Women in Security 2022: Laureen Stephens-Rice, US Department of State
National security leader Laureen Stephens-Rice is laser-focused on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion as well as professional development for the next generation of security leaders and diplomatic security agents.
Laureen Stephens-Rice went from working at a local law firm to protecting the 64th United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 1998, providing 24/7 security across the world.
Diplomatic Security (DS) special agent training prepared her for a wide range of security situations and threat environments to support the U.S. Secretary of State’s global travel and visiting foreign dignitaries in the conduct of foreign policy. Stephens-Rice says, “It was a whirlwind right from the start.” Her first overseas security deployment was just days after DS graduation when al-Qaida terrorists conducted near-simultaneous truck bombings of U.S. embassies in Dar-es-Saleem, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya on August 18, 1998. Stephens-Rice and other protective detail agents developed comprehensive security and contingency plans in preparation for U.S. Secretary Albright’s travel following the bombings. The high-risk situation required increased security, as al-Qaida could have targeted other posts.