John Kiriakou Speaking Fee: $10,000 to $20,000

John Kiriakou is an accomplished author, journalist, and former CIA counterterrorism officer. Raised in New Castle, Pennsylvania, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies and a master’s in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University. Kiriakou served in the CIA for nearly 15 years, first as a Middle East analyst and later as a counterterrorism operations officer. He led major counterterrorism operations in Pakistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including the 2002 capture of al-Qaeda’s Abu Zubaydah. Kiriakou earned 10 CIA Exceptional Performance Awards, the Sustained Superior Performance Award, the Counterterrorism Service Medal, and the State Department’s Meritorious Honor Award. After his CIA career, Kiriakou was a senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under Senator John Kerry, focusing on terrorism and counter-narcotics, and later a counterterrorism consultant for ABC News. His bestselling memoir, The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA’s War on Terror, hit #5 on the New York Times bestseller list, and his book Doing Time Like a Spy gained critical acclaim earning him the prestigious PEN USA First Amendment Award. A vocal advocate for government transparency, he received the 2012 Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage, the 2016 Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence, and the Blueprint International Whistleblowing Prize. Currently a columnist for Consortium News and Covert Action Magazine, Kiriakou continues to engage audiences through writing and speaking on national security, civil liberties, and human rights issues, cementing his legacy as a principled voice for truth and accountability.