Dr Heather Williams

Dr Heather Williams is the Director of the Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) and a Senior Fellow in the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she leads research projects on deterrence, extended deterrence, and nuclear risks and risk reduction. 

PONI is the leading nuclear professional development programme and works with international partners, including UK PONI. Dr Williams is also an Associate Fellow with the Project on Managing the Atom in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. 

Before joining CSIS, Dr Williams was a Visiting Fellow with the Project on Managing the Atom and a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow in the Security Studies Programme at MIT. Until 2022, she was a Senior Lecturer at King’s College London and served as a specialist adviser to the House of Lords International Relations Committee.

Dr Williams has a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London, an MA in Security Policy Studies from the George Washington University, and a BA in International Relations and Russian Studies from Boston University.