The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Georgetown University are proudly hosting the 2nd Annual George T. Kalaris Intelligence Conference, "Succeeding in the Open," on September 24, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Gaston Hall.

Keynote speakers include James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence; Robert Cardillo, NGA Director; Marcel Lettre, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence; and prominent panelists in the intelligence community and private sector.

The conference will cover a range of national security issues with a focus on the relationship between intelligence and technology. Its purpose is to connect government, academe, media and the private sector, through an intellectually rich and stimulating lineup of policy-relevant events. We are eager to engage with you on these current and future perspectives of enormous relevance to United States, the Intelligence Community, and the security of our nation.

Lunch will be provided.

An Industry Career Fair will be open to students in the afternoon.

Registration is required. Tickets are non-transferable.

George T. Kalaris

George Kalaris was born in Billings, Montana. In 1933 at the age of eleven, Mr. Kalaris’ mother took George to Greece. He remained there through the Nazi occupation under false papers. Mr. Kalaris returned to America when he was drafted to the U.S. Army for two years. He then completed law school at the University of Montana. He worked briefly for the National Labor Relations Board before joining the CIA in 1952.

From 1952 until 1974 Mr. Kalaris had spent most of his career as a clandestine operations officer in Greece, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines and Brazil. He won special admiration for his central role in acquiring a warhead and operational manuals for a Soviet SA-2 anti-aircraft missile in Indochina. In 1974 he was assigned by the CIA to clean up an internal mess left by his predecessor, a seemingly endless hunt for a Soviet agent in its own ranks that had done much internal damage.

After two years of leading the counterintelligence staff, Mr. Kalaris was named chief of the Soviet-East Europe Division, where he continued to try to clean up damage from the spy hunt. He was named special assistant to the new director of central intelligence, Stansfield Turner, in 1979 and the following year was credited with ending decades of hostility between the agency and the FBI with the creation of a joint operation to turn Soviet agents into defectors. He retired in 1980.

The Central Intelligence Agency paired up with the Center for Security Studies to host its first public national security conference. The conference featured discussions on a range of national security issues by a stimulating lineup of keynote speakers, panelists, and moderators, all of whom are leaders in their respective fields. Bridging government, academia, the media, and the private sector, this conference gave each participant - on stage and in the audience - new perspectives on the Intelligence Community and how the IC can best serve the open society it defends.