
Eric Rosand
Executive Director, Strong Cities Network
2022, 2023, 2024
Eric Rosand is the Executive Director of the Strong Cities Network, where he leads a diverse, global team of some 20 experts. He has more than two decades of experience working with governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, academics, and the private sector on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism and related issues. This includes more than six years as a senior official at the US State Department where was the international policy director for the White House CVE Summit and led efforts to develop and launch the Global Counterterrorism Forum, its inspired institutions, and the Strong Cities Network. He is a visiting senior fellow at The Soufan Center and RUSI. Previously, he was a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, served as co-director of the Global Center on Cooperative Security, and a lawyer at the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. His writings, including on the role of cities and other local actors in extremism and hate prevention have appeared in a wide range of publications such as the American Journal of International Law, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, Global Observatory, Just Security, The Hill, Lawfare, Order from Chaos, Time, and War on the Rocks. He holds a BA in history from Haverford College, a JD from Columbia University School of Law, and an LLM (Hons) in international law from Cambridge University.

The Summit was more than empty words – it made clear that a solution-driven approach is the only way to fight hate. That’s why the working group activities, which are results driven are going to be critical in defeating violent extremism. The Summit brought together the best minds in government, private sector, academia, and civil society. Being surrounded by these experts sparked new ideas – some of which I’ve already implemented or have written about.
