About this episode

Lauren C. Anderson shares her journey from childhood aspirations to becoming a senior executive at the FBI, discussing challenges and the importance of humanity in law enforcement.

Service, gut checks, the power of humanity in law enforcement, and why she said “yes” to The Steady State. In a format shift, host Peter Mina turns the microphone over to co-host Lauren C. Anderson to explore her origin story — from a childhood visit to the FBI where a tour guide told her girls can't be agents because “...they paint their fingernails," to serving as a senior executive in the FBI across nearly 30 years. Lauren shares how her first "failure" — struggling with pre-med science in college taught her to trust her gut and pivot. She recounts harrowing moments in the Central African country of Gabon, where she negotiated with a corrupt colonel to restore dignity to a torture victim who was a witness in a murder investigation, demonstrating that you can be "tough and compassionate at the same time. She reflects on what it was like being a woman in a male-dominated world, the importance of de-escalation and proportionality in law enforcement, and why she believes the current administration has abandoned the humanity that should define public service. The episode closes with Lauren explaining why she joined The Steady State — because "if everybody takes the approach that…

People in this episode

Host: Peter Mina

Guest: Lauren C. Anderson

Topics covered

• public service
• law enforcement
• women in leadership
• personal journey
• humanity in crisis
• FBI career

Keywords

• FBI
• public servant
• law enforcement
• women in FBI
• personal story
• leadership
• humanity
• crisis negotiation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FBI

Places: Central African country of Gabon

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