Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Michelle Klimt has announced her retirement from the FBI following 26 years of dedicated service. Klimt has led the FBI Jacksonville Division since 2013.

Klimt was the first female selected to lead the Jacksonville Division, following assignments in Texas, California, and at FBI Headquarters in Washington D.C., where she investigated matters of violent crime, counterintelligence, international and domestic terrorism, public corruption, and civil rights. She also served as a leader in the FBI Inspection Division and as section chief of the Criminal Justice Information Services Division’s Law Enforcement Support Section. SAC Klimt was a charter member of the FBI Evidence Response Team and participated in crime scene recovery at the Oklahoma City bombing and September 11, 2001 attack in New York City.

SAC Klimt’s retirement is effective Wednesday, August 31. She will remain in Northeast Florida with her family.

FBI Director James Comey has named Charles Spencer as Klimt’s replacement. Spencer most recently served as the deputy assistant director of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate at FBI Headquarters. Since joining the FBI in 1998, Spencer has held assignments in Washington D.C., Oklahoma, and Louisiana and is a recipient of the FBI’s Shield of Bravery. Spencer will assume the role of special agent in charge of the Jacksonville Division in mid-September.

“I am so very proud of the dedication of the men and women of the FBI Jacksonville Division,” said Klimt. “I am equally proud of the strong working relationships that we have developed with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. I retire with the utmost confidence that this team will continue to build those partnerships to ensure safer communities across North Florida.”