Inside the CIA: Leadership, Law, and U.S. National Security

Join the Institute of Politics for a lunchtime conversation with David Cohen, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Kate Heinzelman, former General Counsel of the CIA. Drawing on their experience at the highest levels of intelligence and national security, Cohen and Heinzelman will discuss the evolving threats facing the United States, the legal and ethical frameworks guiding intelligence work, and what leadership looks like inside one of the world’s most consequential institutions. 

From sanctions policy and counterterrorism to constitutional law and covert operations, this conversation will offer a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how intelligence and law intersect in today’s global landscape. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage directly with two leaders who have helped shape U.S. national security policy.

Please register with a valid Harvard email address to attend in-person.

About David Cohen

David Cohen is the longest serving Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in more than 50 years, having served for a total of six years during two stints at the Agency (2015-2017 and 2021-2025). As the Deputy Director, Cohen assisted the Director in overseeing domestic and worldwide operations, foreign intelligence collection, covert action, counter-intelligence operations, and foreign liaison relationships. He received the Director’s Award for Distinguished Service and the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the Agency’s highest honor.

From 2009 to 2015, Cohen served in two Senate-confirmed roles at the Treasury Department – Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (2011-2015) and Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing (2009-2011).

Cohen practiced law in Washington, DC, for 20 years prior to, and between, his government service. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Yale Law School.

About Kate Heinzelman

Kate Heinzelman served as the general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2022 to 2025. She was nominated by President Joe Biden to the position and was confirmed by the Senate on July 14, 2022. Prior to her work at the Agency, Heinzelman was the chief counselor in the Office of the Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). During the Obama Administration, Heinzelman served as deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, as associate counsel to the President in the White House Counsel’s Office, and as counsel in the National Security Division at DOJ. In private practice, she was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP. Heinzelman clerked for Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Merrick B. Garland on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She earned a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.