Athena Varounis was born and raised in the New York - New Jersey metropolitan area, moving with her family from Staten Island, New York, to Edison, New Jersey in the early 1960s. She attended James Monroe Elementary School and Herbert Hoover Junior High School, and graduated from John P. Stevens (JPS) High School in June 1972.

Athena graduated from Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in May 1976 with a BA degree in Fine Arts, Studio and a double minor of Psychology and English. While a student at Wilson, Athena was a member of the field hockey, basketball and softball teams and held various student government positions, to include Vice President of her senior class and Chief Justice of the Wilson College Judicial System.

Her experience as Chief Justice qualified her for a position as a Crime Analyst with the Edison, Township, New Jersey, Police Department (EPD) in July, 1976. The Crime Analyst position was established in the EPD as the result of a federal law enforcement grant to fund a Crime Prevention Bureau within the police department.

While working in the EPD, Athena conducted the first comprehensive study on the effectiveness of Neighborhood Watch and Operation Identification, a pilot program in which households engraved identification numbers on their valuables and posted warning stickers on their windows. Utilizing her artistic skills, Athena created hand-drawn posters depicting crime prevention techniques and tips. These posters were distributed throughout the central New Jersey area. Additionally, Athena assisted in the creation of the crime prevention mascot, “McGruff.”

Athena eventually moved up to Identification and Photography Unit Technician, becoming the first female police photographer in the state of New Jersey. She held until this position until July 1980 when she achieved employment as a Special Agent with the FBI.

In her first office of assignment, Newark, New Jersey, Athena worked on white collar crime investigations, and undertook a unique assignment when she and three other female Special Agents worked undercover as nuns in connection with an organized crime investigation.

Upon transfer to the Alexandria, Virginia, Field Office in 1982, Athena was assigned to general criminal and reactive matters which included fugitive investigations, property crimes, bank robbery investigations, crimes on government reservations, kidnappings and extortions. As the principal agent responsible for investigating crimes on government reservations, her assignments included the Pentagon, Fort Myer and Fort Belvoir, where she handled everything from shoplifting to murder.

In 1982, the FBI invited the field offices to submit artwork reflective of their locations and/or investigative activities for a permanent exhibit in the J. Edgar Hoover Building. Athena was the only FBI agent to have two pieces of artwork accepted: a pen and ink drawing depicting investigative activities in the Newark Office of the FBI, and an oil painting depicting the Alexandria Office of the FBI.

Athena received certification as an FBI composite artist in 1982 and photographer in 1983, collateral responsibilities while performing all the duties of an FBI agent.

Athena was transferred to the Washington Field Office of the FBI in 1984 and was again assigned to general criminal and reactive matters. She was appointed principal FBI liaison to the United States Secret Service, Supreme Court Police and Capitol Hill Police, and was responsible for investigations concerning threats and assaults against the President, Cabinet, Congress, and the Supreme Court. Additionally, Athena was the first FBI liaison to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Upon receiving training and certification in investigative procedures unique to these types of investigations, her work lead to the arrests of pedophiles and sexual predators at a time when such investigations were relatively recent additions to the FBI’s responsibilities.

In 1984, Athena rescued a prominent kidnap victim in front of the White House. In 1986 and again in 1988, she became one of the first FBI Agents sent overseas to investigate terrorism attacks against American citizens. She was also a member of the Washington Field Office SWAT team that responded to the federal prison riot in Atlanta, Georgia in 1987. She ran the Tactical Operations Center for the 18 SWAT teams that responded to the riot and is credited with bringing organization and direction to the massive tactical response.

Athena's experiences in these and other assignments brought her to the attention of Thomas Harris, author of The Silence of the Lambs, and formed the basis for the character of Clarice Starling. As the only female agent in the Washington Field Office assigned to reactive matters at the time, Harris sought her out for background and character development. Athena subsequently met with director Jonathan Demme, producers Ed Saxon and Ken Utt to discuss and assist in scenes from the movie, and worked with Jodie Foster at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Athena was later invited by Thomas Harris to take the book jacket photographs for new editions of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal.

