Heather J. Williams

@HeatherJWill on Twitter

Acting Associate Director, International Security and Defense Policy Program; Senior Policy Researcher; Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Santa Monica Office

Education

M.S. in strategic intelligence, National Intelligence University; B.S. in U.S. foreign policy and national security, Boston University

One Page Bio

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Heather Williams is an acting associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Program, part of the RAND National Security Research Division. She is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, and a professor at Pardee RAND Graduate School. Williams previously served as associate director of the Strategy, Policy, and Operations Program (SPOP) within the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC). She focuses on violent extremism, homeland security, Middle East regional issues, and intelligence policy and methodology.

Williams joined RAND from the National Intelligence Council, where she served as deputy national intelligence officer for Iran and acting national intelligence officer for Iran. In her twelve years within the intelligence community, she worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Special Operations Intelligence Center, and the Department of Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration. She served as a founding member of the Foreign Fighter Task Force and served three overseas tours supporting Special Operations Forces counterterrorism operations.

Williams holds an M.S. in strategic intelligence from the National Intelligence University and a B.S. in U.S. foreign policy and national security from Boston University, and she was a Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholar.

Research Focus

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: Bloomberg Television; CNBC Online; CNN International; Federal News Network; The Gist, Peach Fish Productions; KCRW/Press Play; KNBC-TV; NPR/All Things Considered; NPR/National Public Radio Online; NPR News; PBS NewsHour; Sky News Australia; SpyCast; WOSU Public Media Radio Online; WPR, Wisconsin Public Radio

Commentary

Trauma

Intelligence Work Is Exciting. And Traumatizing
The intelligence community needs to communicate to its workforce about the varied forms of trauma, how it affects individuals, and what resources exist to help. Protecting the intelligence workforce can help protect us all.
Nov 30, 2022
Politico
Iran

The Iran Nuclear Deal: Is the Juice Still Worth the Squeeze?
The talks to reinstate the Iran nuclear deal have been dragging on for 18 months. But the negotiations are not about very much; the general contours of the original agreement still hold. As the clock keeps ticking, though, it gets harder to revive it. At some point, the juice won't be worth the squeeze.
Oct 10, 2022
The Hill
Counterterrorism

How to Root Out Extremism in the U.S. Military
The military has a growing extremism problem because America does. Service members who embrace violent extremism are thankfully few; Americans citizens who do so are sadly far too many. As a nation we need to deal with both.
Feb 1, 2021
Defense One
Counterterrorism

The Dangers of Designating Antifa as a Terrorist Organization Now
The notion of designating Antifa as a terrorist organization may be intended to be a discrete act. But the precedent it would set could bring major strategic changes to how the United States uses counterterrorism laws, with uncertainties about whether those changes better serve national security.
Jun 22, 2020
RealClearPolicy
Work-Family Conflicts

Reopened Offices Won’t Mean Back-to-Normal for Caregivers
As some workplaces start to reopen and work-from-home guidelines relax, corporate leaders may hope things will quickly get back to normal. But for employees who are also caregivers, that's likely not going to be the case.
Jun 4, 2020
CNN
Work-Family Conflicts

Can We Emerge from COVID-19 with a Healthier Work Culture?
American families want greater choices in determining how their work and their families fit together. Post-pandemic, can we create a system that fits workers? If so, we have the opportunity to emerge from this crisis with both healthier employees and better performing organizations.
Apr 16, 2020
Harvard Business Review

Publications

Report
Trauma in the U.S. Intelligence Community: Risks and Responses
If the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) fails to address the needs of employees exposed to workplace trauma — whether deployed or at headquarters — consequences include negative effects on employees' well-being and on the IC's overall quality of work.
Oct 11, 2022
Research Brief
A Dangerous Web: Mapping Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism
The authors reviewed literature on racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism (REMVE), analyzed social media data from six platforms, and created a global network map to better understand how to inform counter-REMVE strategies online.
Aug 22, 2022
Report
Mapping White Identity Terrorism and Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism: A Social Network Analysis of Online Activity
The authors reviewed literature on racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism (REMVE), analyzed social media data from six platforms, and created a global network map to better understand how to inform counter-REMVE strategies online.
Jun 7, 2022
Testimony
Extremist Use of Online Spaces
Testimony submitted to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol on April 25, 2022.
Apr 27, 2022
Report
How Extremism Operates Online: A Primer
In this Perspective, the second in a RAND Corporation series on online extremist material, the authors explore how the internet affects extremist activities and how exposure to or consumption of such content influences the behavior of internet users.
Apr 12, 2022
Report
The Online Extremist Ecosystem: Its Evolution and a Framework for Separating Extreme from Mainstream
The authors describe white supremacists' and other extremists' use of the internet and introduce a framework for internet users to categorize virtual platforms and understand their potential to encounter extreme content online.
Dec 2, 2021
Report
Could the Houthis Be the Next Hizballah? Iranian Proxy Development in Yemen and the Future of the Houthi Movement
The authors analyze the prospect that Iran will further invest in Yemen's Houthis and develop them into an enduring proxy group. The authors examine the history, current relations and trajectory, and possible future of the Houthi-Iran relationship.
Jul 13, 2020
Report
The Risk-Mitigation Value of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential: A Comprehensive Security Assessment of the TWIC Program
The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is designed to enhance security at U.S. ports. This report provides the findings from an assessment of the TWIC program, along with the assessors' recommendations.
May 13, 2020
Report
Trends in the Draw of Americans to Foreign Terrorist Organizations from 9/11 to Today
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been more successful than al Qaeda in gaining U.S. recruits.
Dec 18, 2018
Report
Defining Second Generation Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) for the Defense Enterprise
This report describes the evolution of open source intelligence, defines open source information and the intelligence cycle, and parallels with other intelligence disciplines, along with methods used and challenges of using off-the-shelf technology.
May 17, 2018
Report
The Future of Sectarian Relations in the Middle East
This Perspective lays out four scenarios for sectarian relations in the Middle East out to 2026, identifying key assumptions and drivers that will inform the trajectory of sectarian relations in this region.
May 22, 2017