From Reshaping the Peace Corps to Teaching Tomorrow’s Leaders: Carol Spahn's Career of Service

As Professor Carol Spahn prepares for her first quarter at Korbel, it’s no secret that international and public affairs face uncharted waters. But as Former Director of the Peace Corps during the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Spahn’s expertise is leadership during uncertainty. 

When explaining her approach to leadership, she offers a simple but powerful metaphor she picked up on a Colorado rafting trip: point positive.  “Look at where you want to go, not at the rocks you want to avoid. Progress requires hope and your individual actions matter. Over time, they add up to something much bigger than yourself.” 

That mindset — focusing on possibility rather than the rocks you want to avoid — has defined Spahn’s approach to leadership throughout her career. As the new Rice Family Professor of the Practice of International and Public Affairs, Professor Spahn brings the full weight of a career defined by bold leadership and global service. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Spahn — then Chief of Operations for the African Region at the Peace Corps — supported the evacuation of nearly 7,000 volunteers from over 60 countries, navigating shuttered borders and grounded flights in a race against time. It was a moment that shook the very foundation of an institution built on global presence and human connection. 

Now, Professor Spahn brings her expertise to students at Korbel, ready to shape the next generation. “This is another highly transitional, disruptive time,” she said. “The most important thing is that we grab it and shape it. We can’t go back to where we were, but we can build what comes next.” 

A Career Built on Pivots

Growing up in Kansas in a large, practical family, the international stage seemed far away. While Professor Spahn would receive snippets of the world from her great-uncle, who was a Catholic missionary in Papua New Guinea, she never set foot east of the Mississippi until she headed to college in Washington, D.C. 

“Being in D.C. was such a tremendous learning experience,” she said. “Suddenly, you’re surrounded by people from all over the world. It really broadened my perspective.” 

Her practical roots led her to a degree in accounting, followed by a job offer with KPMG after graduation. But everything shifted during that last summer before she started, when she saved up for one of those “live on $4 a day” trips. It was meant to last only five weeks, just in time for her to start her new career. Instead, she found herself in Southern Turkey, standing at a public pay phone, calling KPMG to ask if she could postpone her start date. That call marked a turning point. 

“I wanted to learn more,” she said, “as a global citizen and not as a tourist.” She later applied to the Peace Corps and was placed in Romania, just four years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. During her time there, she witnessed an entire nation’s economy shift from state-run systems to private enterprise, an experience that revealed both the challenges and opportunities of global transformation. 

From there, her career spanned international finance, nonprofit leadership, and eventually her return to the Peace Corps — first as a country director, then as agency head. Each pivot, she said, was shaped as much by circumstances as by design. 

“Life really is a series of turning points,” she reflected. “Oftentimes, you don’t control them. Family, health, global events - all shape your path. But if you stay open, each step can be a moment to learn and grow.” 

Lessons in Leadership 

Former President Biden appointed Professor Spahn to be Acting Director of the Peace Corps during the pandemic, and she was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. The Peace Corps’ continued existence is owed, in part, to her leadership when there were no volunteers in the field. “Any disruption, especially large-scale disruption outside your control, forces you to ask: how do we maintain relevance?” Professor Spahn asked. “How do we move forward?” 

Professor Spahn answered that question by mobilizing the entire agency around reimagining service, advancing equity, and delivering quality. Every employee had a role to play. 

“For our back-office teams,” Spahn said, “we asked how we should standardize and streamline to improve efficiency. For our programmatic teams, we asked how we could contribute to the COVID response and be ready for a new reality when borders reopened. Importantly, we were intentional about maintaining our relationships and relevance around the world.” 

Under Professor Spahn’s leadership, the Peace Corps streamlined operations, launched virtual service opportunities, mobilized staff to support in-country COVID responses, and even deployed volunteers domestically for FEMA’s vaccination rollout. Now, Spahn is eager to translate these lessons to the classroom. 

Shaping the Future Together in Denver 

After decades of experience in finance, service, and international development, she is thrilled to begin this new chapter in Denver. Not only is she bringing her experience into the classroom, she’s also joining a community that holds significance for her family. Her daughter is a proud alumna of the Korbel School, making this next step personally and professionally meaningful. “When she started here, we got to know Colorado and the school,” Spahn said. “I was so impressed by the caliber of education she received and the welcoming community. Korbel has a tremendous reputation, and its vantage point in the West gives it a unique voice outside the Beltway.” 

For Spahn, her return to Korbel is about more than teaching; it’s about building alongside students and colleagues during a moment of transition. 

“There’s no playbook for where we are right now,” she said. “But that’s what makes this such an interesting time. The disruption is here. What matters is how we respond and reinvent.” 

Professor Spahn will share more insights from her career in leadership and international development during the inaugural Dean’s speaker series event at Korbel. Don’t miss your chance to attend “Meeting the Moment: Leadership in a Turbulent World,” on Thursday, September 18, where she’ll join Dean Fritz Mayer for a fireside chat about navigating times of upheaval with resilience, adaptability, and purpose.