For 25 years, I’ve lived this weird double life: coordinating counterterrorism operations at INTERPOL while serving as PTO President at my kids’ school. One day I’m briefing officials on ISIS threats, the next I’m organizing the neighborhood farmers market. My kids thought this was normal.
Sounds weird, right? But that’s exactly the point.
I’ve run counterterrorism teams at State - Countering Violent Extremism and Defeating ISIS. Negotiated with warlords in Helmand Province while speaking Pashto, beard and all, blending in where suits couldn’t. Also organized neighborhood river cleanups and sat on the Spy Museum’s advisory board, because the community you build at home matters as much as the missions you coordinate abroad.
In 2023, I founded IN Network, a nonprofit mentoring young people from all backgrounds into national security careers. The best intelligence officers don’t all come from the same ZIP codes - they come from everywhere.
In 2025, I wrote The Spy Archive: Hidden Lives, Secret Missions, and the History of Espionage. It reveals the shadow narrative behind official history, from ancient Mesopotamia to modern cyber-espionage, showing how backroom deals and midnight defections actually shaped our world.
Every week I share real stories from inside counterterrorism, spy tradecraft you can actually use, the truth behind the headlines, and career advice if you’re thinking about public service.
Most weeks, I’m wrestling with what citizenship actually means when the world feels increasingly unstable - and what we’re supposed to do about it.
If that sounds like home, pull up a chair.
