Rebeccah L. Heinrichs

Rebeccah L. Heinrichs is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and the director of its Keystone Defense Initiative. She specializes in US national defense policy with a focus on strategic deterrence.

Dr. Heinrichs served as a commissioner on the bipartisan Strategic Posture Commission, which was created in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. She also served on the US Strategic Command Advisory Group and the National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness. She was a staff member of the US House of Representatives from 2005–2009.

She teaches nuclear deterrence theory at Missouri State’s graduate school and is a contributing editor of Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Dr. Heinrichs earned her doctorate in defense and strategic studies from Missouri State University, where she graduated with distinction. She received her MA in national security and strategic studies from the US Naval War College and graduated with highest distinction from its College of Naval Command and Staff, receiving the Director’s Award for academic excellence. She earned her BA in history and political science from Ashland University in Ohio, was an Ashbrook Scholar, and currently serves on its board of trustees.

She lives in Virginia with her husband and their five children.