Politics isn’t abstract to me. It’s lived.

I’ve spent my career inside the rooms where national security decisions are made — where the tradeoffs are real, the consequences are long-lasting, and the public rarely sees how power actually works.

I served as Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to the Vice President of the United States, working across the Department of Homeland Security, the intelligence community, and the White House during a period of sustained crisis. I’ve worked on issues ranging from terrorism and border security to global instability, misinformation, and the erosion of democratic norms — often in moments when doing the right thing came at a professional cost.

I didn’t come to this work through theory.
I came to it through lived experience.

After leaving government, I made a deliberate choice: not to retreat into consultancy or sanitized commentary, but to speak plainly about what I saw — and what I believe the country needs next.

That’s why I created my substack community: Olivia of Troye.

This platform is for people who don’t want spin, outrage cycles, or performative politics. It’s for readers who want context, accountability, and honesty — especially when those things are uncomfortable.

I write and speak about:

• National security and global instability

• Democracy under pressure

• Disinformation and power

• Immigration and the realities behind political narratives

• What it means to lead ethically inside broken systems

I don’t pretend neutrality where it doesn’t exist. I also don’t traffic in cynicism.

I believe democracy survives when people understand how systems actually work — and where they fail — and when we’re willing to show up anyway.

This work isn’t about branding.
It’s about responsibility.