Frank ‘Chris’ Bell serves as the Assistant Director for Facilities Operations for the National Museum of Natural History and leads the teams responsible for facilities planning, design, and construction, facilities maintenance, facilities operations, safety and emergency management, Museum Support Center management, collection support services, and shipping and logistics services.
Chris has over twenty years of experience in architecture, engineering, planning, construction, and facilities management in the private, academic, and public sectors. Prior to joining the Smithsonian, he served as the Federal Lead for Facilities at the National Cancer Institute's Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) in Frederick. He also served as a U.S. Naval Officer. Chris has been an Adjunct Professor at Virginia Tech College of Engineering Myers Lawson School of Construction since 2022.
He holds a Master of Architecture and multiple diplomas from the U.S. Naval War College, specifically from the College of Command and Staff - JPME. Chris also earned a Master of National Security and Strategic Studies and a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Business from Montana State University.
