US NGA New Woman Chief

Letitia A. Long was named the first ever woman director for a major US Intelligence agency as she was given the task as chief of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. “I have never seen an agency as young as the NGA do so much in so little time,” said Long as she applauded the agency’s achievement over a short period of time. NGA was established in 1996.

Long has been on the service for over 30 years working for different senior management positions such as deputy director of Naval Intelligence, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and, most recently, second in command at the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Long represents about 38% of the total number of women working for the US intelligence work force. Among the six most prominent intelligence agencies, women chiefs hold about 27% of the total senior intelligence positions. Long graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Electrical engineering and attended her master on mechanical engineering from the Catholic University of America. She lives with her husband and 3 daughters.

The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency is considered as one of the “top computer geek shops” among the national security agencies. The NGA synthesizes satellite imagery, using everything from the number of electric lines a city has to the density of the soil, to create three-dimensional, interactive maps of every spot on the planet. The agency’s services are widely used by the US government forces from invading troops to determine if a country’s roads or deserts can handle tank tracks, to oil spill cleanup crews trying to decide where to deploy resources.

To read more of Letitia Long’s recent success you can read here.