Chelsea M.H. Bakken
Managing Director for Operations
Ms. Bakken joined Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) in September 2022 as the Managing Director for Operations. Previously she served as the Management Counselor in Tunis and as the Senior Management Officer for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in Kabul. Her recent domestic tours were in EAP/EX as a Post Management Officer (for China), and in the Operations Center as a Senior Watch Officer. Her earlier overseas experience includes nearly ten years in the AF region working mostly in management positions in Kampala, Bujumbura, Brazzaville, and Kinshasa. Ms. Bakken attended U.C. Berkeley for her undergraduate degree and later received a master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She speaks French. Ms. Bakken’s Foreign Service adventure is shared with her tandem husband and their two sons.