Breaking Cover: Michele Rigby Assad's Secret Life in the CIA

Hear about this fascinating story from Assad’s memoir. She describes her time as a covert intelligence agent with the CIA, including how she overcame her inner insecurities and what she learned while carrying out some of the most dangerous tasks in the field of counter-terrorism.

Growing up in rural Central Florida, Michele Rigby had big dreams. She knew she wanted to make an impact on the world, but wasn’t sure exactly how she would do it.  

Michele met her future husband Joseph while serving in Egypt on a PBA mission trip. Joseph Assad also attended PBA on a full-ride scholarship after being denied the opportunity to study in his homeland of Egypt because of his Christian beliefs. 

Through her experience abroad and relationship with Assad, Michele became fascinated with Arabic culture. After graduating from PBA, Michele could not find a single job. Questioning her capabilities and gifts, she didn’t realize what God was doing by “sealing every door shut that was not the CIA.”  Enrolling in graduate Arabic studies at Georgetown University, neither she, her husband, nor her parents could realize the impact this would have on her and Joseph. 

After working abroad for fifteen years, travelling to over fifty countries, and living as covert intelligent agents, Michele looks back to that time of joblessness as a time in which God was shaping her life. Through that trying time she learned to trust deeply in God’s faithfulness and timing.