075: Carmen Medina - Her Path To A Life In The CIA - Part 1

<p><strong>Guest Overview&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Carmen Medina is a former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. A veteran of the Intelligence Community, she is also the author of Rebels at Work: A Handbook for Leading Change from Within.</p><p>Puerto Rican born, to a fun-loving father and an achievement-driven mother, Carmen excelled through an itinerant childhood to lead school debating teams. Her forensic debating skills and serendipity led her to a University scholarship and ultimately set her on her path to a 32-year career in the CIA.</p><p>In Part One Carmen unpacks her chaotic and unsettled upbringing and childhood, the role of her education, how debating helped her develop the skills that served her well over her CIA career.&nbsp;</p><p>We discuss her experience of interning at the CIA in 1978, a time before desktop computers, operating as a human algorithm, to running the South Africa desk, and leaning into the male-dominated CIA culture to make her voice heard.</p><p>In Part Two we discuss her perspective on power, the current state of the world and her hope for the future. We also cover the role of curiosity and creativity in her work at the CIA, applying empathy to be heard by policy and decision-makers in today’s polarized political environment.</p><p>And finally, we end with her life insights as she answers our quick fire questions.&nbsp;</p><p>I hope you enjoy this refreshing and fun episode and learn from the kindness, reflective wisdom, and optimism of Carmen Medina.&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>What we Discuss&nbsp;</strong></p><p>The impact of her itinerant upbringing from being an Army child&nbsp;</p><p>The role her mother played in setting her standards for achievement</p><p>How her father made her appreciate the fun in life&nbsp;</p><p>The role of her grandmother in being a rock of stability</p><p>Developing a skill and talent forensic debating at school</p><p>Being the first in her family to go to college and university</p><p>Dealing with male prejudice of her father questioning her need to learn<