Melissa Bert serves as the Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the United States Coast Guard. Rear Admiral (Upper Half) (RADM) Bert is the first woman to serve in this position. Prior flag assignments held by RADM Bert include the U.S. Coast Guard’s Director of Governmental and Public Affairs and Deputy Director of Operations for U.S. Northern Command. RADM Bert founded and launched the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Leadership Initiative, supporting mentoring and professional development for Coast Guard women in uniform and civilians throughout the service. Personal life RADM Bert was born in New York, NY. Her father, Ellis Bert, was a career Civil Rights Attorney, and her mother Allyne Bert (née Sackley), an elementary school teacher. Her sister, Alison Bert, trained as a classical guitarist, and later worked as a journalist and photographer. RADM Bert and her husband, met in Miami, FL and they have one child. Education RADM Bert earned a Juris Doctor from George Washington Law School and her Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. She attended the Harvard Kennedy School as a National Security Fellow, where she focused on Arctic development and the Law of the Sea. RADM Bert later spent a year at the Council on Foreign Relations link as a senior military fellow. In both institutions, she provided thoughtful analysis of national security issues in the maritime sector, publishing in the New York Times, the Miami Herald, the Boston Globe, and academic journals. Career Following her graduation from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, RADM Bert served aboard two Coast Guard cutters, including as Executive Officer of the Cutter Red Birch in Baltimore, MD. During the attacks of 9/11, RADM Bert was the Operations Officer for Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach, protecting one of the nation's most valuable ports. In her legal career, she has served as a prosecutor, a Military Judge, Ethics Advisor, and as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the Seventh District in Miami, Florida. RADM Bert was the Speechwriter and Special Assistant to then Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Thad Allen. In that role, she marketed the Coast Guard through strategic engagement opportunities and the drafting of persuasive policy speeches for national and international audiences. RADM Bert was also privileged to Command Sector Juneau and direct mission execution in the unique environment of Southeastern Alaska. This command was geographically positioned to cover a 500-mile,