Major Marisol A. Chalas, U.S. Army Congressional Fellow, U.S. Army Reserve, Washington, DC
Major Marisol Chalas is a 2017 U.S. Army Congressional Fellow and as part of the program she is serving as a Legislative Defense Fellow for U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN). Major Chalas has served in various public and private sector leadership positions and is a decorated pilot with over 27 years of experience in the U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard. She is also considered to be the first Latina National Guard Black Hawk helicopter pilot. Prior to her fellowship, Major Chalas was serving as an Attack Reconnaissance Battalion Operations Officer for the 1-158th Aviation Regiment in Conroe, TX.
Major Chalas was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States at the age of nine to join her parents in Boston, MA. In search of a better life, her parents immigrated to the United States having to leave their three daughters behind with their grandparents in order to find jobs and establish a new home for their children. Major Chalas credits her parents for her work ethic and perseverance.
Major Chalas began her military career as an enlisted soldier in the Massachusetts Army National Guard in July 1990 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve in February 2008. In 2001 she received her commission as a Second Lieutenant in the aviation branch from Georgia Military Institute’s Officer Candidate School in Marietta, GA, and in 2002, she was among the top graduates at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence in Fort Rucker, AL. Major Chalas received her Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Engineering from Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, MA, where she serves on the board of trustees. She received a Master of Business Administration degree from J. Mack Robinson School of Business at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, and completed her Masters in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University in Washington, DC, in May 2017. Major Chalas became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1994.