Lauren Bean Buitta, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Girl Security, has made it her life’s mission to support women, girls and gender minorities in discovering and excelling in national security careers.
Buitta entered the security field shortly after September 11, 2001. A recent political science graduate, she was moved into action by the attacks and the subsequent national security response across the United States. “After watching what was happening to the country, I wanted to do something,” she says. So, Buitta returned to her hometown of Chicago and joined a national security think tank in an analyst role.