QUANTICO, Va. — The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) hosted U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger during a Fireside Chat on Oct. 21 at DCSA headquarters. The event provided an opportunity for agency leaders and employees to engage with Spanberger, a former intelligence officer whose experiences have shaped her understanding of national security.

Director David Cattler opened the discussion, emphasizing the significance of having a member of congress with firsthand experience in the intelligence community. “It’s great to speak to someone on the Hill, especially a congressperson who has that personal experience with our business,” Cattler said. “It helps the conversation and gets our message across a bit better.”

Isabel Baynum, a DCSA Employee Council member, served as moderator for the chat. She started her career at DCSA as an intern in 2022 and is currently on a detail assignment supporting the assistant director for Personnel Security.

Spanberger, whose father served as both a local police officer and a federal agent, spoke about her early inspiration for public service. “Public service is what I grew up with,” she said, explaining that the values of service and commitment to the country were instilled in her from a young age.

The congresswoman recounted her aspirations to work for the CIA. After college, she moved to Germany to pursue a dual master’s degree which included a five-year work authorization. She hoped the additional work experience would improve her chances at joining the CIA. After witnessing the events of 9/11, she decided to pursue her goals more aggressively, asking herself. “What am I waiting for?”

After finishing her master’s program, Spanberger withdrew her employment applications to companies in Germany and returned to the United States in order to apply to the CIA. In December 2002, she received a conditional offer of employment but could not start because her clearance was not finalized. Following her father’s advice, she applied to jobs at other federal agencies, ultimately working at the Postal Inspection Service for two and a half years until her clearance was granted.

Spanberger highlighted the evolution of the security landscape during her six years in Congress, particularly noting the impact of DCSA’s establishment. “The director has been fantastic about heralding the work of the agency on Capitol Hill,” she said. “I have witnessed an acknowledgement of the ever changing need to develop, modernize and recognize the competing nature of the job. I'm not saying that it wasn't done before, but I think with the creation of DCSA, there's just an ability to take a refreshed look at security and risk mitigation and frankly, talk about it with people outside of the agency in a clearer way.”

Cattler’s focus on preparing DCSA for future challenges led to a discussion on the evolving threat landscape. Spanberger explained that in today’s world everything is a threat and that as an agency we must do everything possible to ensure we have a cleared workforce that is able to accomplish the mission.

The conversation also highlighted DCSA’s implementation of Trusted Workforce 2.0, aimed at modernizing personnel vetting to address today’s complex security challenges. Spanberger underscored the importance of thorough vetting processes to cultivate a culture of accountability and trust. “Ensuring that every necessary element of vetting is done is extremely valuable,” she said.

The topic of women in leadership also arose during the discussion. Spanberger shared her experiences working in predominantly male environments and the challenges she faced in balancing personal and professional life.

“I always tried to meet the model of what success looked like,” she said. She recalled waiting to tell colleagues about her first pregnancy or the struggle with deciding if she or her husband would take their daughter to doctors’ appointments. She kept her personal and work lives separate, as others did at the time. However, later in her career, while struggling to develop trust with fellow co-workers, she would often try to talk to them about their kids, their families or even a favorite TV show. She felt her male counterparts wouldn’t have taken this approach.

In response to an audience question, Spanberger offered advice on achieving work-life balance. “Define what work-life balance means to you. For everyone, that is different,” she said, admitting that she too could do better at times.

As the event concluded, Cattler invited Spanberger to participate in a cake-cutting ceremony to celebrate DCSA’s fifth anniversary. The gathering not only marked a milestone for the agency but also highlighted the ongoing collaboration between DCSA and Congress in enhancing national security.