Milwaukee FBI Office Head Leaving For D.C.

Editor's Note: The original version of this story stated that McNamara accepted a promotion to the FBI's New York office. She was actually promoted to a position in the FBI's headquarters in Washington D.C. Apologies for the error.

Nancy McNamara, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Milwaukee division, said in a speech to South Suburban Chamber members that she is leaving her post for a promotion in Washington D.C. 

McNamara told an audience of about 40 that she was hoping to stay in Milwaukee for a few years but accepted the promotion after 10 months on the job.

She was the first woman appointed to lead the Milwaukee division and will officially leave in about three weeks.

McNamara spent the first 12 years of her professional career working in retail before joining the FBI's New York division in 1996. She investigated public corruption cases while in New York, and in 2007 was promoted to the agency's Los Angeles division where she oversaw white-collar crime investigations.

In her speech to South Suburban chamber members, she admitted her background in retail was "unusual" for an FBI agent.

But she said many of the same qualities needed in a retail professional translate.

Customer service skills developed while working in department stores help get suspects to cooperate and give up information they otherwise would not.

The process of taking inventory of products is the same one used when collecting evidence at a crime scene. 

Handling stress and making snap decisions isn't much different, either. McNamara drew laughs when she said she wasn't sure what was tougher - approaching a potentially volatile situation as an FBI agent or telling a shopper their products won't arrive before the holidays.

Also in her speech, she gave business owners advice on what to do if they come across crime, dispelled myths about the agency rooted in made-for-television dramas, and laid out the priorities of the FBI.

The FBI's first priority is terrorism, both domestic and international, she said. McNamara noted that Wisconsin is certainly not immune to it - in fact, one of the first acts of domestic terrorism was the bombing of Sterling Hall at the University of Wisconsin.

Today's international and domestic terrorists still have a desire to strike in the nation's heartland in places where people might least expect it, she said.