NCITE Speaker Series: Removing Barriers to What Works in Prevention

Join NCITE for the second installment of its 2024 Speaker Series. John Picarelli, Ph.D., of the National Security Council, and Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Ph.D., of American University, will discuss balancing security and the public health approach to terrorism and targeted violence prevention.

Panelists are:

• John Picarelli, Ph.D., director for targeted violence and terrorism prevention for the Counterterrorism Directorate of the National Security Council, is responsible for leading the federal government’s efforts to prevent targeted violence and terrorism. He also co-chairs efforts addressing hate-based violence, antisemitism and related forms of bias and discrimination, and protections for houses of worship. Prior to joining the NSC, Picarelli served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention and the Director of the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As DAS, Picarelli supervised three teams — CP3, the Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems team, and the Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats team. As CP3 Director, Picarelli oversaw five major initiatives driving the Department’s mission to prevent all forms of terrorism and targeted violence in America and was responsible for coordinating the prevention mission among a dozen offices and components of the Department.
• Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Ph.D., is a professor in the School of Public Affairs and in the School of Education at American University in Washington, D.C., where she is also the founding director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). She is a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur and recently served as the inaugural creative lead for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s residency program on social cohesion in Berlin, Germany. Miller-Idriss regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress and briefs policy, security, education, and intelligence agencies in the U.S., the United Nations, and other countries on trends in domestic violent extremism and strategies for prevention and disengagement. She is the author, co-author, or co-editor of six books, including her most recent book, Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right  (Princeton University Press, 2022). She is currently at work on a new book about the gendered dimensions of violent extremism. Miller-Idriss writes frequently for mainstream audiences as an opinion columnist for MSNBC . She has also had bylines in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, Politico, USA Today, The Boston Globe, and more.