Dr. Mary Beth is a rare breed… as I did my research before doing this episode she’s one of the most respected females I’ve discovered in our industry. Mentors of mine have referred to her as a mentor which means a lot to me so this interview was quite an honor. Her career has been extremely impressive moving through time with the Secret Service as a special agent, military forces and even PMC work. She’s the only woman ever to protect a foreign president outside of the US, she’s operated in theaters such as Peru and Haiti. She has operated as a VIP Protection Instructor for the US State Department-sponsored Anti-terrorism Assistance Program (ATA), and as the US Security Advisor to the Minister of Defense and the Vice President of Colombia.

She has earned her doctorate, and with a background in Forensic and Clinical psychology, she spent the past 20 years split between practicing psychology as a therapist and serving as an Adjunct Professor in the Psychology Department at the George Washington University where she teaches Abnormal Psychology and the Psychology of Crime and Violence. She also regularly facilitates mental health trainings and continues to consult in the fields of Forensic and Clinical Psychology. She’s written an amazing book about her story called “The Protector“. All in all I think she is such a fantastic example of what one woman can do if she’s truly willing to apply herself… I know there are so many amazing women out there serving in many different fields and I hope they will also be brought into the limelight because we both know men and women need good role models these days.

Dr. Mary Beth Janke is one of those amazing role models. A lot of her work has to do with helping women gain the self-esteem they need in order to achieve their dreams. This is an amazing episode with so much to offer both men and women in many areas and especially those of us who are professional protectors… ENJOY!

Learn more here: drmarybeth.com/about-dr-mary-beth/

Protector by nature and by trade
Byron

01:22 – Introduction
06:06 – The Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program
13:57 – The Protector (https://drmarybeth.com/book/)
16:58 – Advantage of being a female protection agent
23:01 – The cognitive-behavioral theory
27:28 – Stop the self-criticism
34:43 – The only female to have protected a president
39:38 – Major differences between private and government sides
45:24 – Belief behind actions
52:14 – Thinking in a tactical way
59:25 – Keeping your head down and doing your job
01:07:40 – You’re stronger than you think
01:12:21 – The world’s mentality has changed
01:14:34 – End Credits