Leadership

The President of the United States appoints the Peace Corps Director and Deputy Director, and the appointments must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The Peace Corps enjoys bipartisan support in Congress. Senators and representatives from both parties have served as Volunteers.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs are charged with general oversight of the activities and programs of the Peace Corps.

Christopher Landau, Acting Director

Christopher Landau is the Acting Director for the Peace Corps, as well as the 23rd Deputy Secretary of State. During President Trump’s first administration, Acting Director Landau served as United States Ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021. Before and after his tenure in Mexico, he was engaged in the private practice of law in Washington, D.C. for more than three decades.

As Ambassador to Mexico, Acting Director Landau presided over the United States’ largest diplomatic mission and fostered unprecedented bilateral cooperation that yielded results including the ratification and entry into force of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement, protection of border commerce and regional supply chains during the pandemic, and the lowest levels of illegal migration in years.

Acting Director Landau’s legal practice focused on appellate litigation. He has briefed and argued cases involving a wide variety of topics in the U.S. Supreme Court and all of the federal courts of appeals.

Acting Director Landau was born in Madrid, Spain, where his father George Landau (later United States Ambassador to Paraguay, Chile, and Venezuela) was stationed with the U.S. Foreign Service. Acting Director Landau brings his perspective as both a recent United States Ambassador and upbringing in the foreign service, as well as his extensive legal background, to his current position.

A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Acting Director Landau clerked twice at the Supreme Court, first for Justice Antonin Scalia and then for Justice Clarence Thomas. He is fluent in Spanish and proficient in French. He is married to Caroline Bruce Landau, and they have two adult children, Nathaniel and Julia.

Richard Swarttz, Chief of Staff

Richard Swarttz is Chief of Staff for the Peace Corps. Previously he was appointed by the White House to serve as the Chief Financial Officer of the Peace Corps in 2018-2021 during the first Trump Administration. He spent almost three years as part of the senior management team where his role was strategic planning and policy-making decisions within the agency.

Before rejoining the agency, Mr. Swarttz most recently served as chief financial and administrative officer at Lead For America whose signature program is one of the nation’s leading AmeriCorps service organizations. Previously, he served as board member and treasurer at the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation, Mountaintop International, and America's Service Commission (ASC).

Mr. Swarttz brings over 35 years of experience of senior leadership in industries such as non-profit, information technology, and manufacturing.

Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Swarttz attended Philadelphia University and received both a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's in business administration with a concentration in management.

Mr. Swarttz currently resides in Gainesville, Virginia, with his wife, Harriett and their four dogs.

Kris Besch, Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Kristin B. Besch has been serving as Senior Advisor in the Peace Corps’ Department of Global Operations, where she oversaw strategic initiatives under the agency’s “Reimage Service” pillar. She previously served as Country Director in Kazakhstan and more recently in Sri Lanka, reopening the program after a 20-year absence. She has also held senior roles including Acting Associate Director for Global Operations and Acting Regional Director and Chief of Operations for the Office of Post Performance and Support (OPPS).

Kris brings over 30 years of experience in strategy, program management, and organizational development across public and private sectors. Before returning to the Peace Corps, she directed USAID and private-sector projects at DAI, led a regional microfinance network in Egypt, consulted for the high-tech and travel industries, and worked for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Her career began as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching math in eSwatini, a role she still calls the best job she’s ever had. She married a fellow RPCV, and one of their three children also served. Kristin holds a master’s in international business from Thunderbird and a B.A. from Bucknell University.

Senior leadership

Meet our past Directors

Learn more about the visionary leaders who have served as Peace Corps Directors since its founding in 1961.

Past Director bios