Caryn Wagner was the
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
’s
from February 11, 2010, to December 21, 2012.
Caryn A. Wagner
DHS website archive, March 4, 2010. As such, she was DHS's Chief Intelligence Officer (CINT), in charge of the
DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis
The Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) is the civilian national intelligence component of the United States Department of Homeland Security and one of two statutory members of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) within DHS, the ot ...
with responsibilities over the DHS component intelligence services. She was the first woman to serve in this position, after extensive experience in the
U.S. Intelligence Community
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and on Capitol Hill.
Birth and Education
Wagner was born September 22, 1957, in Columbus, Georgia.
Name: Wagner, Caryn
AllGov, retrieved May 4, 2021. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History, and received a Master of Science degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California in 1987.
Intelligence Community Experience
Wagner served for eight years (1979-1987) as a signals intelligence and electronic warfare officer in the U.S. Army, leaving active duty in 1987 with the rank of Captain.
From February 1988 to May 1990, she worked as an Army intelligence research specialist.
After three years at the consulting firm of Booz Allen Hamilton, where she worked on tactical exploitation of national capabilities, support to military operations, intelligence planning, and intelligence systems architecture development, she became a professional staff member of the
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Adam Schiff. It is the primary committ ...
(HPSCI).
She was Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence in 1995–1996.
From November 1996 to November 2000, Wagner was director of the Military Intelligence Staff at the Pentagon for the
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence.
A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the I ...
.
From November 2000 to April 2003, she was DIA's Deputy Director for Analysis and Production, then DIA senior representative and liaison to the
United States European Command
The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russi ...
.
From May 2004 to April 2005 she was the executive director for Intelligence Community affairs at the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
, then Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Management and the first Chief Financial Officer for the National Intelligence Program at the Office of the
Director of National Intelligence
The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Commu ...
until January 2007.
Wagner returned to Capitol Hill from January 2007 to October 2008 as budget director and cyber security coordinator for HPSCI.
She was an instructor from October 2008 to October 2009 in Intelligence Community management for a private company that trains members of government agencies and private security firms.
Under Secretary of Homeland Security
On October 26, 2009, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
announced his intent to nominate Wagner as Under Secretary for Homeland Security. As is customary for Under Secretaries of Homeland Security for intelligence, she had two confirmation hearings, the first before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on December 1, 2009, and the second before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on December 3, 2009. She was confirmed by the Senate on February 11, 2010.
Wagner testified before Congress many times in threat hearings (sometimes closed to the public) and about DHS intelligence-related management issues. Examples include:
DHS Intelligence Enterprise: Still Just a Vision or Reality? Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment of the Committee on Homeland Security House of Representatives, May 12, 2010.
DHS Intelligence Enterprise: Past, Present, and Future Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, June 1, 2011.
Is the Office of Intelligence and Analysis Adequately Connected to the Broader Homeland Communities? Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, September 29, 2010.
Full Committee World Wide Threats Hearing House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, February 10, 2011.
Jihadist Use of Social Media--How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, December 6, 2011.
Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate, January 31, 2012.
Wagner resigned from DHS effective December 21, 2012. Deputy Under Secretary Bill Tarry succeeded her as Acting Under Secretary. A permanent successor was not named until
Francis X. Taylor was nominated on February 12, 2014.
Post-DHS Career
Since January 2015, Wagner has been an Adjunct Faculty Member at the National Intelligence University, teaching courses in leadership and management, Intelligence Community policy and oversight, and financial management of intelligence resources. Wagner serves on the board of directors of the National Intelligence University Foundation.
Wagner serves on the board or as an advisor to a number of charitable and private organizations.
Board of Directors
” National Women’s Memorial, retrieved May 4, 2021; “Protecting the Homeland: Intelligence Integration 15 Years After 9/11],” Intelligence and National Security Alliance, November 2016 (chair of INSA’s Homeland Security Intelligence Council);
Editorial Board
Homeland Security Today, retrieved May 4, 2021.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Caryn
United States Army officers
Living people
Women in the United States Army
College of William & Mary alumni
University of Southern California alumni
Booz Allen Hamilton people
Analysts of the Defense Intelligence Agency
American chief financial officers
Women chief financial officers
Year of birth missing (living people)