Kelsey Backus is an attorney in the International Affairs division of the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) for the Department of Defense (DoD) where she communicates across language barriers and cultural differences to negotiate international agreements and ensure legal sufficiency of cooperative research and development programs.

Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Kelsey grew up on a popcorn farm in rural South Dakota before pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology from South Dakota State University, then her law degree from the Nebraska College of Law. It was in law school where her interest in foreign policy and national security was invited to flourish through an internship with DoD OGC, primarily exploring the field of Cooperative Threat Reduction. After graduating from law school, Kelsey was a judicial law clerk with the Honorable Lawrence L. Piersol in the Federal District Court for the District of South Dakota.