Rebeccah L. Heinrichs

Senior Fellow and Director, Keystone Defense Initiative

heinrichs

At A Glance:

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

Biography

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 serves on the US Strategic Command Advisory Group and the National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness.

She is an adjunct professor at the Institute of World Politics, where she teaches nuclear deterrence theory, and is also a contributing editor of Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy.

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 as a member of the University's Board of Trustees.

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

Events
23
April 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Economic Security and NATO Cohesion: A Conversation with Jens Stoltenberg
Featured Speakers:
Jens Stoltenberg
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
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23
April 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Economic Security and NATO Cohesion: A Conversation with Jens Stoltenberg

Join Hudson Institute for an event with Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Jens Stoltenberg
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
10
April 2025
Past Event
On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization
Featured Speakers:
Douglas Murray
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Getty Images
10
April 2025
Past Event
On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization

Murray will join Hudson Senior Fellow Dr. Rebeccah L. Heinrichs for a discussion on his conversations in the Middle East, the aftermath of the October 7 massacre, and the historical and moral dimensions of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the terrorists who seek to destroy it.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Douglas Murray
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
24
February 2025
Past Event
Nonproliferation in Great Power Competition
Featured Speakers:
Yashar Parsie
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Moderator:
Peter Rough
A North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile on March 24, 2022. (Photo by API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
24
February 2025
Past Event
Nonproliferation in Great Power Competition

Experts will discuss the arguments for and against US nonproliferation efforts and why nonproliferation remains a worthy goal.

A North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile on March 24, 2022. (Photo by API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Yashar Parsie
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Moderator:
Peter Rough
16
January 2025
Past Event
An Assessment of the US Nuclear Enterprise with NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby
Featured Speakers:
Jill Hruby
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana transits Puget Sound on February 9, 2023. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian G. Reynolds)
16
January 2025
Past Event
An Assessment of the US Nuclear Enterprise with NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby

Join Hudson for a discussion with Administrator Hruby on the state of America’s nuclear enterprise.

The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana transits Puget Sound on February 9, 2023. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian G. Reynolds)
Featured Speakers:
Jill Hruby
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall G. Schriver speaks to reporters on the 2019 Report on Military and Security Developments in China at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 3, 2019. (DoD photo by Army Sgt. Amber I
Caption
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall G. Schriver speaks to reporters on the 2019 Report on Military and Security Developments in China at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 3, 2019. (DoD photo by Army Sgt. Amber I