Operations Management - Karen Shelton Waters

Karen Shelton Waters is the Assistant Administrator for Operations Management for the Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service. She is responsible for providing strategic and tactical leadership for support services in the areas of budget and finance, management and logistics, human resources and operations management.

Shelton Waters previously served as the Assistant Administrator for three offices: Operations Management/Enterprise Support, Human Capital, and Acquisition. She started her TSA career as the Chief Administrative Officer and has successfully developed, led and deployed important initiatives that enhanced the direction and operations in each of her prior positions.

Shelton Waters is the former Vice Chair of the Women Excel at TSA (WE@TSA) committee, whose mission is to raise awareness of barriers women face in the workplace, while influencing policymakers regarding issues of concern to female employees at TSA.

Before joining TSA, Shelton Waters held positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service and as a graduate from the Department of the Treasury’s Contract Specialist intern program. She started her federal career with the Department of the Navy, Oakland Naval Supply Center in California.

Shelton Waters holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from East Carolina University and a master’s certificate in government contracting from George Washington University. She is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute Leadership for a Democratic Society Program.