Dr. Josephine (Jody) Olsen, PhD, served as the 20th Director of the Peace Corps from March 2018 to January 2021.  In March 2020, at the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic, she led the nine-day evacuation back to the United States of all 7,000 Peace Corps Volunteers from 61 countries. During her tenure, she opened a new Peace Corps program in Viet Nam, championed global women's economic empowerment, and led Peace Corps HIV/AIDS mitigation efforts in Africa. 
 
Dr. Olsen began her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tunisia from 1966-1968. She has also served as Acting Director (2009), Deputy Director (2002-2009), Chief of Staff (1989-1992), Regional Director (1981-1984), and Country Director, Togo (1979-1981).  

Prior to returning to the Peace Corps in 2018, Dr. Olsen was Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland-Baltimore School of Social Work for eight years where she founded the University’s Center for Global Engagement. She directed inter-professional global health projects for graduate students, oversaw health research projects in Malawi, and taught international social work, global social policy, and global health.  

From 1992 to 1997, she led CIES, the organization responsible for the global Fulbright Senior Scholar Program. 

Dr. Olsen received a BS from the University of Utah followed by a Master’s in Social Work and a PhD in Human Development from the University of Maryland.   

Throughout her career, Dr. Olsen has championed the expansion of service, volunteerism, and international opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds.