Behind the Shades

As a kid growing up in Ohio, Sue Ann Baker idolized Wonder Woman and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. She dreamed of fighting crime, striving for justice, and becoming a leader as self-assured and savvy as her heroes. When, in 1971, the US Secret Service decided to hire the first five female agents, Sue Ann got her chance. She entered the clandestine world and traversed the globe guarding foreign and domestic dignitaries. She also put her investigative skills to the test exposing counterfeiters and check forgers. With her Smith & Wesson, her radio, and her wits, Sue Ann navigated a new frontier for women. And like all frontiers, Baker's was full of challenges she could never have anticipated. Published in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Secret Service, this eye-opening memoir follows one woman's quest to crack the glass ceiling, and serves as a timely reminder that it hasn't shattered yet.

Behind the Shades tells the story of the life of a female agent entering the male-dominated world of the Secret Service. It is a story of personal sacrifice, adventure, acceptance and rejection, tenacity, endurance, and hard work during trying times. Sue Ann Baker was on the front lines of history and observed it being made on a larger scale. She is one of the pioneers who paved the way for the many capable female agents that followed in her footsteps, and I am proud to say I served with her. Clinton J. Hill Assistant Director, Protective Forces (Retired) United States Secret Service

In 1971, with her back to the flashing cameras, Sue Ann Baker raised her hand to be sworn in as a Secret Service agent. During the 1972 presidential campaign, she crisscrossed the county protecting presidential hopeful Shirley Chisholm and Senator McGovern's wife, Eleanor, and later joined a diplomatic mission on a thirteen-day, ten-country trip to the Middle East. In 1974, Sue Ann left the Service to become a private eye, first in Los Angeles and then St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, while living on a forty-foot sailboat and working cases for Lloyd's of London. She recently retired after twenty-one years as a financial planner for Waddell & Reed, and lives in Roseburg, Oregon. To invite Sue Ann to speak, please visit her website: www.sueannbaker.com.