Heavy hitter: The top-ranking woman in the Justice Department's war on terrorism, Fisher, 35, coordinates the agency's investigation into the September 11 attacks, assesses intelligence information and the likelihood of future strikes, as well as oversees the prosecutions of would-be shoe-bomber Richard Reid and alleged 20th hijacker Zacharias Moussaoui.

Playing the maverick: "Many times, I'm the only woman at the table," she has said. "I don't sit quietly." A former commercial litigator who served on the Senate's Whitewater investigative committee, Fisher is willing to cut through the bureaucracy and think outside the box to meet her goals.