School of Law Commencement Address

Lauren M. Cherry

​​(​JD ’10​​​)​ • U.S. Navy Judge Advocate; White House Fellow; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University Law Center

Lauren M. Cherry (JD ’10) is a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where she has served for the past 13 years. She is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and a member of the 2023-2024 class of White House Fellows.

Cherry commissioned in the Navy during her final year of law school. She began her Navy career serving as a defense attorney and then a prosecutor. Later she advised U.S. and foreign forces on counter-piracy, maritime security, and counter-terrorism operations in the Middle East. Cherry has also advised senior Department of Defense officials on cyber, space, and other sensitive military operations, and has served as Flag Aide to the Chief of Naval Operations. In 2023, Cherry became the first active-duty Navy judge advocate to be selected as a White House Fellow. She is placed at the Central Intelligence Agency.

Passionate about promoting civic education as a national security imperative, Cherry teaches a course titled “Information Operations in the Cyber Age: Law and Policy” at Georgetown University Law Center and is a fellow at Georgetown’s Center on National Security. She also serves on the advisory committee to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security, where she supports the ​​​c​ommittee’s efforts to educate the Bar and the public on national security and the importance of the rule of law in preserving democracy.

A proud Rambler and former ChildLaw Fellow, Cherry earned a Juris Doctor and certificates in Child and Family Law and Trial and Appellate Advocacy from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2010. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, a Master of Laws in National Security Law from the Georgetown University Law Center, and a Master of Arts with a concentration in Homeland Security and Homeland Defense from the U.S. Naval War College.

Outside of work, Cherry serves on the Board of Homes Not Borders, a non-profit that supports refugees and other forced migrants in the Washington, D.C. area. She is an active volunteer for her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, where she mentors young alumni and co-chairs the Defense, Aerospace, and National Security network. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Cherry resides in Washington, D.C. and enjoys exploring local restaurants, traveling, and spending time with loved ones.