Montgomery McFate is a cultural anthropologist who works on defense and national security issues. Dr. McFate is currently the Senior Social Scientist for the US Army’s Human Terrain System. Previously, she worked at the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research, where she was awarded a Distinguished Public Service Award by the Secretary of the Navy. Before coming to ONR, Dr. McFate was a social scientist in RAND’s Intelligence Policy Center. Dr. McFate received a B.A. from University of California at Berkeley, a Ph.D in Anthropology from Yale University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Her Ph.D dissertation concerned British counterinsurgency in Northern Ireland. Dr. McFate’s legal background includes a clinical internship on the United States Attorney's Office Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Squad, a fellowship at Human Rights Watch, and experience as a litigation associate at the law firm of Baker & McKenzie in San Francisco, CA. She has published in such journals as Journal of Conflict Studies, Military Review and Joint Forces Quarterly. She is a native of Marin County, California.