Julia Curlee is a former U.S. intelligence officer whose career included work at the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council, and the White House. She is now a Public Service Fellow at Lawfare and a part-time professorial lecturer at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Her professional background includes intelligence analysis, national security policy, and briefings for senior government officials.
Curlee became more widely known in 2026 after writing publicly about her experience as a transgender intelligence officer and her time working in the federal government. Her account offered a personal perspective on a career that had largely been conducted in private. This biography focuses on information available through her professional profile, her own published writing, and reporting that identifies its sources.
Julia Curlee: Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Julia Curlee |
| Known for | Former CIA officer and national security official |
| Current work | Public Service Fellow at Lawfare; part-time lecturer at George Washington University |
| Professional expertise | U.S. intelligence and national security |
| Education | Master’s degrees from American University and the National War College |
| Early life | Grew up in Hawaii, according to published interviews |
| Publicly shared identity | Transgender woman |
| Exact birth date and age | Not confirmed in the sources cited here |
George Washington University describes Curlee as a Public Service Fellow at Lawfare and a part-time faculty member in its Elliott School. Its profile says she is a former CIA analyst with 25 years of national security experience and has served in senior national security roles. George Washington University’s Julia Curlee profile
Early Life and Education
Curlee has said she grew up in Hawaii and had an early interest in becoming an intelligence officer. Details about her childhood, parents, and other relatives are limited in the public sources used for this article. Since she has not shared a full account of those private matters in the cited professional biographies, this article does not try to fill in gaps with unsupported claims.
Her education includes master’s degrees from American University and the National War College. George Washington University describes her academic preparation as focused on U.S. foreign policy and national security. That background connects directly to her later work analyzing international events and advising decision-makers.
Curlee’s exact undergraduate degree and birth date are not stated in the university profile. Her age should therefore not be presented as confirmed unless a reliable source publishes it. Online pages sometimes list personal details without explaining where they came from; readers should treat such figures cautiously.
Joining the CIA
Curlee joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 2007. In her first-person essay for The Atlantic, she described the moment she took the oath and began her intelligence career. Her work involved sensitive national security matters, much of which she could not publicly discuss while serving.
Her professional profile says she completed multiple tours in the Middle East and South Asia and worked in the CIA’s China Mission Center. She also served as an analyst and briefed senior officials. The CIA does not publicly disclose the details of many employees’ assignments, so the available public accounts offer only a broad view of her responsibilities.
Curlee has spoken about working in environments where security, discretion, and accuracy are central. Intelligence analysis is not simply the collection of information: analysts must assess reports, weigh uncertainty, and communicate what decision-makers need to understand. Her later roles as a briefer and national security official drew on that experience.
Publicly Discussing Her Transition
Curlee has described transitioning while continuing to serve at the CIA. In interviews, she said she came out as transgender at work in 2013 and remained in the agency. Reporting by The Advocate and The Atlantic has described her as the first known CIA officer to transition openly while continuing to serve. That distinction should be understood as a description of the public record, not a claim that no other transgender people had ever worked at the agency.
Her account emphasizes that colleagues’ reactions were, in her experience, more supportive and ordinary than she had feared. She has also discussed the concerns transgender employees may face when working in institutions where confidentiality and personal safety matter. Her experience is one person’s account; it should not be treated as a description of every employee’s experience at the CIA.
Curlee’s decision to speak publicly drew attention because intelligence officers generally do not discuss their work in detail. Her writing connects her personal experience to wider questions about representation, workplace culture, and the value of retaining skilled public servants. Curlee’s first-person essay in The Atlantic
White House and National Security Council Work
Curlee later held roles connected to the National Security Council, the White House body that coordinates advice on national security and foreign policy. George Washington University’s profile says she served as an NSC director in the Biden and second Trump White Houses. It also says she briefed the vice president and served as a Presidential Daily Brief briefer.
A Presidential Daily Brief is a classified intelligence briefing prepared for the president and other senior officials. Curlee’s university profile says she served as a briefer to the vice president. In public interviews, she has discussed briefing Vice President Mike Pence. These assignments placed her in a role where complex intelligence had to be presented clearly to senior leaders, while keeping the underlying material confidential.
Curlee’s public writing also describes her experience during the transition to the second Trump administration. Claims about the circumstances of her departure from government should be attributed to her account and to reporting rather than stated as independently established facts. Her experience has become part of a broader public discussion about federal personnel, national security institutions, and transgender people in government service.
Work After Government Service
Curlee is listed as a Public Service Fellow at Lawfare, a publication and organization focused on law and national security. In that role, she can contribute to public discussion in a way that was not possible during much of her intelligence career. Her experience gives her a perspective on intelligence work, government decision-making, and the relationship between policy and analysis.
She is also a part-time lecturer at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. The university lists her program as the MA in Security Policy Studies and identifies U.S. national security as one of her teaching areas. Her shift from government service to writing and teaching allows her to share professional knowledge with students and readers while respecting the limits of classified information.
Curlee’s current roles are listed on the university’s faculty page. As roles and affiliations may change, readers seeking the most current details should check the university and Lawfare profiles directly.
Public Profile and Privacy
Curlee’s public biography centers on her professional work and her own decision to discuss her identity and career. Details such as her exact age, net worth, height, and spouse’s name are not confirmed in the reliable professional sources cited here. A biography should not turn the absence of public information into an invitation to guess.
Similarly, estimates of a person’s wealth on entertainment or biography websites are not reliable evidence unless they are supported by credible financial reporting or a direct disclosure. No verified net-worth figure is cited in this profile. Her professional accomplishments can be described without speculating about private finances.
Why Julia Curlee’s Story Matters
Curlee’s story draws interest for two related reasons. First, she spent much of her career in national security roles that are rarely visible to the public. Second, she has chosen to speak openly about being transgender and about her professional experience. Together, those parts of her life have made her a public voice in discussions about intelligence work, representation, and public service.
Her career also illustrates the challenges of writing about people who have worked in classified fields. Some details are not available by design. Responsible coverage distinguishes what is documented in official biographies from what comes from a person’s own account, and it avoids presenting speculation as fact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Julia Curlee?
Julia Curlee is a former CIA analyst and national security official. She is listed as a Public Service Fellow at Lawfare and a part-time lecturer at George Washington University.
What is Julia Curlee known for?
She is known for her intelligence and national security career, her work briefing senior officials, and her public writing about her experience as a transgender government employee.
Did Julia Curlee work for the CIA?
Yes. George Washington University describes her as a former CIA analyst, and Curlee’s own essay says she joined the agency in 2007.
What did Julia Curlee do at the White House?
Her university profile says she served as an NSC director in the Biden and second Trump White Houses and as a Presidential Daily Brief briefer to the vice president.
Where did Julia Curlee go to school?
She earned master’s degrees from American University and the National War College, according to George Washington University.
How old is Julia Curlee?
Her exact birth date and age are not confirmed in the reliable sources cited here, so this article does not give an age estimate.
What is Julia Curlee’s net worth?
No verified public estimate is cited by the reliable sources used here. Online figures without transparent sourcing should be treated as speculation.
Final Word
Julia Curlee’s biography spans intelligence analysis, national security briefings, White House service, and public education. Her work has often taken place beyond public view, but her own writing and professional profiles have made parts of that experience accessible to a wider audience. The best account of her career stays grounded in what she and credible institutions have made public, while leaving unverified personal details unguessed.