Senior Career FBI Agent and Government Finance Manager are Promoted to FBI Assistant Director Positions

FBI Director Louis J. Freeh today appointed a senior career FBI Agent, and a government finance manager, to leadership positions in the FBI.

Kathleen L. McChesney will become the Assistant Director in charge of training, based at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia. Susan J. Rabern will take over as Assistant Director for finance, with the responsibility for managing the FBI annual budget of more than $3.6 billion. Ms. Rabern, who joined the FBI last year, represents another of Freeh's recent recruitments of outside experts to run divisions which have increasingly required specialization, during a time when the FBI faces the technological challenges of both its broad investigative mission and an upgrading of its support infrastructure. Freeh has also turned to outsiders to lead the FBI Laboratory and the information management divisions.

Ms. McChesney, 50, now serves as Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago field office, one of the FBI's largest. She is a 23–year veteran of the Bureau and one of the first women to join the Agent ranks after women were allowed to do so in the mid-1970's. Ms. McChesney has risen steadily through the ranks after beginning her career as a field investigator in Seattle. She has held management positions in Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., Detroit, and at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. As Special Agent in Charge in Portland, she was only the second woman to head an FBI field division. Ms. McChesney holds a master's degree and a Ph. D in Public Administration.

At Quantico, McChesney will be responsible for all training programs for FBI personnel and for training provided to U.S. and international law enforcement officers. Programs include new FBI Agents training, the National Academy for state and local police management, international training and oversight of the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary. Overall last year, more than 18,000 criminal justice personnel were trained at the Academy.

Ms. Rabern, 49, now the Deputy Assistant Director for finance, joined the FBI in August, 2000 after a 24-year career in the U.S. Navy. Her most recent Navy assignment was Commanding Officer, Naval Support Activity, Washington Naval Yard. She also served on the staff of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a funding expert. She holds a Master's of Business Administration degree in finance, as well as Master's Degrees in national security affairs and education.

"Both Kathleen McChesney and Susan Rabern have distinguished themselves in a variety of assignments," said Freeh. "As an investigator, supervisor, program manager and as twice head of a field office, Kathleen has demonstrated success at every level. She is an innovator with a vision for the future, which makes her extremely well-suited to lead one of the most important divisions of the FBI," Freeh said.

"Susan had a record of achievement during her naval career and the FBI is better today because of her contributions over the past year," Freeh said. "She is ideally well suited to lead our critically-important budget and finance operation."

The FBI has 14 Assistant Directors – eleven who head divisions at FBI Headquarters and three who head field offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The Assistant Director position is the third-highest in the FBI after the Director and the Deputy Director.