Wes Rist

D. Wes Rist is an atrocity prevention professional with nearly 20 years of experience in international human rights law, transitional justice, and international criminal justice. He previously served as an Atrocity Prevention Officer in the Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations (CSO) at the U.S. Department of State, as the Deputy Executive Director and Director of Education and Research at the American Society of International Law, as the Assistant Director of the Center for International Legal Education and professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and as a lecturer in international Law at UWE Bristol Law School. He was a member of the Prevention and Protection Working Group (PPWG), which advised the U.S. Government on genocide and atrocities prevention issues and served as a co-chair of the PPWG Elie Wiesel Act Implementation Committee. Wes also cofounded a space policy and ethics think tank that provides guidance on ethical exploration and exploitation of outer space. He holds a JD and an LL.M. (with distinction) in international human rights law.