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{{Short description|American FBI agent (1941–2024)}}
'''Joanne Pierce Misko''' was one of the first women to join the FBI as an agent.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/us/joanne-pierce-misko-dead.html</ref>
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| image = FBI Agent Joanne Pierce Misko.jpg
| caption = Misko in 2012
| birth_name = Joanne Eileen Pierce
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|01|07}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|12|13|1941|01|07}}
| death_place = ], U.S.
| occupation = Nun, FBI agent
}}

'''Joanne Pierce Misko''' (January 7, 1941 – December 13, 2024) was an American nun and ] agent who, in 1972, was one of the first women to join the FBI as an agent.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Risen |first=Clay |date=December 19, 2024 |title=Joanne Pierce Misko, Ex-Nun Who Made F.B.I. History, Dies at 83 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/us/joanne-pierce-misko-dead.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220061122/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/us/joanne-pierce-misko-dead.html |archive-date=December 20, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/unknown-stories/unknown-stories-of-wny-before-this-wny-nun-the-fbi-had-none/71-6c633ee6-d4f0-42b6-93e8-ff1e389c5932|title=Unknown Stories of WNY: WNY nun first woman to be a Special Agent in the FBI|date=October 25, 2022|website=wgrz.com}}</ref>

== Background ==
Joanne Eileen Pierce was born in ], to homemaker Ann (Egan) Pierce and Howard Pierce, who worked at a chemical company.<ref name=":0" /> Pierce grew up in Niagara Falls, and attended the local Catholic high school.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Joanne Pierce Misko {{!}} Catholic Nun to FBI Special Agent |url=https://www.discoverniagara.org/joanne-pierce-misko-from-catholic-nun-to-special-agent-to-the-fbi |access-date=December 22, 2024 |website=Niagara Falls National Heritage Area |language=en}}</ref>

Pierce joined the ] in ], in 1960,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/12/24/joanne-pierce-misko-nun-fbi-obituary/|title=Joanne Pierce Misko, former nun who broke barriers to become one of the first women FBI agents|work=]|date=December 24, 2024|access-date=December 24, 2024|archive-date=December 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224115129/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/12/24/joanne-pierce-misko-nun-fbi-obituary/|url-status=live}}</ref> remaining with them for 10 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/239022974/|title=Ex-nun switched to a gun: Pioneer FBI agent ends 22-years career|work=]|location=]|date=August 28, 1994|access-date=December 24, 2024|page=15|via=]|archive-date=December 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241229022322/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/239022974/|url-status=live}} {{Closed access}}</ref> While a sister, she earned a bachelor's degree in social science education from ] in 1965, and in 1970 completed a master's degree in history from ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/12/20/joanne-pierce-misko-dead/|title=Joanne Pierce Misko, nun who became a pioneering FBI agent, dies at 83|newspaper=]|date=December 20, 2024|access-date=December 24, 2024|first=Harrison|last=Smith|archive-date=December 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220234036/https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/12/20/joanne-pierce-misko-dead/|url-status=live}}</ref> She worked as an educator throughout the decade, teaching history in high schools in Niagara Falls and ].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="pioneer">{{cite news | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/306521961 | title=Pioneering ex-nun an agent of change, and of the FBI | work=The Evening Sun | date=September 1, 1994 | accessdate=December 22, 2024 | pages=1A | id={{ProQuest|306521961}} }}</ref>

Misko died of a lung infection in ], on December 13, 2024, at the age of 83.<ref name=":0" />

== FBI career ==
Pierce became interested in a job at the FBI after a recruiter visited ], the Catholic school in ] where she was teaching.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Pierce had already been considering leaving, as she was interested in getting married and having children.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

In 1970, Pierce moved to Washington, D.C. and joined the FBI in 1970 as a researcher, one of few jobs in the organization open to women at the time. In May 1972, FBI interim director ] changed policy, allowing women to become agents. Pierce applied, and she and ] became the organization's first female agents after they underwent a 14-week training program at the ] in ], finishing in October 1972.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 17, 2012 |title=Celebrating Women Special Agents, Part 2 |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/celebrating-women-special-agents-part-2 |access-date=December 22, 2024 |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation |language=en-us |archive-date=December 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225123537/https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/celebrating-women-special-agents-part-2 |url-status=live }}</ref> During training, the two women became known as "the Nun" and "the Marine".<ref name=":3" />

Pierce's first posting as an agent was in ], where she focused on ].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=July 17, 2012 |title=Celebrating Women Special Agents: Joanne Pierce Misko |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/celebrating-women-special-agents-joanne-pierce-misko |access-date=December 22, 2024 |website=] |language=en-us}}</ref> In early 1973, she acted in the FBI response in a ] of the ] on the ] in ].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/875950513/|title=Nun-turned-agent recalls historic career in FBI|work=]|location=]|date=September 18, 1994|access-date=December 24, 2024|page=14|via=]}} {{Closed access}}</ref> In the late 1970s,<ref name=":3" /> Pierce became "one of the first female supervisors at ]," working in the unit processing agent applications.<ref name=":2" /> She later worked in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, "where she pursued fugitives and military deserters".<ref name=":0" /> There, she met fellow agent Michael Misko (d. 2021), whom she married in 1981.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

