Iron Butterfly

This week on the Iron Butterfly Podcast we are joined by Laura Thomas, a former case officer at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). During her time at the agency, Laura served as Chief of Base and led several sensitive programs. In this episode, Laura shares her view of what makes a good case officer, how a wine tasting with an asset helped to build trust with the US government, and her experie...

Join us this week for a special episode of the Iron Butterfly podcast, where we host a panel of three amazing men in the IC. Our first panelist, Chairman Mike Rogers, was a former Army Officer and FBI agent, and served as Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). We also welcome LTG Vince Stewart, a Marine veteran and career intel officer who served as the Director...

Tune in this week for a powerful new episode of the Iron Butterfly podcast. Join us as we sit down with Janna Scott-Tarman, Senior Intelligence Oversight Officer in the Defense Intelligence Agency's Office of Counterintelligence. Find out why Janna considers herself an “accidental intelligence officer” and how her experience on September 11, 2001 shaped her career trajectory. Janna discusses every...

"I will gladly hold your capes for you,” Joan Dempsey tells our listeners on this week’s episode of the Iron Butterfly podcast. Joan served in the federal government for 25 years in a variety of roles with the Office of Naval Intelligence, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Central Intelligence Agency. On this episode, Joan discusses being the only wom...

Listen in to this week’s episode of the Iron Butterfly Podcast as we sit down with Jeny Mills, an Africa Analyst at INR who grew up in the Comoros Islands. On this episode, Jeny shares her journey from human rights activist to Presidential Management Fellow at the State Department, and discusses trailblazing new paths for women, decision-making in crisis situations, and serving abroad in a danger...

This week on the Iron Butterfly, we sat down with Dr. Stacey Dixon, Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). In this episode, Stacey takes us along her path from academia to the intelligence community, which included stints on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) staff and as the Director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (...

On this week’s episode of the Iron Butterfly podcast, we are joined by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Mary Legere. Mary spent 34 years in the Army, culminating as the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, or G2. She also served as the Commander of the Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) and the Senior Military Intelligence Officer in Iraq and the Republic of Korea. Mary currently wor...

On this week’s episode of the Iron Butterfly, we are joined by Lynn Dugle. Lynn has more than 30 years of experience in defense, intelligence, and telecommunications, and most recently served as Engility’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. Prior to Engility, she worked as the President of Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information, and Services business. Lynn&nb...

In our first episode of season two, Iron Butterfly is joined by Leslie Ireland. Leslie is the former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Intelligence and Analysis and the National Intelligence Manager for Threat Finance. Leading up to that assignment, she worked at CIA for 25 years, serving as PDB Briefer for President Obama and as the Intelligence Community’s Mission Manager for Iran. Tu...

Iron Butterfly Season Two Coming Soon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our final episode of Iron Butterfly's inaugural season, we are joined by Yvette Hopkins, current Executive Vice President at the Shetland Space Centre. In this conversation, Yvette shares her incredible professional journey as a US Army Officer for nearly 30 years, which culminated as the Director of Intelligence for the US Army Special Operations Command in Africa (SOCAFRICA). Her other roles...

On this week's episode of the Iron Butterfly Podcast, we had the opportunity to talk with Alice Fisher. Alice is an NSI Advisory Board member and lawyer who had been working at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for six weeks when the tragedies of 9/11/2001 took place. She spent her early years at DOJ prosecuting terrorism cases, and later helped stand up the National Security Division. She&nbsp...

Join us this week as we sit down with Dawn Meyerriecks, Deputy Director for Science and Technology (DS&T) at the Central Intelligence Agency. Dawn discusses her experience as a late-career hire, the importance of reverse-mentoring, and why she wants her team to fail fast, learn, and move on. She shares her leadership style, including her work to create an environment where people feel encourag...

This week on the Iron Butterfly Podcast, we are joined by Maria Witkop, a 21-year veteran of the FBI. Maria served in a variety of roles in the Bureau, to include evidence collection at Ground Zero after 9/11, working in the Behavioral Analysis Unit, and serving as a certified Crisis Negotiator. In this episode, Maria discusses the importance of listening and building trust, or as she says, "...

On this episode of the Iron Butterfly podcast, we are excited to share this breaking story of “Margery Conway.” Margery—who was required to use this alias by the Central Intelligence Agency—spent her career working at CIA as a Case Officer. In this episode, Margery shares her experience as the first woman Case Officer to give birth overseas, the first woman to file and win a class action lawsuit a...

Corin Stone, former Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Strategy and Engagement at the Office of the National Director of Intelligence (ODNI), joins us this week on the Iron Butterfly podcast. Corin previously worked at the State Department where she completed a tour in Iraq and served as Legal Advisor to Ambassador Negroponte. Corin helped to create the ODNI after 9/11, as well as a lega...

This week, Janice Glover-Jones, Chief Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency joins us on the Iron Butterfly Podcast. Janice shares insight from her successful journey through every single government rank, from GS-1 to Senior Executive. Janice has held multiple leadership roles across the intelligence and defense communities and explains how she hopes to inspir...

Suzanne Kelly, CEO and publisher of the Cipher Brief, joins Iron Butterfly this week. Suzanne shares her journey to the Cipher Brief and becoming the go-to resource for in-depth coverage of national security issues. Prior to starting the Cipher Brief, Suzanne worked for CNN where she was the Intelligence Correspondent. She built the Cipher Brief from her 20+ years as a journalist. Suzanne is known...

This week, Iron Butterfly is joined by Mary Quinn. Mary has almost three decades of government work under her belt, serving in roles such as Intelligence Officer for the Army, Senior SOUTHCOM Representative, Chief of Operations at Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and Deputy Director of the National Media Exploitation Center at DIA. Mary also worked in the private sector and has been a high...

Jenifer Smith joins Iron Butterfly this week to share how a female biochemist ended up working in national security. Jenifer served as an FBI Special Agent for 23 years, where she oversaw analysis for DNA and weapons of mass destruction, and she also led the CIA’s Biological Technology Center. Throughout her career, she investigated some of the most high-profile cases in the community, including t...

This week, Iron Butterfly is joined by Tish Long, former Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the first woman who became Director for a "big five" 3-letter agency. She shares her experience serving in key leadership roles across the community, including as the Deputy Director of Defense Intelligence Agency, Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, and Depu...

The Honorable Ellen McCarthy, Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research (INR), joins Iron Butterfly this week to share her experiences rising through the ranks in the intelligence community. Ellen has served in a variety of government, private sector, and non-profit roles, including as the COO of NGA, President of Noblis NSP, and President of INSA.  This c...

This week, Iron Butterfly is joined by Karen Gibson, a former U.S. Army Lieutenant General who served as the Director of Intelligence for four different organizations, including CENTCOM and deployed Task Forces in Iraq and Africa. She shares her adventures at the exciting nexus of intelligence and operations, and brings listeners "inside the tent" where military decision-making&nbsp...

The Honorable Sue Gordon, former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, joins Iron Butterfly this week to share her experiences braving uncertainty and making tough decisions in senior roles across the community. Sue is a 29-year CIA veteran with over 3 decades in the IC, and is known for her incredible leadership across the community, especially in advancing intelligence integra...

Carmen Medina, former Deputy Director for Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency and NSI Advisory Board member, joins Iron Butterfly to discuss her 32 years’ experience in the Intelligence Community. Carmen is the co-author of  Rebels At Work: A Handbook for Leading Change from Within  and of the landmark piece,  Diversity’s New Frontier: Diversity of Thought a...