Feeley, John D., 1961-

John Feeley is a former U.S. ambassador who runs Gotham Lights LLC, a Miami and Washington, DC-based consultancy that promotes greater mutual understanding between the United States and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. He is a political consultant for the Spanish-language media, Univision, providing on-air analysis and publishing a regular opinion column.

A skilled negotiator, organizational leader and cross-cultural communicator, Ambassador Feeley collaborates with private sector, media, and not-for-profit partners who seek to understand and solve problems found at the intersection of government, business and culture. His military and diplomatic experience affords clients clear insight into U.S government security and rule of law policy implementation, the resolution of commercial disputes, and human rights and democracy issues.

During a 28-year State Department career, he served as Ambassador to Panama, Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires in Mexico City, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. As a Deputy Executive Secretary he worked on the staffs of Secretaries Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, in addition to serving in other Latin American and Caribbean assignments both in Washington and at embassies throughout the region.

He has appeared on CNN, BBC, CBC, NPR, PBS, MSNBC, and in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The New Yorker, among other Spanish and English-language media, as a forceful advocate for a respectful, alliance-based approach to U.S. relationships with Latin American governments and societies.

Ambassador Feeley is a Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Latin American Studies, and a board member of the Immigration Partnership and Coalition Fund (IMPAC), a Miami-based, non-profit organization that supports immigration reform that makes business sense and is consonant with American values. He also serves on the advisory board of the Latin American Program at the Wilson Center and the Norwegian Refugee Council USA, both based in Washington.

Prior to his Foreign Service career, he served as a United States Marine officer and helicopter pilot and is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a distinguished graduate of the National War College.