Rebekah A. Salazar is the new acting executive director of the Office of Privacy and Diversity. Prior to coming to PDO, Salazar served as patrol agent in charge at the Uvalde Station in the Del Rio Sector. She began her career as a Border Patrol agent in December 1995 in the San Diego Sector at the Temecula Station. In March 2000, Salazar was promoted to supervisory Border Patrol agent at the Imperial Beach Station. She later transferred to the El Paso Station, where she participated in the El Centro Initiative in Calexico, Calif., and Operation Safeguard in Yuma, Douglas, and Ajo, Ariz.
Salazar has a wealth of experience and has served at all organizational levels (station, sector and headquarters) in the U.S. Border Patrol. In May 2005, she was promoted to assistant chief in USBP Headquarters, Washington, D.C. While at headquarters, Salazar was assigned to the policy branch where she wrote and reviewed national policy, oversaw the development and execution of Title 19 training, and established a relationship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for joint operations along the Texas border. She also worked as a congressional liaison in CBP’s Office of Congressional Affairs and served in the Southwest Border Operations Division, where she had oversight of the Big Bend and San Diego sectors. In September 2011, Salazar was selected as an assistant patrol agent in charge at the Ysleta Station, El Paso Sector, and later as the deputy patrol agent in charge. She was selected as an assistant chief patrol agent at the El Paso Sector, where she oversaw strategic planning and technology and specialty programs. In May 2015, Salazar was promoted to patrol agent in charge at the Uvalde Station, Del Rio Sector.
Salazar has dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and psychology from the University of Texas at El Paso, a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington; and a master’s degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University in Washington. While at NDU, Salazar was selected to participate in the first Afghanistan-Pakistan Hands Fellows program that had a strategic focus on reconstruction and stabilization of operations. Salazar has also completed the USDA Graduate School’s Executive Leadership Program, the Key Executive Leadership Certificate Program at American University, and the DHS SES Candidate Development Program.
Salazar is a second-generation Border Patrol agent. Her father, the late Abel Salazar, retired from the El Paso Sector after 35 years of government service.
