Susan Corke

International human rights advocate Susan Corke is the director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project. Corke – a former State Department official who has defended and advanced inclusive democracy worldwide for over two decades – comes to the SPLC from the German Marshall Fund, where she served as a senior fellow and executive director of the bipartisan Transatlantic Democracy Working Group. She also held multiple senior positions at the State Department in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; U.S. Embassy Moscow; and U.S. Embassy Prague. Corke is a co-author of “The Democracy Playbook,” a resource to fight authoritarianism and strengthen democratic resilience.

At the SPLC, Corke leads a team of investigators, analysts, and writers who track and expose the activities of hate groups and other far-right extremists. In addition to holding multiple positions at the State Department, Corke has served as director of Countering Antisemitism and Extremism at Human Rights First and as director of programs for Europe, Eurasia, and Southwest Asia for Freedom House.

Corke earned a Master of Arts degree in international affairs from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William & Mary.