Josephine King Olsen (born 1942) served as the 20th Director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

from 2018 to 2021. She was appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, and sworn in on March 30, 2018, after being confirmed by the Senate.

Early life and education

Olsen was born in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and moved to Maryland in 1959 after her father,

David S. King David Sjodahl King (June 20, 1917 – May 5, 2009) was a United States House of Representatives, representative from Utah. He was a member of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party. Early life and education King was born in S ...

, was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

as a Democrat. Her grandfather, William H. King, represented Utah in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1917 to 1941. Olsen graduated from

Walter Johnson High School Walter Johnson High School (also known as Walter Johnson or WJ) is a public upper secondary school located in the census-designated place of North Bethesda, Maryland ( Bethesda postal address).Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

in 1961. Olsen received a bachelor's degree from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

as well as a master's degree in social work and doctorate in human development from the

University of Maryland, Baltimore The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1807, it comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing in the United States ...

Career

Olsen worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

from 1966 to 1968. From 1979 to 1981, she served as the Country Director in

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

before becoming the Regional Director for North Africa, Near East, Asia, and Pacific (NANEAP) from 1981 to 1984. From 1984 until 1989, Olsen served as Vice President of Youth for Understanding, a national student exchange organization. She was the Peace Corps Chief of Staff from 1989 to 1992, the executive director of the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) from 1992 until 1997, the senior vice president of the Academy for Educational Development from 1997 until 2002, a development consultancy. and the Deputy Director of the Peace Corps from 2002 to 2009. She also served for a time as acting country director for

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. After leaving the Peace Corps in 2009, Olsen served as Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland - Baltimore School of Social Work and Director of the University's Center for Global Education Initiatives. Olsen was nominated to be the Director of the Peace Corps on January 3, 2018. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on March 22, 2018.

Personal life

Olsen grew up as a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. In 2005, she was still identified by ''

The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'' as a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

."D.C. Mormons:The Players"
''

'', April 10, 2005.

References

External links

* 1942 births American people of Swedish descent Living people Peace Corps directors People from Bethesda, Maryland University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni University of Utah alumni Latter Day Saints from Utah Trump administration personnel {{US-gov-bio-stub