After retiring from the FBI in 1994, she worked as an audit investigator in a bank.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> At the time of her retirement, she had been "the longest-tenured female agent in FBI history".<ref name=":3" />

Misko said that she generally faced little resistance within the FBI for her gender, although in 1994, she filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, asserting that she had not been promoted due to her gender.<ref name="suit">{{cite news | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/306720529 | title=FBI named in Fla. gender-bias suit | work=The Evening Sun | date=September 8, 1994 | accessdate=December 22, 2024 | author=Marshall, Steve | pages=03A | id={{ProQuest|306720529}} }}</ref> The suit was settled in 1996.<ref name=":0" /> On the job, Misko said she could use her gender to her advantage, as many suspects did not think she could be an agent.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

== Awards and recognition ==
* 1995 Lifetime Law Enforcement Achievement Award, ]<ref name=":0" />


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Misko, Joanne Pierce}}
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Latest revision as of 22:25, 30 December 2024

American FBI agent (1941–2024)

Joanne Pierce Misko
Misko in 2012
BornJoanne Eileen Pierce
(1941-01-07)January 7, 1941
Niagara Falls, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 13, 2024(2024-12-13) (aged 83)
Wheatfield, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Nun, FBI agent

Joanne Pierce Misko (January 7, 1941 – December 13, 2024) was an American nun and FBI agent who, in 1972, was one of the first women to join the FBI as an agent.

Background

Joanne Eileen Pierce was born in Niagara Falls, New York, to homemaker Ann (Egan) Pierce and Howard Pierce, who worked at a chemical company. Pierce grew up in Niagara Falls, and attended the local Catholic high school.

Pierce joined the Sisters of Mercy in Buffalo, New York, in 1960, remaining with them for 10 years. While a sister, she earned a bachelor's degree in social science education from Medaille College in 1965, and in 1970 completed a master's degree in history from St. Bonaventure University. She worked as an educator throughout the decade, teaching history in high schools in Niagara Falls and Orleans County.

Misko died of a lung infection in Wheatfield, New York, on December 13, 2024, at the age of 83.

FBI career

Pierce became interested in a job at the FBI after a recruiter visited Mount Mercy Academy, the Catholic school in South Buffalo where she was teaching. Pierce had already been considering leaving, as she was interested in getting married and having children.

In 1970, Pierce moved to Washington, D.C. and joined the FBI in 1970 as a researcher, one of few jobs in the organization open to women at the time. In May 1972, FBI interim director L. Patrick Gray III changed policy, allowing women to become agents. Pierce applied, and she and Susan Roley Malone became the organization's first female agents after they underwent a 14-week training program at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, finishing in October 1972. During training, the two women became known as "the Nun" and "the Marine".

Pierce's first posting as an agent was in St. Louis, Missouri, where she focused on white-collar crimes. In early 1973, she acted in the FBI response in a tribal war of the Wounded Knee Occupation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. In the late 1970s, Pierce became "one of the first female supervisors at FBI Headquarters," working in the unit processing agent applications. She later worked in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, "where she pursued fugitives and military deserters". There, she met fellow agent Michael Misko (d. 2021), whom she married in 1981.

After retiring from the FBI in 1994, she worked as an audit investigator in a bank. At the time of her retirement, she had been "the longest-tenured female agent in FBI history".

Misko said that she generally faced little resistance within the FBI for her gender, although in 1994, she filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, asserting that she had not been promoted due to her gender. The suit was settled in 1996. On the job, Misko said she could use her gender to her advantage, as many suspects did not think she could be an agent.

Awards and recognition

References

  1. ^ Risen, Clay (December 19, 2024). "Joanne Pierce Misko, Ex-Nun Who Made F.B.I. History, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2024.
  2. ^ "Unknown Stories of WNY: WNY nun first woman to be a Special Agent in the FBI". wgrz.com. October 25, 2022.
  3. ^ "Joanne Pierce Misko | Catholic Nun to FBI Special Agent". Niagara Falls National Heritage Area. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  4. "Joanne Pierce Misko, former nun who broke barriers to become one of the first women FBI agents". The Telegraph. December 24, 2024. Archived from the original on December 24, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  5. "Ex-nun switched to a gun: Pioneer FBI agent ends 22-years career". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. August 28, 1994. p. 15. Archived from the original on December 29, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  6. Smith, Harrison (December 20, 2024). "Joanne Pierce Misko, nun who became a pioneering FBI agent, dies at 83". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 20, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  7. "Pioneering ex-nun an agent of change, and of the FBI". The Evening Sun. September 1, 1994. pp. 1A. ProQuest 306521961. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  8. "Celebrating Women Special Agents, Part 2". Federal Bureau of Investigation. July 17, 2012. Archived from the original on December 25, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  9. ^ "Celebrating Women Special Agents: Joanne Pierce Misko". Federal Bureau of Investigation. July 17, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  10. "Nun-turned-agent recalls historic career in FBI". The Buffalo News. Buffalo, New York. September 18, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved December 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  11. Marshall, Steve (September 8, 1994). "FBI named in Fla. gender-bias suit". The Evening Sun. pp. 03A. ProQuest 306720529. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
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