Leanne Erdberg is the director of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Leanne manages USIP’s work on CVE Research – focused on the RESOLVE Network (where Leanne also serves as the interim executive director of RESOLVE); CVE Practice – centered on various CVE projects that convene workshops and build the capacity of civil society actors and institutions; and CVE Policy – providing policy recommendations and coordination on CVE strategies and frameworks.
Prior to joining the Institute, from 2009-2017, Leanne held several positions in the U.S. government including senior advisor (2016) as well as a director of African Affairs (2013-14) on the National Security Council staff at the White House; counterterrorism advisor for the undersecretary of state for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights (2014-16) as well as a regional counterterrorism advisor (2010-2013) at the State Department; and as a special assistant at the Department of Homeland Security Citizenship and Immigration Services (2009). Leanne comes to USIP most recently from Accenture Federal Services, where she consulted on developing responsible uses of artificial intelligence for the federal government. Prior to federal government service, Leanne held policy and legal positions at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the World Health Organization, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and on a U.S. congressional campaign.
Before her work in foreign and public policy, Leanne co-founded an independent record label. Leanne holds a J.D. with honors in the concentration of international law and a B.S., magna cum laude in mass communication studies, both from Boston University. In 2017, Leanne was profiled in Forbes about working in national security. Leanne lives with her husband in Fort Washington, Maryland and is originally from Miami, Florida.