-term learning program to help officers across the bureau and the department understand and work together toward our strategic goals through engagement at the United Nations. This academic year, I am on a State Department fellowship at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where I research, give lectures, and teach on topics I care deeply about: governance in Central Europe and the Balkans, human rights and the environment, and global LGBTQI+ rights. I also hope to come to speak at Smith!