Bio
Ms. Novakoff served for over forty years in the Department of Defense and in several Intelligence agencies including NSA, CIA, ODNI, and DIA. Her last assignment was in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, providing oversight and guidance for the Defense Department’s special programs and sensitive activities to include Human Intelligence, Information Operations, counter supply chain threats, sensitive technical collection, intelligence support for irregular warfare, Golden Dome, US, and Foreign Materiel Programs.
Ms. Novakoff served with the Defense Intelligence Agency for over twenty-five years in multiple assignments to include Joint Staff Director for Collection Management where she was responsible for leading the Defense Collection Enterprise in global allocation of collection assets, developing and executing all source collection strategies, standardizing training, improving automation and increasing partner interoperability regarding collection. She also worked at Joint Staff as Director for Strategy, Plans and Policy, providing synchronized, tailored intelligence and recommendations to the Joint Chiefs, Joint Staff Directorates, and Commands in support of plans and policy and leading the Joint Staff Intelligence partner engagement and foreign disclosure programs.
She served at US SOUTHCOM in multiple analytical roles, culminating as the Senior Defense Intelligence Leader for analysis. Ms. Novakoff also served in joint duties as the Principal Deputy National Intelligence Manager for Russia, Europe, and Eurasia at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) where she directed national intelligence on those regions to include establishing priorities for collection, analysis, resources, and operations and supporting the Director of National Intelligence at the most senior level policy meetings. Prior to that assignment she was the Acting National Intelligence Manager for Western Hemisphere where she performed similar roles regarding Latin America, counternarcotics, and transnational organized crime.
At CIA, Ms. Novakoff was an analyst working on Soviet issues, the Caucasus, and counterproliferation. She was also selected for the Director of Central Intelligence’s Advanced Analyst Program where she focused on the Caucasus. She also was selected as a congressional fellow, working on hearings for the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on WMD and terrorism. Ms. Novakoff is the author of numerous articles on Transnational Organized Crime, the former Soviet Union, and intelligence. She received numerous awards during her time in the intelligence community.
Ms. Novakoff currently performs advisory roles for companies involved with US national security; she is a regular columnist and Expert for The Cipher Brief; and an Adjunct Researcher for the Institute of Defense Analysis. In addition, Ms. Novakoff serves as coordinator of the Defense Intelligence Forums for the Defense Intelligence Agency Alumni Group.