She’s a well known volunteer in Santa Barbara involved in a number of community projects. But, Heidi August has a past many people don’t know about. She served her country as a member of the CIA for more than three decades.
"You get kind of a puzzled reaction, like yeah, right," said August. "At first, it's kind of disbelief."
August got the idea as a young girl, because she loved the thought of living around the world. But, she joined in the 1960’s, when women’s roles were extremely limited. The Santa Barbara woman became a pioneer in the agency.
"I wanted to be on the street," said August.
But, she came into the agency as a clerk. It took her ten years, and the help of a number of mentors, but she eventually became a case officer.
"Do you remember the movie Forrest Gump?" asked August. "Forrest found himself in places that really propelled him along. My entire career was a Forrest Gump career. There were many places where I was an eyewitness to history."
There are many things she still can't talk about.
Her story is featured in a new book about the role of women in the CIA. Liza Mundy is author of The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA. She's written a half-dozen books, including Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II , an acclaimed book which looked at how women played a key role in the war effort during World War II by serving as code breakers.
"Once I dove in, and started doing interviews, I found that their contributions during World War II were fascinating," said Mundy.
She said women helped build the Office of Strategic Services, which would eventually become the CIA.
Mundy said the agency knew it needed women, but many men thought their roles should be limited to in-house work, as opposed to being field officers. As pioneers like Heidi August proved themselves, the barriers fell.
"I hope readers appreciate the contributions that women have made all along... the discriminatory hurdles that they've overcome," said Mundy.
August’s three decade long career with the CIA included what she dreamed about as a young girl, which was giving her a chance to live around the world. She was stationed in places like Libya, Cambodia, India, and Iraq.
She served as station chief at three posts around the world, and was later promoted to Chief of South Asia Operations, and Chief of Operations of the Counterterrorism Center.
The former CIA member, and the author of the new book about women in the CIA will speak in Santa Barbara this week.
They’ll appear at Chaucer’s Bookstore at 6 p.m. Thursday, November 2.
