[2] After graduating from Immaculate Heart Academy in the Township of Washington, Bergen County, New Jersey, Conaton was educated at Georgetown University, receiving a B.S.

She spent 1992-93 as a financial analyst at Salomon Brothers in New York City, and then as a director of client services at Yield Enhancement Strategists, Inc. She then became a graduate student at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, serving as a graduate fellow at the United States National Security Council in 1994, and received her Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) from the Fletcher School in 1995.

[1] On January 23, 2012, President Obama nominated Conaton to be Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and she was appointed to the position on June 8, 2012, following her confirmation by the United States Senate.

[3] On December 31, 2012, Conaton resigned her position as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness citing a desire to return to private life.

In her letter to her staff she said, "I believe this is a good moment for me to return to private life and to continue to contribute to our national security from outside government.”[4]