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Shannen's Story:
The events on 9/11 hardened our hearts. But
for Shannen Rossmiller, it fueled a patriotic fire.
She was born on a family farm at the height of
the Vietnam War, in a remote corner of Montana known
for its majestic mountains and Minuteman missile
silos. In this contradictory setting, between chores
and classes, the young Shannen began the hobby of
reading true-crime books -- especially involving
serial killers.
Graduating high school with honors at 16, she
was immediately drawn toward law while attending
college. That led to paralegal work, then to the
bench. In the year 2000 at the age of 29, the now
mother of three became the youngest female judge in
American history.
On September 11th, Shannen would suffer both
physical and emotional trauma. On the same fateful
day terrorists attacked the USA, Shannen fell in a
home accident. Stuck in bed with a broken pelvic
bone for six weeks, she just stared at the
repetitive TV images of jihadist mass-murder --
wondering how anyone could hate so much. Then
destiny -- and determination -- took over.
Armed with her criminal-justice background,
the judge absorbed more than 50 books on Middle
Eastern culture -- including the Koran. Then, to
understand the holy-war rantings on websites, she
taught herself to read and write the Arabic
language. Emboldened to go further, Shannen decided
she could no longer take a passive interest in the
evil messages online. She created various male
Muslim personalities for cover and fearlessly began
"trolling" for terrorists in the Internet's jihadist
chat rooms.
Realizing her unique combination of talents
and online methods could be used to snare the West's
new enemies, Shannen volunteered to help authorities
take them down. At first, her out-of-the-box
Internet stings and no-nonsense country attitude
raised eyebrows in official Washington. But grateful
federal agents and overseas operatives quickly saw
success, and adopted her as one of their own. The
judge's pioneering undercover work helped to launch
a new field of espionage, called
"cyber-counterintelligence."
Since 9/11, Shannen has worked with
authorities on more than 200 undercover operations
around the globe -- involving everything from
jihadist cells, to weapons caches, to bomb plots.
The results: Three extremists have been convicted in
the USA, while another dozen high-profile terrorists
have been detained abroad.
After six years of court duty, Shannen retired
from the bench in 2006 to accept the position of
senior civil-litigation specialist for the Montana
Attorney General. But despite ongoing threats to her
and her family, she continues her critical work as a
cyber-spy.
In a private ceremony in October of 2006, an
international organization of Middle East experts
honored her with its first-ever award for heroism.
And web bloggers continue to post their accolades --
as one recently put it -- "Shannen Rossmiller is
what America should be made of."
Key Quotes:
"I believe that service to country is
the highest calling a person can respond to. You
have shown the highest love of country and of your
fellow citizens. You really deserve both a
Congressional and a Presidential medal for your
valor and outstanding efforts."
-- James K. Hellwig, Director,
U.S. Department of Commerce (Ret.) (July 2007)
"She has supplied government agents
with hundreds of e-mails and backgrounds on dozens
of foreign terrorist suspects."
-- "Reader's Digest" Lynn
Rosellini (March, 2007)
"Meeting Shannen, you are immediately
struck by how ordinary she seems, and it is that
ordinariness which makes her story so extraordinary
and compelling."
-- London "You" Magazine Lina Das
(March, 2007)
"Warning advisory for the
international terrorist network, beware of this
woman -- she's a bulldog."
--TV Producer/Writer/Editor Irv
Letofsky (3/16/07)
"She is magnificent! A true American
hero."
--Dr. Daniel Pipes, The Middle
East Forum (February, 2007)
"Indeed, protecting her family…has for
years been a regular agenda item at meetings between
local police, the FBI and U.S. Border Patrol agents,
according to a Montana official who requested
anonymity."
--"Washington Post" Rep. Blaine
Harden (6/4/06)
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In the News
New York Post: "Terror-Bane Ma"
7-10-07 (pdf)
Bosque News (TX): "Woman Battles Terrorism in a
Big Way"
06-13-07 (pdf)
The Middle East Quarterly: "Cyber Counter-Jihad"
Summer, 2007 (pdf)
Reader's Digest: "Cybersleuth Mom"
03-2007 (pdf)
YOU Magazine (UK): "Life as a Superspy"
2-24-07 (pdf)
Telegraph (UK): "Montana Mom Fights al Qa'eda..."
06-26-2006 (pdf)
CNN News - Paula Zahn Now
06-07-2006 (video)
ABC Good Morning America (Roberts)
06-05-2006 (video)
Washington Post: "Casting a Web for Terrorists"
06-04-2006 (pdf)
Fox News - Weekend Live with Brian Wilson
02-12-2006 (video)
Philly Inquirer: "Judge Involved in Internet
Stings"
02-12-2006 (pdf)
CBS Evening News
02-11-2006 (video)
BBC Special - The New Al-Qaeda
07-25-2005 (video)
Family Circle: "To Catch a Terrorist"
07-01-2005 (pdf)
Fox Affiliate KSTU/Salt Lake City, UT: 2-part
feature
03-20-2005 (video)
Fox News - Fox Report with Shepard Smith
10-21-2004 (video)
Anderson Case - IRD TV News Compilation
10-01-2004 (video)
People: "Terrorist Hunter"
09-24-2004 (pdf)
ABC Good Morning America (Gibson)
09-09-2004 (video)
NBC Today Show
09-03-2004 (video)
BBC News - Rear Window on Terror
08-29-2004 (video)
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Presentation Topics:
"Penetrating Minds of Mayhem"
is based on
Shannen's upcoming book and tells of her journey
from farm mother of three, to local judge, to
the world's most successful cyber-spy. Hear how
she bottled up her rage over 9/11 and funneled
it into action -- putting her unique talents,
legal background, and raw Montana gumption into
a laptop for a new kind of living-room war. This
gripping-but-folksy presentation features
just-declassified details and visual aids from
Shannen's global chat-room stings, along with
the takedowns that followed. Audiences should be
warned -- they may just walk away with a
revitalized, can-do American spirit.
"Web Security -- Getting Down to
Business"
will demonstrate
that, like the everyday products born from
NASA's R&D days, the greatest Internet threats
to commerce are spawning from the War on Terror.
Since 2001, Shannen has discreetly tracked the
latest web dangers and their maniacal sources --
from worms, viruses, back doors, to "weaponized"
software. Upgrade your business network
vigilance with her exclusive summary of threats
-- before the next-worst-thing goes
"commercial." And based on her law expertise,
learn when, where and how to counter-strike the
illegal online moves of a corporate competitor.
"Taking Bureaucratic S.N.A.F.U.s Out
of Your Battle Plans"
will present
Shannen's unique perspective from five years of
working with dozens of national and
international jurisdictions and agencies in the
Global War on Terror. Unburdened by procedural
walls, political affiliation, or national
policy, Shannen proudly displays her Montana
roots in this no-excuses, common-sense, and at
times light-hearted look at what's wrong with
government and corporate management. See how the
dramatic lessons learned can help revolutionize
your way of doing business.
For more information on how to book Shannen
Rossmiller or information on her fees, please
contact FIVE STAR Speakers & Trainers at
913.648.6480 or
inthenews@fivestarspeakers.com
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