I graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and took a job as a management trainee at a fancy department store. …

As an FBI counterintelligence agent, my job was to identify and recruit Russian spies to work for the United States Government. Little did they know that the Russian government gave my colleagues and me the most powerful gift, a toxic system filled with corruption, suffering, and stagnation. …

Most of us have no idea of what to do with our lives. Even after school. We expect our careers to lead us down the road to happiness. Even after we get paychecks. We’ve seen the slick advertisements that promise that money can buy happiness — if we have enough…

I felt a sinking feeling in my gut as I drove into the parking garage, and it was happening more and more. A job that had once invigorated me and filled me with eagerness now produced a heaviness inside that I could no longer ignore. As a new FBI agent…

A successful Silicon Valley businessman was contacted by a foreign intelligence officer and I interviewed him about the relationship. He was cooperative and we started to meet on a regular basis. He mentioned that he was involved in an angel investor group and thought they would like to hear a…

As the spokesperson for the FBI in Northern California, I found myself in several situations where the FBI was criticized, and I was expected to justify its actions. …

I grew up around cowboys and horses in Wyoming; words like “country hick” and “hee-haw” were thrown out to remind me that I wasn’t as sophisticated or bright as my urban counterparts. I didn’t need their insults to point out that I was different because of my upbringing and circumstances. …

When I arrived as a new agent on my squad, I was the only female and the youngest. Everyone was polite, but my caseload was full of dead-end leads that the older and more experienced agents didn’t want to waste their time on. My desk was at the end farthest…

During this pandemic, I’ve read many ridiculous articles about how resilience means “bouncing through” our obstacles — as though riding out this shitstorm is life on a trampoline. …