Special Agent Kari McInturff, representing the FBI, is a National Security Affairs Fellow (NSAF) for the academic year 2022–23 at the Hoover Institution.
In this interview, McInturff describes her fifteen years of service in the San Francisco field office of the FBI. A former emergency room nurse, McInturff began her Bureau career investigating international human trafficking and public corruption. Within that same office, she went on to investigate domestic terrorism while also working as an assistant weapons of mass destruction coordinator. A significant aspect of McInturff’s work has centered on protecting the rapidly changing bioeconomy. She plans to use her time at Hoover to focus on how the government can protect the biotech industry’s data and intellectual property and maintain American competitiveness in this arena as it also enables scientists to innovate unimpeded by burdensome laws and regulations.
Why did you decide to join the FBI?
Kari McInturff: During nursing school and in my early career as an ER nurse, I had spent a combined fifteen years researching sex trafficking and the exploitation of women and children. While working in the ER, I developed a policy for intake procedures on how to identify human trafficking victims. After five years of working in the ER, I started to get very frustrated that we weren’t doing enough to protect victims. After a long period of administering sexual assault exams, I came to the realization that the system was broken. I wanted to see if there was a way that I could do my part to fix the system. I had always been interested in the FBI, but I was more of a lab nerd. I never considered being an agent, really, until I started doing this research.
I received bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and nursing and intended to make a career in the nursing field. After I graduated with a clinical doctorate in nursing, I realized that I could make a difference by applying my knowledge and skill set to law enforcement. I said, “You know what? There is no time like the present. I am just going to apply and see what happens.” I was accepted in 2006. I couldn't believe it.
Will you describe the nature of your career as a special agent?
Kari McInturff: Agents are assigned field office placements based on the needs of the Bureau. Headquarters assesses our backgrounds and tries to place us in areas where we might fit well. But it doesn’t always happen that way.
I was lucky in that my first assignment was working on a white-collar/public corruption squad. Since I had a background researching human trafficking, I walked into the supervisor’s office on day one and said to her, “I have been researching this problem for the past fifteen years and would give anything to investigate these crimes.” She handed me a case file and replied, “Here you go. You are the only one who wants to do this.” So, I spent two years conducting these investigations.
Additionally, I pursued investigations in public corruption and civil rights, as well as FACE Act violations involving freedom of access to reproductive health care services.
How did you transition to the national security area?
Kari McInturff: After I spent a couple years working criminal cases, I started getting very interested in domestic terrorism investigations. Domestic terrorism cases are criminal violations of federal law under a national security umbrella and therefore a soft entry into the national security threat picture. In this area I spent most of my time investigating animal rights extremism and ecoterrorism, as well as violations relating to white supremacist and sovereign citizen movements. This experience laid the foundation for my career in national security, particularly economic espionage. During this time, I was simultaneously working as an assistant weapons of mass destruction coordinator, focusing on dual-use application of advanced and emerging technologies, specifically regarding biological weapons. This involved conducting outreach to scientists in the public and private sectors who had expertise in biological weapon defense.
What is the nature of domestic threats involving ecoterrorism and animal rights?
Kari McInturff: We found a lot of radical animal rights and ecoextremism in academia in the first decade of this century. In 2008, for example, there were bombing attacks at the homes of two researchers at UC Santa Cruz, who were conducting animal testing as part of their research.
In early 2000 Operation Backfire was an FBI investigation into numerous radical environmentalist activities, including a firebombing incident at the University of Washington.
Tell us about your work countering weapons of mass destruction.
Kari McInturff: We primarily work on counterproliferation efforts against foreign adversaries and their acquisition and development of radiologic, nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Given my background and my location in the San Francisco Bay Area, the FBI has provided me with the opportunity to focus on the bio modality. I have been fortunate to work with various scientists whose expertise covers everything from bioengineering and synthetic biology to artificial intelligence and machine learning. My goal in this space is to identify advanced biotechnology that has dual-use application that a foreign adversary could utilize as a biological weapon.
What is your research focus during this fellowship year?
Kari McInturff: I have spent a significant part of my career at the FBI, working with the synthetic biology community. In the last seven years, some of my casework has explored how to protect human genetic information. Historically, much of the government’s operations countering economic espionage have dealt with combating the theft of trade secrets. I have argued that there is no longer true economic espionage. There is no need to steal intellectual property or trade secrets anymore. A well-capitalized investment company from China or elsewhere can literally just buy new technologies and data on the open market.
During this fellowship year, I plan to explore how the United States can maintain its competitiveness, particularly in biotechnology. To this end, I want to help formulate policy that ensures that information and ideas from scientific industries are protected. How do we do that without imposing unnecessary regulations on industry? The FBI is not a regulatory agency; we are a law enforcement agency. The last thing I want to do is regulate science. I support pushing the boundaries of science every single day.
What I have discovered is that by the time we enact new policies, they will be outdated due to the rapidly changing nature of the bioeconomy. If we can't protect the bioeconomy legislatively, can we do so through the application of new technologies?
Right now, I am working with Stanford’s Hacking for Defense program to see if there is some type of technology that can protect biodata while also enabling scientists to collaborate freely across the globe.
Tell us about your experience working with the Stanford undergraduate mentees.
Kari McInturff: It’s been a great opportunity to work with some brilliant minds on campus. Every other Thursday, the NSAF cohort teaches with Dr. Amy Zegart on a subject from her syllabus. Then we meet with our mentees on the off weeks and just talk about whatever issues they are interested in, including the policy topics they are studying, their career futures, and leadership development.
The three mentees who are assigned to me are majoring in bioengineering or biomedical application. It has been fascinating to watch them develop in their academic careers. I enjoy providing them with a national security viewpoint that I don't think they hear about too often. As a law enforcement agent, I have been able to offer a different perspective than the other NSAFs who are military officers. And as the only female in the cohort, I am able to provide a unique perspective.
What does leadership mean to you?
Kari McInturff: I have always been impressed by leaders who are good listeners. There is this aspect of leadership training that teaches people that in order to make a change, they need to develop a new plan. In organizations where there is frequent turnover, it can get frustrating when there is a new leader who comes in and shakes things up with a new plan. I think a good leader makes changes based off of what works and what doesn’t for their team. And that means understanding the needs and skill sets of their team members and inspiring them to make meaningful contributions to the organization’s success. At the same time, the strongest leaders are those who are willing to be taught, willing to ask questions, and willing to admit when they have made the wrong decisions. But truly listening to those around them is key.
