Bio

U.S. Army Fellow, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Michael Olsen is assigned to the National Guard Bureau (NGB) in Arlington, Virginia and holds the rank of Major. He obtained his commission as a communications officer through the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at the University of Delaware in 2005. Michael is a native of Staten Island, New York.

Michael has worked at NGB, the federal headquarters of the Army National Guard, since 2009, following a one-year combat deployment to Iraq. Throughout his tenure, Michael has held a number of high visibility positions managing national-level programs critical to the mission of providing oversight, funding and support to the 54 States and Territories of the Army National Guard.

At NGB, Michael initially served as a data analyst providing quantitative and qualitative analysis, strategically forecasting future requirements to inform senior leader strategic decisions on Army National Guard personnel and resources. From 2013 to 2015, Michael concurrently served as a Company Commander with the Army National Guard in Yonkers, New York. In this role, he was responsible for the health, welfare and training of 134 soldiers and communications equipment worth $25 million. Following Michael’s command position, he served at NGB as a Program Manager responsible for the Army National Guard’s Basic Training program. In this role, he was accountable for the planning, programming, budgeting and execution of $620 million annually.

In 2016, Michael began his position as a Congressional Liaison with duty at the Pentagon and Capitol Hill. In this role, he was responsible for formulating, coordinating, and executing the National Guard's congressional policy and strategy. Michael developed comprehensive congressional engagement strategies for senior military leaders, and disseminated critical information on all major congressional activities. Michael returned to his role as a data analyst in 2019, serving in a supervisory position with the NGB Strength Maintenance Division to provide quantitative and qualitative analysis on all matters relating to Army National Guard recruiting and retention.

Michael earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a concentration in U.S. Foreign Policy from the University of Delaware, and a Master of Science in Project Management/Operations Research from the Florida Institute of Technology. He also holds a Certificate in Legislative Studies from the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

Michael currently resides in Washington, DC with his wife Erica, son James, and daughter Olivia.