Erin Wilson
2026-2027 Obama Foundation USA Leader
Director, Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project
Alexandria, Virginia
Erin Wilson is the director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project. Most recently, as senior director of democracy protection at Human Rights First, she launched and led the Democracy Protection Program, integrating research, advocacy, litigation, and technology to address authoritarian threats targeting under-resourced communities and democracy. In this role, she built Democracy Watch, a public tool to track democratic backsliding, published research that informed Congressional hearings and briefings, and led coalition advocacy that removed specific provisions from federal policy. Previously, Erin held senior roles across the intelligence community, Congress, the Department of Justice, and the D.C. Attorney General’s Office, where she led bipartisan initiatives focused on countering hate, protecting civil liberties, and strengthening institutional accountability.
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