Shelby Pierson

Shelby Pierson is the first election security czar in the United States. She was appointed in July 2019 as the intelligence community's election security threats executive by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

She chairs the Election Executive and Leadership Board, created in July 2019, which includes representatives from the intelligence community and other federal agencies coordinating on election security.

Pierson was crisis manager for election security during the 2018 midterm elections.

She has more than 20 years of intelligence experience, including as national intelligence manager for Russia, Europe and Eurasia, and roles at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Election security czar

Pierson told NPR that 2020 election interference "isn't a Russia-only problem" and that "we're still also concerned about China, Iran, non-state actors, 'hacktivists.' And frankly ... even Americans might be looking to undermine confidence in the elections."

To deter election interference, "it's important for us to keep messaging our adversaries that this activity will not be tolerated and there will be consequences," she told NBC News.