After graduation, Conley served for over three years in several capacities as a foreign affairs officer in the Department of State.

Many countries in Central Europe also joined the Bush Administration's multinational "Coalition of the Willing" force during the 2003 Iraq invasion.

[2] In 2009, she moved to the Center for Strategic & International Studies as director and senior fellow in charge of the Europe Program.

[3][4] In November, 2021, she was appointed to succeed Karen Donfried as president of the German Marshall Fund, commencing in January 2022.

The GMF is a nonpartisan American public policy think tank and grant-making institution dedicated to promoting cooperation and understanding between North America and Europe.