In the male-dominated world of international espionage, the stories of the women who quietly shaped history have too often been overlooked. Agents of Change: The Women Who Transformed the CIA by Christina Hillsberg brings those stories into the spotlight, revealing how courage, resilience, and grit helped women redefine what it means to be a spy.
A New Lens on Intelligence History
For decades, popular culture has portrayed female spies as glamorous sidekicks or exotic figures. But the real history of women in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tells a very different story: one of trailblazers who fought systemic bias, navigated dangerous operations, and forged paths in one of the most secretive institutions in the world.
Agents of Change charts that history from the 1960s “secretarial era” through decades of steady progress toward leadership and influence. Along the way, Hillsberg weaves together firsthand accounts from female CIA officers who broke barriers, tackled espionage missions, and reshaped the agency from within.
In a review for The Cipher Brief, Jennifer Ewbank, a retired CIA operations officer who served more than three decades, including as Deputy Director for Digital Innovation, offered a thoughtful, insider assessment of Agents of Change.
Ewbank acknowledged the challenge of writing and evaluating books on women’s CIA experiences, noting that “the tension between personal experience and objective assessment creates a unique challenge” when recounting such deeply personal and complex histories. She praised Hillsberg’s effort to document the journeys of women across decades, while also pointing out areas where a deeper exploration of leadership roles and the digital realm might have added further nuance.
Ewbank wrote that the book “succeeds significantly in bringing forward a valuable collection of individual stories that showcase both inspiration and struggle,” and commended Hillsberg for giving readers access to narratives that have long been underrepresented
Who Are These Agents of Change?
The women featured in Agents of Change are far more than historical footnotes. They include field operatives, station chiefs, linguists, and analysts who defied expectations and refused to be sidelined.
By honoring their achievements, Hillsberg not only documents history, she reframes it, offering a richer narrative of American intelligence shaped by women who refused to be invisible.
Meet the Author: Christina Hillsberg
Christina Hillsberg brings both insider experience and historical perspective to her writing. A former CIA intelligence officer, she spent years in analytic and operational roles, including producing assessments for senior policymakers and conducting clandestine fieldwork.
Her journey from intelligence work to authorship imbues Agents of Change with authenticity. Hillsberg draws on exclusive interviews with female CIA officers many of whom have never spoken publicly, making this book a rare and invaluable contribution to the literature on intelligence and gender.
