Drew was born and raised in Southern California. He earned his undergraduate degree in international politics from Georgetown University and worked at the RAND Corporation before pursuing graduate coursework in Durban, South Africa, as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. He joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 2009 as a Political Officer and has served along with his wife, also a diplomat, in Santiago, Chile; Monterrey, Mexico; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Washington, D.C.; and most recently Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.