Spy Chat with Chris Costa | Special Guest: Tonya P. Wilkerson

Description

An online discussion of the latest intelligence, national security, and terrorism issues in the news. Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa will lead the briefing. Costa, a former intelligence officer of 34 years with 25 of those in active duty in hot spots such as Panama, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, is also a past Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council. He will be joined by Tonya P. Wilkerson, the former Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Wilkerson served as the ninth NGA Deputy from November 2021 to November 2024, leading efforts to provide geospatial intelligence to support US national security. Her experience across the Intelligence Community, included change management leadership, fluency across multiple mission areas, and deep expertise in the space sector. As the Associate Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for Science and Technology in 2021, she was responsible for the Directorate of Science and Technology strategy, resources, and talent management. She also led the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Mission Operations Directorate, where she managed the satellite operations enterprise. Wilkerson began her career as a project management engineer leading research and development efforts to identify and mature technologies for integration into NRO systems. A seasoned intelligence executive with over three decades of distinguished service and former CIA intern, Wilkerson is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of leaders. This recording is from our February 12, 2026, Spy Chat event at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Spy Museum's upcoming programs: https://www.spymuseum.org/calendar/ Follow us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IntlSpyMuseum Twitter: https://twitter.com/intlspymuseum​​​​​​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spymuseum SpyCast: https://www.spymuseum.org/podcast/ The Spy Museum does not endorse, approve, or support the opinions stated by