Summers is known for pushing his staff hard, both in Washington and now at Harvard.
McNeil said she has found the experience of working with Summers “very challenging.”
“I like that he’s straight with you. He’s not afraid to give you his opinion on anything,” she said.
As a senior press officer for Blair’s administration, McNeil was responsible for briefing Blair’s chief press secretary on several government agencies on a daily basis.
Her duties at 10 Downing Street took her further afield—to Brussels to support NATO’s press office during the conflict in Kosovo and into Kosovo itself.
“It was like joining the army for four years. It was unbelievably challenging,” McNeil said.
Originally from Newcastle, McNeil has also worked in the London Communications Office of the Home Department, where she worked for the Police, Counter-terrorism and Crime desk.
McNeil left her government job last year and traveled through South America before accepting her new position at Harvard.
—Staff writer Ella A. Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@fas.harvard.edu.