Doherty is the daughter of an immigrant from
Ireland, and in her childhood her family often travelled back to Ireland. When she was growing up in
New York City, her family regularly read the
New York Times and argued various positions, which sparked her interest in politics. Doherty earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from
Colgate University in Hamilton, New York in 1985. During her junior year of college, Doherty participated in the
Washington, D.C., Study Group and moved there after college graduation. She later moved to London, where she received a Master of Science in Comparative Political Systems from the
London School of Economics in 1990. As part of her masters program, she studied Eastern Europe and communism, particularly Hungary and East Germany, including the fall of the Berlin Wall. The experience motivated her to pursue a career in the Foreign Service. ==Career==