Her Story
About Elissa
Both of my parents worked for the CIA, and my mom was very persuasive in getting me to apply for a student internship. At the time, there wasn't a lot being said about what my parents did because of the organization that they worked for, so I just really didn't know what I was getting into. But when I got in as a student intern, I was just floored by the mission and the work that I did, and I thought, wow, I think I could stay here for a whole career. I even went to grad school because that would have helped me get a full-time position, and I was finally hired full-time. Throughout my 33 and a half year career at the CIA, I worked as an intelligence analyst in various capacities. In the very beginning, I was an imagery analyst looking at satellite imagery. I worked political issues across the world, counterterrorism for about 10 years, and cyber threat issues for about 4 years. For the last two years of my career, I became a recruiter, which was so much fun. I traveled the country to find new analysts that could basically replace me because I knew I was going to retire soon. Being a recruiter and sharing my career with young people who were excited about working for us was just a huge highlight in my career. I felt very impactful because the next generation could understand what was involved in the job, what benefits they could get, and basically just what a great mission it was. I retired in May after spending most of my time in the Washington, D.C. area. Now I'm a substitute teacher for a local elementary school, which started in August. It's been a lot of fun to give back to my community, especially the youth, because I didn't have time to do that when I was working, except for my own child.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Elissa
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say I always love to learn, so I was constantly just reading and taking advantage of all the opportunities. Either going back to school or taking more training, and of course, my work was very amenable to that. They paid for a lot of my continuing education, so I guess my success was really just being very interested in everything, and trying to improve my understanding of the world, and learn as much as I can. I would always be reading when I was at home about global events. Basically, my desire to just understand and learn all the time.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say, and I've said this to many of my recruits, apply. See what happens, because a lot of people may not think they're qualified or don't have what it takes, but you know, give it a try, put your name in the hat. Apply and see what happens. And then, always, of course, always before you get too far in, understand what you're getting into, so do your research. There were a lot of applicants I had that didn't really do their research and didn't really know what the CIA did, and you're kind of like, you probably should read something on our website. So, yeah, just do your research, be prepared, but also give it a try. Don't cut yourself short because you never know, you might, it might happen, and then it's just an amazing opportunity.
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