Our Staff

ABMC has a civil service complement of 80 positions, more than 50 of which are located overseas in our 26 cemeteries in 10 countries and the overseas operations office located in Paris, France. The U.S. headquarters is located in Arlington, Virginia.

Staff

Charles K. Djou – Secretary

In May 2022, President Joseph R. Biden appointed Charles K. Djou to serve as the Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Read More about Charles K. Djou – Secretary

In May 2022, President Joseph R. Biden appointed Charles K. Djou to serve as the Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

An Afghanistan war veteran, Djou served for over 20 years in the US Army Reserve. In Operation Enduring Freedom, Djou deployed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2011-12. In the Army, Djou served with units based in Hawaii, California, Alaska, South Korea, and Germany.

Djou is a former Member of Congress, Hawaii, 1st Congressional District, where he served on the House Armed Services Committee and House Budget Committee. He also won elections to the Hawaii State House of Representatives, where he was the Minority (Republican) Floor Leader; and the Honolulu City Council where he was Chair of the Zoning Committee. Outside of politics, Djou taught at the University of Hawaii law school and more recently at Hawaii Pacific University.

Djou attended college and earned a business degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance, a law degree from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and holds a MA (Strategic Studies) from the US Army War College.

He and his wife are both lifelong residents of Hawaii and together happily raising their son and two daughters (and a dog) in the Aloha State.

Read Less about Charles K. Djou – Secretary

Robert J. Dalessandro, Deputy Secretary 

Pat Harris, Executive Assistant  

Edmund Ryan, Chief Operating Officer 

Michael G. Conley, Chief of Staff 

Alison Bettencourt, Director of Public Affairs 

Edwin Fountain, General Counsel 

Mike Knapp, Chief of Historical Services 

Jennifer Li, Chief Information Officer 

Christine Philpot, Chief Financial Officer 

Kelly Dove, Chief of Human Resources and Administration 

Thomas R. Sole, Chief of Engineering and Strategic Plans 

Priscilla Rayson, Chief Diversity Officer