Jessica Ferguson, who has spent nearly 17 years in the U.S. intelligence community, has announced she is stepping away from her role as Chief of the Counterterrorism Center within the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, marking a transition to the next phase of her national security career.
Ferguson most recently led DHS’s Counterterrorism Center, where she oversaw teams responsible for producing counterterrorism analysis used to inform operational decisions across DHS components. In that role, she helped shape the department’s counterterrorism posture and supported leadership decision-making during complex and high-risk security environments.
Before joining DHS, Ferguson held senior intelligence roles supporting multiple federal agencies. She served as a team leader and senior intelligence analyst at Leidos, where she supported counterterrorism and national security efforts for the National Counterterrorism Center, FBI, and Department of Defense. Earlier in her career, she worked as an intelligence officer at SAIC, supporting DoD organizations including DIA, the Afghanistan-Pakistan Task Force, and DTRA.
Ferguson’s intelligence career began as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Marine Corps. She holds a master’s degree in homeland security from Penn State University and a bachelor’s degree in political science and Government from Virginia Tech.
In announcing her transition, Ferguson reflected on her years in government service and emphasized her intent to continue contributing to the national security mission from outside traditional government roles.
She has not yet disclosed details of her next position.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)