Dr. Heidi Beirich is an expert on American and European extremist movements, including white supremacy, nativism, antisemitism and antigovernment movements. In 2020, she co-founded the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, which works to expose and counter transnational white supremacist and other hate movements.
She earned a doctorate in political science from Purdue University in 1998 that specialized in European fascism and far-right movements. She also holds MA degrees in political science and economics. She is author of numerous academic publications on extremism and co-edited Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction.
Beirich has testified in Congress on the issues of white supremacist movements and extremism in the military. She trained law enforcement officers on extremist movements for two decades in her prior role as the head of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, the premier organization tracking hate and antigovernment movements in the United States.
