Erin Walsh is a Senior Research Fellow in National Security in the Asia Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation. Her research and analysis focus on China at the intersection of U.S. national security, including both economic and energy security.

Walsh has had an extensive career in both the private and public sectors.

While in the U.S. government, she held policy and management positions at the White House, National Security Council, Department of Commerce, Department of State Near Eastern Affairs Bureau, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and Blair House, and at the Department of Energy.

From 2018–2021 she served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Africa and for International Organizations at the National Security Council. As head of the NSC Directorate for Africa, Walsh led the inter-agency coordination and implementation of U.S. policy toward Africa. Issue areas included economic prosperity and trade, health and COVID-19, security, and counterterrorism. She harnessed the expertise and resources of the interagency to enhance bi-lateral engagement, help solve the most complex challenges and advance U.S. interests. As Senior Director for International Organizations, Walsh led the government policy to advance U.S. interests at the United Nations and other multi-lateral venues.

Prior to that, Walsh was Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service. She oversaw development and implementation of strategies to promote U.S. competitiveness through facilitation of international trade, export promotion, advocacy, and inbound foreign direct investment. In this role she managed trade professionals in offices in over 100 U.S. cities and more than 80 countries.

In early 2017 she was a Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Presidential Personnel. The president also appointed Walsh to serve as a Representative of the United States of America to the Seventy-third Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Walsh spent 12 years in the private sector at Goldman Sachs and Cisco. At Goldman Sachs, she was Executive Director and Head of the Office of Corporate Engagement for Asia Pacific from 2010–2015. While based in Hong Kong and then Beijing, China, she developed and executed a long-term strategic platform for engagement with clients, governments, and nonprofits throughout Asia. At Cisco, Walsh was a Senior Manager in Corporate Affairs. 

Walsh holds a bachelor’s degree in Government and International Relations from Georgetown University and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and she was a research fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Walsh is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has traveled to over 100 countries.