Simon Greer

Simon Greer is a Senior Fellow with the Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He has been involved in social change work for the past 30 years. He has built 7 non-profit ventures and has had a front-row seat to some of our country’s most divisive political movements and moments. He was a community and union organizer in South Carolina in the 1990s; managed security at the 2001 World Bank protests in Washington DC; and co-founded an influential PAC that supported Barack Obama’s campaign for President. He is the founder of the Nantucket Project's “Courageous Conversations” series, and of Bridging the Gap, an organization dedicated to equipping students and educators with the skills and knowledge to better engage across deep divides in our polarized society. In 2025, he was recognized with a regional Emmy award for his work as a producer on The North Carolina Listening Project, which brought together seven North Carolinians from very different walks of life to explore their differences. Simon’s work is characterized by deep listening, powerful storytelling, and a search for common good values. All of these are skills he trains leaders to deploy in their efforts to tackle the most pressing issues in our communities. He holds a BA in American Culture from Vassar College.