Prior to joining CSIS, Dr Terry had a distinguished career in intelligence, policymaking, and academia. She served as a Senior Analyst at the CIA (2001- 2008), Director for Korea, Japan, and Oceanic affairs at the National Security Council under both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama (2008-2009), Deputy National Intelligence Officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council (2009- 2010), and National Intelligence Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (2010-2011). Since leaving the government, she has been a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute (2011-2015) and Senior Adviser for Korea at BowerGroupAsia (2015-2017). 

She holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and a B.A. in political science from New York University.