Jessica Lauren Walton
My Mission
Mental illness can throw anyone's life into disarray, regardless of race, religion, or socioeconomic class. For people working in the security field, mental illness can be even more devastating, destroying a person's career and identity. This is why so many security professionals choose to hide their illness from their employers. They choose to be quiet.
For many years, I chose to hide, too. But then I met other people in the security field like me, fighting a similar battle. One of these friends committed suicide. So now I don't want to be quiet. I want to talk about this important subject, and I want to invite others to speak up, too.
Something else I'm very passionate about: speaking to college students and young professionals about mental resilience and career development. Generation Z is getting hit especially hard with anxiety and depression today, just as they enter the workforce.
With this in mind, I share stories and lessons learned from my own career and mental health journey with the hopes of providing the tools to help this generation succeed.
About Me
I'm a communications strategist, video producer, and writer in the U.S. defense industry. I've written articles on a range of security and mental health topics and conducted interviews with military leadership, psychologists, filmmakers, CIA officers, journalists, and more. I have a master’s degree in security intelligence and a passion for unearthing unique human-interest stories in the security field.
About My Memoir
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The Israeli security community set the bar pretty high when it came to gaining membership, and I wanted in.
(IN)SECURITY is my memoir about my experience as an American woman struggling with mental illness while trying to get into Israeli intelligence.
I recently completed this memoir and am open to literary representation. I look forward to sharing this memoir with you when it hits publication!
In the News
Special thanks to the Artistic Fuel Foundation for interviewing me on their podcast about my perspectives as a writer in the security community and to Women in Film & Video (WIFV) for featuring the episode in their News & Notes segment.
Screening of PTSD911 with filmmaker Conrad Weaver in Pentagon City, Washington, D.C.
Our first responders are suffering from post-traumatic stress in record numbers. Many remain silent for fear of losing their jobs if they ask for help. This is an unfair and unsustainable situation for our security community. Learn more about how filmmaker Conrad Weaver is working hard to publicize the stories behind the scenes in his latest documentary.
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CONTACT
