Nelson Layfield

About

Nelson E. Layfield, national security affairs fellow for the academic year 2024–25 at the Hoover Institution, is a special agent representing the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Since 2004, Layfield has conducted counterespionage and counterintelligence investigations, as well as public corruption and civil rights violations. He currently serves on the Counterintelligence Task Force, where he works to increase awareness and thwart instances of transnational repression and malign foreign influence.

Layfield is additionally a certified crisis negotiator for the FBI and a lieutenant commander in the US Navy Reserve. He has deployed to Afghanistan and the greater Middle East region in support of counterterrorism operations.

Prior to joining the FBI, Layfield worked as a management consultant and financial analyst. He earned a BS from the University of California–San Diego, and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary, and will shortly complete an MPA from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.