[3] McMullen was raised in Pennsylvania and earned a bachelor's degree from West Chester University in 1974.

He also received a master's degree in modern European history from West Chester University in 1976.

McMullen joined the foreign service in 1987 and went on to serve in Nicaragua, Malaysia, El Salvador, Tanzania, Columbia, Brazil, and Angola.

[5] He was later employed at Georgetown teaching Latin American history which he also taught at George Mason University.

He also worked in the office of Senator John Glenn (D-Ohio) as a foreign affairs fellow and was also a senior analyst for the Department of Defense.