Joanna Mendez, a best-selling author who held the title of chief of disguise at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), will speak at University of the Ozarks on Monday, Sept. 8, as part of the University’s 2025-25 Walton Arts & Ideas Series (WAIS). Mendez will share her riveting, courageous story of being a female spy at the CIA during the height of the Cold War in the captivating world of intelligence, espionage, and covert operations. Mendez started as a secretary at the CIA and eventually rose to the position of chief of disguise. In the best-selling author’s 2024 book, “In True Face, A Woman’s Life in the CIA, Unmasked,” she inspires with tales of intrigue. Now retired after dedicating 27 years of her life to the CIA, she emerges as a pioneer who defied the prevailing sexism of her time.