Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Kirstin MacLean is a reservist in the Coast Guard, currently serving as an Instructor at the Chief Petty Officer Academy. The position is her dream job; she gets to work with Coasties who are learning how to implement new leadership tools for the betterment of themselves, their members, and their units. In a similar vein, Master Chief MacLean is the USCG Board of Directors Representative working to provide counsel, encouragement and insight regarding issues concerning the Coast Guard, with a focus on advancing the Sea Service Leadership Association’s mission of mentoring service women to unleash their leadership potential.


With a varied career that includes time in the Active Component and the Reserve Component, Master Chief MacLean has 19 years of service that includes more than 8 years of active duty. Prior to being selected as Chief’s Academy Instructor, Master Chief MacLean was stationed at PSC-PSD-Surge Staffing, locating and vetting Coast Guard Reserve personnel for deployment to large-scale contingency responses like hurricanes. She has also worked at Station Los Angeles/Long Beach, Station Vallejo, Port Security Unit 311, and Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau.


Master Chief MacLean earned the Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare (EXW) insignia while deployed to Kuwait with MSRON-1. She is a graduate of Reserve Class 43 of the Chief Petty Officer Academy and an Honor Graduate of Class 225/Red of the US Navy Senior Enlisted Academy. She holds an Associate of Arts in Leadership and Management from University of Phoenix.

Master Chief MacLean is a native of Tempe, AZ. She lives with her partner, their kiddo, and her black lab named Fatho