When the FBI was granted jurisdiction over narcotics investigations in the mid 1980s, Athena became the co-case agent in a task force case targeting the main supplier of cocaine to the Washington, DC area. Rayful Edmond, III, was the head of a legendary drug distribution network that took in over 1 million dollars a week and employed Edmond’s immediate and extended families, close friends and associates. In an extremely dangerous and sensitive investigation that lasted over a year, Athena gained the cooperation of two of the most significant members of the organization and guided their assistance to the government. In three separate trials that resulted in the conviction of over 60 members of Edmond’s organization, the Rayful Edmond, III, investigation saw the first convictions under the federal “Drug Kingpin” statute - life in a federal penitentiary without the possibility of parole - and the first use of a an anonymous, sequestered jury in the federal court system.

Numerous awards went to the task force members for the Edmond investigation. Athena was recognized by the FBI and received the Federal Bar Association and United States Attorney’s Office awards for her work.

The Rayful Edmond, III, investigation has been featured on ABC’s Nightline and on the Biography Channel’s American Gangster, and has been the subject of several independently produced films.

In the early 1990s, Athena earned certification as an FBI Technically Trained Agent and used her technical training in wire tapping to facilitate sensitive interceptions that lead to the arrest of CIA employee Aldrich Ames.

In 1996, Athena was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility where she was tasked with investigating allegations of criminal and serious misconduct on the part of FBI employees. Her objectivity and investigative skills led to assignments in some of the most sensitive internal matters, to include the Ruby Ridge and Richard Jewell investigations.

In 1998, Athena was promoted to Unit Chief of the Special Photographic Unit. There she directed photographic operations for the FBI, to include all forensic and crime scene photography. Digital photography was still in its infancy and digital cameras barely capable of the resolution needed for forensic photography were huge and cumbersome. But hybrid systems using both film chemistry and scanner technology were being perfected and the ability to transmit images, particularly during tactical situations, was proving invaluable. In the three years Athena served in this position, she lead the law enforcement forensic community’s first steps into the use of digital imaging as a forensics tool and served as the chairman of the Scientific Working Group on Imaging Technologies, establishing standards and procedures for the use of digital imaging in evidence collection and analysis.

Appointed Unit Chief of the FBI's Defensive Programs Unit in 2001, Athena took charge of this newly created unit responsible for classified technical security equipment and policies, technical threat assessments, and the technical and physical security of all FBI personnel and facilities worldwide. This highly classified and sensitive work required international travel and the monitoring of FBI personnel in perilous locations.

In May 2002, Athena’s career was recognized by Wilson College when she was awarded an honorary Doctorate degree at commencement.

Athena concluded her career on December 31, 2004, when she officially retired from the FBI after more than 24 years of service.

Since her retirement, Athena has given presentations to numerous groups and colleges on a variety of topics pertaining to the FBI and is currently an adjunct professor for McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Athena also obtained her Private Detective license and is certified to conduct investigations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

In April 2010, Athena’s accomplishments were honored by John P. Stevens High School when they inducted her into their “Wall of Honor.”

Always having had an interest in the unexplained, Athena turned her investigative talents to paranormal phenomena in 2007 when she teamed with Deborah M. Heinecker to explore haunted locations in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The results of their work can be found in the recently published, "Franklin County Ghosts." The two women joined to form Vesuvius Investigative Consultants in 2008.

In between cases, Athena gives presentations to numerous groups and colleges on a variety of topics pertaining to the FBI. She is currently an adjunct professor for McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland where she has taught a January term course and classes for the Sociology department. When teamed with business partner Deborah, the two are noted for their humorous yet informative lectures on their varied backgrounds, their collaborative research and publications, and their current endeavors.