Simon Hankinson is a Senior Research Fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation.

From 1999-2022, he was a Foreign Service Officer serving in India, Fiji, Ghana, Slovakia, Togo, Washington, D.C., Marseille, and Nairobi. Prior to entering the State Department, Hankinson worked as a lawyer in London, and then taught history, English, and drama at a private school in Miami. 

Hankinson holds a master's degree in modern history form St. Andrews, Scotland, a degree from the College of Law in London, and a master's degree in international security affairs from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.