The Rangeley Border Patrol Station recently welcomed its first female Border Patrol Agent and its first female Supervisory Border Patrol Agent. Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Heidi Klozotsky and Border Patrol Agent Veronica Atkinson opened a new chapter for the Rangeley Station with their arrival. Currently, female agents comprise approximately five percent of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Rangeley Border Patrol first female Supervisory Border Patrol Agent. Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Heidi Klozotsky.

Supervisory Agent Heidi Klozotsky arrived from Grand Marais, Minnesota, in late 2018, followed shortly thereafter by Agent Atkinson from Rio Grande City, Texas. The two agents bring more than 15 years of federal law enforcement experience to the station.

“We are proud to have them both at the station as they bring a tremendous amount of experience and dedication to everything they do,” said Senior Agent John Crosby. “They have been a positive addition to this station since day one.”

When asked how they feel about being the first at the station, their reply is humble, “we see ourselves as just another agent,” says Agent Atkinson. Agent Klozotsky added, “We are here to do a job and protect and serve our country just like all of the other agents.”

Agent Klozotsky is the first female supervisor at the Rangeley Border Patrol Station. As a native of Wisconsin she is no stranger to cold weather or the outdoors. Her career began with the Wisconsin Army National Guard where she was a Chemical Operations Specialist. She joined the United States Border Patrol in 2007 where she was stationed in Wilcox, Arizona.

She served a tour in Iraq from 2009 to 2010 as a member of the National Guard before returning to the Border Patrol. Agent Klozotsky currently resides in the area with her husband and their four children.

Agent Veronica Atkinson is the first female agent at Rangeley Station. She grew up in a border community where she lived through the on-duty death of her uncle –an El Paso Patrolman—which stoked her desire to serve in law enforcement. Shortly after joining the Border Patrol she was given news that her infant baby was diagnosed with Autism. She resigned from the Border Patrol to focus her energy and attention on her newborn child. Once her

New Rangeley Border Border Patrol Agent Veronica Atkinson

daughter reached school age, Agent Atkinson reapplied to the Border Patrol and was hired in 2013 where she was stationed in Rio Grande City, Texas. In that role she leveraged her personal knowledge and experience of growing up along the border to successfully bridge the gap between the local community and the Border Patrol. In this effort she served as the Community Liaison and the Public Land Liaison. She also used her person experiences by serving as the lead advisor for the CBP Explorer Program. In late 2018 Agent Veronica Atkinson and her husband, Agent Anthony Atkinson, received a transfer to Houlton Sector, Rangeley Station, making her the first female agent in the stations history.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.