Bernadette M. Meehan, born in the Bronx and raised in Pleasantville, New York, graduated from Kennedy Catholic High School in 1993. At 16, she was a high school exchange student in Río Gallegos, Argentina. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Boston College. After graduation, Meehan began her career on Wall Street, working at JPMorgan Chase and then Lehman Brothers before joining the United States Foreign Service.

Meehan became a Foreign Service officer with the U.S.