When Jonna Mendez retired from the CIA after more than 25 years, her title was Chief of Disguise. Recruited into the Agency in the mid-1960s, Mendez served as a covert operative in Europe, the Far East, and the Subcontinent, as well as at CIA headquarters. In the 1970s she joined the CIA’s Office of Technical Service and developed a specialty in clandestine photography. The CIA chose her to complete several extended training programs, and she worked in south and southeast Asia as a generalist in Disguise, Identity Training, and Clandestine Imaging before returning to CIA headquarters, where she was assigned to Denied Area Operations for disguise. In only a few years, she was promoted to Chief of Disguise, running a multimillion-dollar operation with staff positioned around the world. She retired from the US government in 1993, and earned the CIA’s Intelligence Commendation medal.
Jonna continues to serve as a consultant with the CIA, and has written three books with her husband, fellow CIA officer Antonio J. (“Tony”) Mendez: Spy Dust; Argo, which became an Academy Award(r)-winning motion picture; and The Moscow Rules. She works as a fine art photographer, displaying and selling her artwork through Pleasant Valley Studios, which she runs with her husband and son, sculptor Toby Mendez. She is a board member of the International Spy Museum.
Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Time: 7:00 PM via Zoom
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