Woman in the Field, with Brittany Butler

When she was in high school, Brittany Butler didn’t have dreams of working for the Central Intelligence Agency—she was a cheerleader and was in beauty pageants. Nevertheless, she had a successful career at the CIA and is now working hard to promote human rights for Afghan women and girls while also setting the record straight of what it's really like to be a female spy.

Meet Brittany Butler

Brittany spent nine years as a targeting officer within the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, Counterterrorism Center. Both at Langley and on temporary assignments in the Middle East, Brittany spearheaded operational efforts to achieve some of the most sensitive foreign intelligence objectives abroad. She has both first-hand knowledge of targeting methodologies used in the recruitment of spies and extensive field experience in working with foreign liaisons to discover and apprehend terrorists abroad. She is a staunch advocate for women’s rights in the Middle East and has worked for human rights campaigns in Afghanistan to protect and promote the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls. Today, she assists Afghan refugees by helping them thrive within her local community. She joined me on Uncorking a Story to talk about her career and debut novel, The Syndicate Spy, which weaves a story of fact and fiction, telling the true story of female intelligence officers who stand on their laurels of intellect and skill to see beyond religious and cultural barriers to find what unites, rather than what divides.

The backstory for how Brittany came to work for the CIA. Why she feels so passionate about protecting the rights of Afghan women and girls. The inspiration behind her debut novel, The Syndicate Spy. What it’s really like being a female spy. Surprising facts about the life of spies in general.