Peace Corps

Peace Corps leadership and functional structure

Government · Functional structure · 1K employees · Washington, DC

10
Agency head span
3
Avg span
moderate
3
Max depth
3 levels

Interactive org chart

Peace Corps organizational chart

Explore the agency leadership model, component structure, and reporting layers from official public sources.

Open editable chart

Independent federal agency sending U.S. volunteers abroad to support development and mutual understanding, led by a Senate-confirmed Director and organized by functional and regional offices worldwide.

What to model

Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines

Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.

Scenario views in the chart

  • Add cross-agency data and AI coordination role Model adding a senior data and analytics role to coordinate volunteer data, safety reporting, and evaluation across offices.
  • Merge regional support functions Evaluate consolidating regional administrative support under Management to reduce duplication.

Atlas work this supports

The people

Key leaders and offices

10 senior leadership roles or offices from official public sources. Use this section as a current agency-leadership index, not a private-company filing table.

Josephine K. Olsen

Director

Office of the Director

12 reports

Open Role

Deputy Director

Office of the Director

0 reports

Michelle K. Brooks

Chief of Staff

Office of the Director

0 reports

Kathy A. Buller

Inspector General

Office of Inspector General

0 reports

Patrick Young

Associate Director, Global Operations

Global Operations

3 reports

Rachel Kahler

Associate Director, External Affairs

External Affairs

0 reports

Jeffrey Harrington

Associate Director, Management

Management

0 reports

Richard Swarttz

Chief Financial Officer

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

0 reports

Scott Knell

Chief Information Officer

Office of the Chief Information Officer

0 reports

Robert Shanks

General Counsel

Office of General Counsel

0 reports

The operating model

How Peace Corps divides the work

3 offices, branches, or components organize the agency mission. Tile size scales with estimated staff where public estimates exist.

Global Operations

400 employees

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Oversees overseas posts, regional offices, programming, training, and volunteer support.

External Affairs

120 employees

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Manages communications, congressional relations, partnerships, and returned volunteer services.

Management

200 employees

pc_ad_mgmt

Provides financial, human resources, IT, compliance, and administrative services.

The agency brief

What this U.S. agency structure tells us

The Peace Corps is an independent U.S. Government agency established by the Peace Corps Act of 1961 to promote world peace and friendship through international service. The Director, appointed by the President with Senate confirmation, exercises agency-wide authority. Structurally, the agency is distinctive in combining a Washington headquarters with overseas country operations organized by global regions and functional support offices. Its mission-driven structure emphasizes volunteer recruitment, training, safety, health, and overseas programming rather than regulatory or grant-making authority.
  • Independent agency with Senate-confirmed Director
  • Heavy reliance on overseas volunteers rather than federal staff
  • Regional operations aligned to host-country presence

The comparison

Compare with related agencies

Compared with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Peace Corps is smaller and more functionally centralized, focusing on people-to-people service rather than large-scale development funding. Unlike the State Department, it operates independently with volunteers embedded at the community level …

Senior office count

Peace Corps
10

Reporting depth

Peace Corps
3 levels

Current signals

What changed recently

No recent leadership changes documented in the provided official sources.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads the Peace Corps?

The Peace Corps is led by a Director appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate.

What does the Peace Corps do?

The Peace Corps promotes world peace and friendship by sending trained American volunteers to work with communities in partner countries and by fostering mutual understanding.

What are the major offices or components of the Peace Corps?

Major components include Global Operations, External Affairs, Management, regional operations offices, and the Office of Inspector General.

Who does the Peace Corps report to?

As an independent federal agency, the Peace Corps reports to the President and Congress.

How can this org chart be used for planning?

The org chart helps planners understand functional responsibilities, regional oversight, and potential impacts of vacancies or reorganizations.

Sources

Reference

Cite this page

If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.

APA 7th
Creately. (2026). Peace Corps organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/peace-corps/
MLA 9th
"Peace Corps Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/peace-corps/. Accessed .
Chicago 17
Creately. "Peace Corps Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/peace-corps/.

Permanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/peace-corps/ · last updated 2026-04-01

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