Members of the 2023–24 class of the Robert and Marion Oster National Security Affairs Fellows Program are participating in an interview series in which they discuss their career experience, how they plan to spend the academic year, and their mentoring of Stanford undergraduate students. They also reflect on leadership lessons they learned in service to the nation.
Today, we speak to Samuel Townsend, a CIA officer who previously served as the lead strategist for the agency’s Directorate of Science and Technology.
Why did you join the CIA?
As an engineering student in Texas, I had been groomed for a career in the oil industry, but after working part time at an oilfield services company during college, I just felt something was missing—I lacked purpose. It was random chance that I came across a CIA recruiter on campus one day while wrestling with these thoughts. I had no clue what I was getting into at the time, but beyond the mystique, I saw a career at CIA as an opportunity to pursue a life with purpose, an opportunity for adventure, and an opportunity to serve the nation. I’ve never looked back.
Will you tell us about your educational background?
I graduated from Texas A&M University with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. My engineering degrees have given me a solid technical base on which to build my operational, leadership, and policy experience.
Will you tell us about your career arc?
I’ve had a wonderful and somewhat nontraditional career at CIA. As a junior officer, I deployed to numerous locations in support of technical operations while simultaneously working as a program manager for the next generation of capabilities used to support those requirements. These formative experiences gave me the foundation for taking on more challenging assignments and leadership roles. Prior to my selection as a National Security Affairs Fellow, I served as the lead strategist for CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, where I was responsible for the development of strategic products for executive leadership and congressional oversight audiences. This role was my real introduction to the national-level policy dialogue and sparked my interest in Hoover.
Will you tell us how you heard about the Hoover National Security Affairs Fellowship (NSAF) and how you hope to make the most out of this academic year?
I heard about the Hoover fellowship through an internal call for applicants within the organization and a recommendation to explore it from my senior leadership. It was one of several senior school and leadership development opportunities available, but the opportunity to get outside of the Washington, DC, bubble and engage with thought leaders in Silicon Valley instantly drew me to the NSAF program.
I’m honored to serve as CIA’s first National Security Affairs Fellow, and I’m regularly reminded of what an amazing opportunity I have to learn, gain perspective, give back, and represent the organization in an open academic environment. My goal is to make the most of this time by diving deep into the Hoover network and exploring policy challenges unique to the intelligence community that I could only explore here. I also want to faithfully represent intelligence perspectives in a wide range of Hoover forums. I think that in our democracy, where trust in institutions is in such short supply, it’s essential to humanize the intelligence business and engage with the public as openly as possible without jeopardizing those officers who risk their lives to protect our nation.
Part of the National Security Affairs Fellowship has been teaching and mentoring Stanford University undergraduate students. Could you tell us about your experience mentoring them?
I’m incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to work with some very talented students this year as part of the NSAF Fellowship. The students in this program are just plain impressive. They bring a combination of initiative, creativity, and intellectual curiosity that continues to blow me away every week. I think they really teach me as much as I teach them!
Besides getting to know them as people, one of the most interesting things is to see their perspectives on government and public service. All my students share a drive to apply their talents toward a purpose greater than themselves, and I feel very fortunate to be in a position to help guide them on their path.
What does leadership mean to you?
Leadership is fundamentally about people. It is about compassion, empathy, and understanding. It is about creating a vision as well as the motivation, inspiration, adaptation, compromise, and consensus building required to achieve that vision.
Bold leadership never goes out of style.
