Harriot College Alumni Profile: Chelsea Freeland
ECU 2023 “40 Under Forty” Leadership Recipient
Chelsea Rachelle Freeland (M.A. Maritime Studies ’14), who lives in Asheville, NC, is one of ECU’s 2023 “40 Under Forty” Leadership Awardees and a Harriot College alum, who is honored to be among those receiving this year’s recognition.
Freeland’s #HarriotCollegeMajor is helping #MakeAMajorDifference to preserve cultural heritage and artifacts worldwide. Freeland is a foreign affairs officer and the senior analyst for Europe at the United States Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center. (Note: The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of State or the United States government.)
“I lead research, policy development and programming to protect international cultural property from looting, theft, trafficking and destruction, in support of U.S. laws and treaty obligations,” Freeland said. “My job has enabled me to travel the world to collaborate with and train foreign law enforcement and culture professionals and to monitor and advise on heritage preservation work.”
Freeland said the job and work are highly gratifying.
“Like most people in my profession, I joined federal service to make a difference in the world. Helping communities protect their cultural heritage and returning objects to their countries of origin is incredibly rewarding,” Freeland said.
As a graduate student at ECU, Freeland received hands-on field experience through Harriot College and the Department of History’s Maritime Studies Program.
“Participating in three field schools and serving as a crew chief for two more prepared me for archaeological and museum work,” Freeland said. “I also received a Thomas W. Rivers Scholarship for study abroad that helped me travel to Israel in the summer of 2013, where I gained valuable international experience that helped further my career as an archaeologist and foreign affairs professional.”
Among these many accomplishments, few people know Freeland also has been inside a 6th-century Mayan temple in Honduras.
Connect with Freeland on LinkedIn.
ECU’s 40 Under Forty awards will transition to a biennial celebration, with the next iteration honoring the recipients of 2025.