LIFE@Lynchburg | 1985: The Year of the Spy

Name: LIFE@Lynchburg | 1985: The Year of the Spy
Start: 2026-04-01T10:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-04-01T12:00:00-04:00
Location: Sydnor Performance Hall

Schedule

Wed Apr 01 2026 at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Sydnor Performance Hall | Lynchburg, VA

Out of an abundance of caution, this presentation will not be recorded. LIFE@Lynchburg members are encouraged to attend this presentation in person.
====================
In the waning years of the Cold War, 1985 holds a special place in terms of U.S. espionage. This talk will review some of that year’s major cases, the most important spies, the investigations and arrests — with one notable escape — and the role of a key Soviet “defector,” along with an accounting of the costs and potential consequences of this heightened period of U.S. espionage. The U.S. intelligence and defense community’s response to bolster personnel security processes will be briefly examined, along with commentary on the evolution of the counterintelligence threat since the end of the Cold War.
Speaker Biography:
Jeff Taylor — a new Lynchburg adjunct professor — retired in April 2024 after 37 years of service with the National Security Agency. His lengthy career at the NSA focused on intelligence production operations, where he held a variety of managerial and analytical roles before retiring as a senior intelligence analyst. His assignments covered a wide range of geopolitical and global security issues and led teams in producing intelligence for senior policymakers, U.S. military decision-makers, and U.S. intelligence community customers. His initial assignment at the NSA was as a Special Agent focused on personnel security and counterintelligence.
Mr. Taylor holds a BA in Government from Anderson College (IN) and an MA in diplomatic history from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).