CONSIDERED A CAREER AS AN FBI INTELLIGENCE ANALYST?
Here’s What It’s Like: Up Close and Personal

Kerri Galvin hit the ground running when she joined the FBI last summer as an Intelligence Analyst in our Public Corruption/Civil Rights Intelligence Unit. Her background is in psychology—she’s worked in a psychiatric hospital and is earning her PhD in Educational Psychology. Now she works alongside special agents, other intelligence analysts, and Department of Justice attorneys analyzing data to reveal patterns and to identify potential suspects involved in human trafficking cases. “In other words, I connect the dots for investigators,” she says.

Q. Kerri, can you describe your job and some cases you’ve worked on?
Kerri: Sure. I work on human trafficking and involuntary servitude and slavery matters. Right now I have a project related to Hispanic sex trafficking. The FBI has an initiative to address human trafficking and I’m the point of contact on that. I’m also working with my Canadian counterparts to assess the human trafficking problem in North America. And I just gave a presentation to supervisory special agents about human trafficking intelligence, which may generate some new cases. It’s exciting to have a role in a program that’s so important from a law enforcement and basic human rights perspective and to contribute in some small way to obtaining justice for the many innocent victims.

Q. What’s a typical working day like?
Kerri: I spend a lot of time reviewing intelligence reports, and I do a lot of research on FBI databases and on the Internet. In a nutshell, I’m either conducting research or putting my analysis into written intelligence assessments for dissemination. I also do a lot of independent research on important topics.

Q. Have you ever traveled on a case?
Kerri: Not yet! But I’m working with a special agent on developing a training curriculum on human trafficking cases that we plan to take on the road to various field offices. And I did travel once to support a public corruption initiative in which I produced a comprehensive intelligence assessment for a field office that was used to enhance several of its public corruption cases.

Q. What do you like best about the job?
Kerri: That there are so many opportunities here. This is a time of change in the Bureau and a great time to get on board.

Q. Any advice for prospective recruits?
Kerri: Have patience with the process of getting in because there are steps to take and they are there for a reason. And don’t doubt your abilities to contribute—you never know unless you try, so you might as well go for it. The good thing about this place is you can come at it with very unique background experiences and still contribute to the mission of the Bureau. Whatever your unique skills and perspectives, we’ll put them to use.

Links: FBI Civil Rights website | Civil Rights stories