Steven Greer

Steven Greer is a retired emergency room physician who shifted his career to ufology and founded two major organizations focused on extraterrestrial contact and government disclosure. He has been a central figure in public efforts to bring attention to alleged government knowledge of unidentified anomalous phenomena.

What is his background?

Greer was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1955. He earned a B.S. in biology from Appalachian State University in 1982 and an M.D. from the James H. Quillen College of Medicine of East Tennessee State University in 1987. He received his Virginia medical license in 1989 and worked as an emergency room physician before retiring from medicine in 1998 to focus on ufology activities.

What organizations did he found?

Greer founded the Center for the Study of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (CSETI) in 1990 as a research and diplomatic initiative aimed at contacting extraterrestrial civilizations. The group defined CE-5, or "close encounters of the fifth kind," as human-initiated contact and communication with extraterrestrial life. In 1993, he founded the Disclosure Project, which aims to publicly disclose the government's alleged knowledge of UFOs, extraterrestrial intelligence, and advanced energy and propulsion systems. Greer describes the Disclosure Project as an effort to grant amnesty to government whistleblowers willing to share classified information about UFOs.

What was the 2001 National Press Club event?

In May 2001, Greer organized a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., featuring 20 retired Air Force, Federal Aviation Administration, and intelligence officers. The event was seen by over one billion people worldwide and is widely credited with launching the modern UAP disclosure movement.

What documentaries has he been involved with?

Greer co-produced Sirius in 2013, a documentary directed by Amardeep Kaleka and narrated by Thomas Jane that covers his work, hypotheses about extraterrestrial life, and government cover-ups. In 2017, Unacknowledged, a crowdfunded documentary directed by Michael Mazzola and narrated by Giancarlo Esposito, was released featuring Greer. Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind: Contact has Begun was released in April 2020, directed and written by Michael Mazzola and featuring Greer alongside Daniel Sheehan, Jan Harzan, and Russell Targ.

What is his broader public role?

For over 30 years, Greer has provided briefings for senior government officials across the globe, conducted numerous media interviews, and delivered hundreds of lectures.