Heather Williams

Director, Project on Nuclear Issues and Senior Fellow, Defense and Security Department
Williams

Heather Williams is the director of the Project on Nuclear Issues and a senior fellow in the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She is an affiliate with the MIT Center for Nuclear Security Policy and a senior associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute in London. Dr. Williams is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Affairs, and she has been a member of the Defense Science Board and the Department of State International Security Advisory Board. Before joining CSIS, Dr. Williams was a visiting fellow with the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Stanton Nuclear Security fellow in the Security Studies Program at MIT. Until 2022, she was a senior lecturer (associate professor) 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.

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PONI 2026 Fall Conference

PONI's Fall Conference convenes rising nuclear experts to examine a strained global nuclear order — the future of arms control, the nonproliferation regime, verification, deterrence, and restraint. 

Event — November 17, 2026

Space Launch Capacity and Contenders | HTK

Please join the CSIS Defense and Security Department’s HTK Series for a conversation about recent developments in U.S. and Chinese space launch capabilities. 

Event — September 9, 2026

Nuclear Armed Hypersonic Missiles | HTK

Please join the CSIS Defense and Security Department for a discussion on nuclear armed hypersonic missiles and whether the United States should reconsider its longstanding hypersonic policy.

Event — June 18, 2026

Warfighting and War Winning in Space

Please join the CSIS Defense and Security Department for a conversation on warfighting in space and its implications for deterrence and strategic stability.

Event — May 26, 2026