Stephanie Kiesel

Assistant Director, MSGL

Stephanie Kiesel received her dual major B.S. in Psychology and Communications from the University of Maryland, European Division in 1989. She completed her undergraduate degree while working full-time for the Department of Defense, Defense Communications Agency (DCA) located at the European Command in Germany. During her tenure with DCA, Kiesel prepared communication materials for senior military officers engaged in the Desert Shield conflict, spending three weeks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia before returning to the U.S. in October 1990. Upon return to the U.S., Kiesel resigned her government position and pursued several marketing and business development opportunities including those with Battelle Memorial Institute and ICF Consulting. In 1999, Kiesel moved to Washington DC to pursue her Master of Public Administration degree from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Majoring in Non-profit Organizational Management, Kiesel completed a combination of public administration courses and nonprofit management studies that emphasized the critical role of the nonprofit sector in twenty first century global society. Completing a portion of her degree in the Czech Republic, through a modified distance learning pilot, Kiesel has a unique understanding of the benefits as well as the challenges of distance learning as a tool for in-depth study and research.