Richard Cohen is an American civil rights attorney and the current President and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a prominent nonprofit organization dedicated to combating hate, intolerance, and discrimination through legal advocacy and education. He joined the SPLC in 1989 as a staff attorney after working as a public defender in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the decades, he advanced to key leadership roles, including director of the Intelligence Project, which monitors hate groups, and vice president for legal programs, where he oversaw major litigation against white supremacist organizations, neo-Nazis, and other extremist entities. His work has focused on dismantling networks of hate, securing justice for victims of racial violence, and advancing civil rights for marginalized communities, including immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of color. In March 2019, amid internal turmoil and the resignation of co-founder Morris Dees following allegations of workplace misconduct, Cohen was appointed interim president of the SPLC. He was confirmed as permanent president and CEO in September 2019. Under his leadership, the organization has continued high-profile lawsuits, such as those against the Proud Boys and other far-right groups involved in the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, while also addressing criticisms of the SPLC's past fundraising practices and ideological focus. Cohen has emphasized transparency, diversity, and a renewed commitment to core civil rights missions, navigating the organization through controversies and evolving threats from extremism. Prior to his tenure at the SPLC, Cohen earned his Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law and has been recognized for his contributions to public interest law. He remains based in Montgomery, Alabama, where the SPLC is headquartered, and continues to advocate publicly against the rise of white nationalism and for inclusive democracy.