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September Mentor Minutes: Karen Schaefer
Tuesday, September 23, 2025, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST
Category: Events
 Join us on Tuesday, September 23rd at 12:00 PM ET for an intimate mentoring session with Karen Schaefer, 26-Year CIA Career Veteran and WFPG Board Member, as part of the Women's Foreign Policy Group's monthly Mentor Minutes.
Karen Schaefer held numerous leadership positions within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during her 26-year career, with overseas assignments as an operations officer in Latin America, Europe, Afghanistan and Iraq (where she served as Chief of Base). Her headquarters positions included Chief of Operations, Directorate of Science and Technology; Deputy Associate Director of Military Affairs; Deputy Chief of Counterintelligence, Near East Division; Executive Assistant to Deputy Director CIA; and Group Chief, Iran Operations Division. She also served as Director of Intelligence Programs at the National Security Council (NSC), where she managed the President’s covert action programs. She closed out her government career as the Associate Executive Assistant Director (AEAD) of the National Security Branch, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Director’s Senior CIA Representative. Ms. Schaefer served as the Policy Lead for the Biden Transition Team Central Intelligence Review Team in 2020. Ms. Schaefer helped to establish and served on the board of Microstrategy Government Services from its inception to December 2024. She currently sits on the advisory boards of Seerist and Siemens Government Technologies. She also sits on the advisory boards for numerous non-profit organizations, to include the International Spy Museum, Third Option Foundation, FAMIL, the Honor Foundation and the Sycamore Institute. Ms. Schaefer is an Expert for the Cipher Brief. Ms. Schaefer holds a BA in Spanish and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, and her awards include the Presidential Rank Award, Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the CIA Director’s Medal for Extraordinary Fidelity and Essential Service, the United States Special Operations Command Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, and two Director of National Intelligence Exceptional Achievement Medals.
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The Women's Foreign Policy Group is a non-partisan organization committed to promoting women's leadership and voices in international affairs through in-depth global issues programming and mentoring. Not a WFPG member? Get engaged with our programming and events: Join | Donate | Give a gift of membership |
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