Dr. Erroll G. Southers

Dr. Erroll G. Southers is a recognized authority in counterterrorism, transportation security, and homeland security. He serves as the Associate Senior Vice President of Safety and Risk Assurance at the University of Southern California, overseeing the Administration Division's safety departments, including the Department of Public Safety, Environmental Health and Safety, and Fire Safety and Emergency Planning. A former FBI special agent, Southers has held roles as Professor of the Practice in National and Homeland Security, Director of the Safe Communities Institute, and Director of Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies at the Sol Price School of Public Policy. He is also president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian agency responsible for oversight of the city's police force.

Southers' career encompasses all levels of law enforcement and national security. During his tenure with the FBI, he was assigned to counterterrorism, foreign counterintelligence, and served as a member of the bureau's SWAT team. He has also served as assistant chief of homeland security and intelligence at the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department. Southers was nominated for Transportation Security Administration assistant secretary, appointed as deputy director for critical infrastructure at the California Office of Homeland Security, and serves on California's Commission on the State of Hate. His international experience includes counterterrorism study and lectures in Canada, Great Britain, Israel, and China, where he was invited to assess proposed terrorism countermeasures for the Beijing Olympics.

At USC, Southers developed the Executive Program in Counterterrorism, as well as courses in Homeland Security and Public Policy and American Contemporary Homegrown Violent Extremism at the Sol Price School of Public Policy. He has received the Outstanding Doctoral Project Award, Outstanding Adjunct Professor of the Year, and the Sol Price School Robert Biller Outstanding Faculty Award. Internationally, Southers has served as visiting professor at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas, honorary president of the French Federation of Psycho-Criminalistics, fellow and visiting professor at the International Institute of Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel, and adjunct subject matter expert for RAND Corporation. He has testified before the full Congressional Committee on Homeland Security, including at the first Congressional hearing on the Boston Marathon bombings, as a subject matter expert and counterterrorism analyst.

Southers is the author of "Homegrown Violent Extremism," which examines radicalization, recruitment, and ideological trends in domestic terrorism and extremism. His memoir, "Inside the Castle Walls," explores power, race, and public service within the context of intelligence, espionage, and national security. He has appeared on History's "America's Book of Secrets: The FBI," Bravo's "Spy Games," and CNN's "The Nineties." Southers also serves as the national security and law enforcement analyst for NBC4 Los Angeles.

Southers has received the Earl Warren Outstanding Public Service Award, was recognized in Security Magazine's Top 25 Most Influential Industry Thought Leaders in the United States, and served on the Los Angeles Mayor's Blue Ribbon Panel on Airport Security at LAX. He is a recipient of the Jack Webb Award from the Los Angeles Police Museum. Southers lectures internationally and has been interviewed on CNN, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, and other news programs, providing expertise on security, law enforcement, and public policy.