Joanne Perriens was a groundbreaking analyst, leader, and glass-ceiling-shattering pioneer. She began her career at Arlington Hall, then moved with NSA to Fort Meade in the mid-1950s. From her earliest assignments she worked Soviet and Eastern Bloc targets, and did so for decades in myriad positions.
Upon graduation from the National War College in 1979, Perriens became Executive Assistant to NSA Deputy Director Robert Drake. Subsequently, she was promoted into the senior ranks, one of the few women of her time to achieve that status. Perriens then became chief of the NSA Foreign Affairs organization, the first time a woman had led that office. She expertly managed relationships with foreign partners, whose offices were overwhelmingly male.
When NSA took over responsibility for previous CIA SIGINT partnerships, Perriens oversaw dramatic changes. She expanded existing relationships, established new ones, and managed larger amounts of funding. She founded new and innovative collection programs, and set high professional standards for the NSA’s language analysts. At DIRNSA Lincoln Faurer’s direction, she organized unprecedented regular meetings of senior European intelligence and SIGINT chiefs that he called “SIGINT Seniors.”
Perriens later led a production office with a critical target set for almost ten years. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, NSA leadership consolidated many operations, presenting her with another set of challenging changes. The merger occurred in 1992—with Perriens in charge of a major component of the new office. Her direct and thoughtful outreach to her physically separated, 500-person organization enabled a successful transition, and almost immediately elevated her to the position of Deputy Chief, A Group in 1993.
Perriens was a caring and innovating senior leader. She was a strong advocate for personnel and their career development, and aggressively supported the promotion of women into the Agency’s higher ranks. She sent official memos to three successive DIRNSAs, challenging them to increase the number of women in senior positions. Mrs. Perriens’ actions resulted in great strides forward in diversity issues.
Joanne B. Perriens was inducted into NSA's Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2024. The Cryptologic Hall of Honor was created in 1999 to pay special tribute to the pioneers and heroes who rendered distinguished service to American cryptology.