William Evanina
Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center
In office
June 2, 2014 – January 20, 2021
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byBear Bryant (National Counterintelligence Executive)
Succeeded byMichael Orlando (acting)
Personal details
Born1967 (age 56–57)
Peckville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationWilkes University (BPA)
Arcadia University (MA)

William R. Evanina (born 1967) is an American national security official who served as director of the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC)[1][2] until his January 2021 resignation.[3] As director of the NCSC he was the head of national counterintelligence for the U.S. Government.[4] Evanina previously served as director of the Office of the national counterintelligence executive (ONCIX) before it transitioned into the NCSC. Prior to his service as national counterintelligence executive, he was the chief of the Counterespionage Group for the Central Intelligence Agency. He gained his initial law enforcement experience as a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[1]

Early life and education

Evanina was born to John and Barbara Evanina in Peckville, a suburb of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he grew up. His father was a professional musician and founder of The Pennsylvania Merry Makers, a well-known polka band.[5] Evanina attended Valley View High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball[6][7] followed by a stint at Keystone College, where he continued to play baseball.[6] He then transferred to nearby Wilkes University and in 1989 received a Bachelor of Arts degree in public administration, magna cum laude.[8] While with the FBI he completed a master's degree in Educational Leadership at Arcadia University in 2008.[9]

Career

After college Evanina went to work for the General Services Administration, where he was a project manager in the new construction division.[10] In 1996 he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation where as a special agent he served in the violent crimes unit, the organized crime unit, and the Bank Robberies and Counterterrorism divisions.[8][10] He also later served in the FBI's National Security Branch and Counterintelligence Division.[8] He became a certified SWAT team member as well as a certified sniper.[10] During this time he was involved with the investigation into the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, the mail-distributed anthrax attacks also in 2001,[6] and the Daniel Pearl kidnapping.[11]

In June 2004, he was appointed as a Supervisory Special Agent in the new Joint Terrorism Task Force.[11] While there, following a tipoff from Customs,[12] he led the investigation into the activities of an FBI intelligence analyst at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, who was leaking classified information to parties in the Philippines. Evanina's work led to the conviction of Leandro Aragoncillo for espionage, in appreciation of which Evanina received the FBI Director's Award for Excellence.[8][11] In January 2006 he was appointed as Senior Supervisory Resident Agent (SSRA) heading the FBI's New Jersey office in Trenton. In March 2009, he was assigned to the Washington office, and worked in the FBI's National Security Branch, where he led both counterintelligence and counterterrorism operations.[11]

In September 2013, Evanina was put in charge of the joint FBI and CIA Counterintelligence Division/ Counterespionage Group, where he coordinated personnel from multiple intelligence agencies in countering foreign espionage.[11] In June 2014, he was appointed by James R. Clapper to head the office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, replacing Frank Montoya.[13][4][14][15][16]

After the firing of James Comey in May 2017, Evanina was under final consideration as interim director of the FBI;[17] instead Andrew G. McCabe remained as acting director until the appointment of Christopher A. Wray in August 2017.[18] In February 2018, President Trump formally nominated Evanina to the directorship of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, as Congress had made the position subject to Senate confirmation as of 2015.[14][19] On May 6, 2020, the United States Senate confirmed his nomination by a 84–7 vote.

On January 21, 2021, Evanina announced his resignation,[20][21] leaving his deputy, Michael Orlando, as the acting director.[22] In April 2021 Evanina accepted a position on the Advisory Board of Peraton, a national security technology company.[23]

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b "National Counterintelligence Executive: William Evanina". Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016.
  2. ^ Austin, Gail (September 15, 2017). "The Man Who Protects America's Secrets". National Public Radio (NPR). Archived from the original on September 15, 2017.
  3. ^ Katz, Justin (January 21, 2021). "Evanina resigns as counterintelligence chief". Federal Computer Week. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "William "Bill" Evanina" (PDF). National Counterintelligence and Security Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 8, 2016.
  5. ^ Graham, Tom (May 30, 2013). "Up Close: John Evanina". The 570. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Bolus, Kathleen (June 29, 2014). "Midvalley resident rises in the ranks of FBI". Archived from the original on July 2, 2015.
  7. ^ In his senior year of high school, Evanina made the Lackawanna League Northern Division baseball all-star team Myers, Marty (June 20, 2015). "30, 20 and 10 years ago: A look back at sports headlines". The Scranton Times-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d Mayk, Vicki (October 23, 2015). "National Counterintelligence Executive William Evanina Delivers Economic Espionage Lecture Nov. 12 At Wilkes University". Wilkes University. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Allabaugh, Denise (November 3, 2015). "National intelligence exec, NEPA native, to discuss cybersecurity". The Scranton Times-Tribune. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016.
  10. ^ a b c Bolus, Kathleen (June 30, 2014). "FBI agent credits NEPA values for work ethic". The Citizens' Voice. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Bill Evanina". SINET (Security Innovation Network). Archived from the original on August 5, 2016.
  12. ^ "FBI Missed Signs of Espionage in Filipino Case". Fox News. Associated Press. January 17, 2006. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016.
  13. ^ "DNI Appoints New National Counterintelligence Executive". Office of the Director of National Intelligence. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016.
  14. ^ a b Knauth, Dietrich (February 13, 2018). "Trump Nominates Evanina To Stay On As Counterintel Head". WashingtonExec. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018.
  15. ^ "U.S. counter-spy chief cuffs driver who rammed restaurant". Reuters. May 6, 2016. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016.
  16. ^ Clark, Charles S. (August 15, 2014). "Meet the Man Who's Gauging the Damage From Snowden". Government Executive (National Journal Group, Inc.). Archived from the original on May 5, 2016.
  17. ^ Cameron, Peter (May 12, 2017). "Blakely native in running to be interim director of FBI". The Scranton Times-Tribune. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017.
  18. ^ Kutner, Max (August 2, 2017). "Under New Bureau Head, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe to Remain as Deputy, Despite Trump's Allegations". Newsweek.
  19. ^ The Senate Select Committee for Intelligence held his nomination hearings on May 15, 2018, and an approval recommendation was sent to the Senate on May 22. "PN1548 — William R. Evanina — Office of the Director of National Intelligence". United States Senate. January 3, 2019.; "Senate Intel Unanimously Approves Evanina to Continue as NCSC Director, Nomination Moves to Full Senate". United States Senator Richard Burr. May 22, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018.
  20. ^ Evanina, William (January 21, 2021). "[Resignation statement]". Linked In. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Primary source
  21. ^ Choi, Matthew (January 21, 2021). "U.S. intelligence head who warned of foreign election threats steps down". Politico. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021.
  22. ^ "Acting Director, National Counterintelligence and Security Center". National Counterintelligence and Security Center. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Primary source
  23. ^ "Peraton Names Former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center William Evanina to its Advisory Board". PR Newswire. April 13, 2021. Press release

Further reading

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