The Asia Foundation

Expertise: Conflict management; state fragility; political-economy analysis of development challenges; civil-military relations in Southeast Asia; governance and international development; conflict in southern Thailand; information technology; Cambodia; Thailand; Philippines; Timor Leste; Nepal.

Thomas Parks is Regional Director for Conflict and Governance at The Asia Foundation, based in Thailand. He is an expert in conflict management, state fragility, and civil-military relations in Asia. In this capacity, he works on the implementation of programs that address the root causes of conflict and governance-related challenges, and analyzes the political, economic and security trends in Southeast and South Asian countries. He has six years of professional experience in development assistance in Asia, and eight years of experience in international development overall. He is directly involved in the design and implementation of conflict and governance programs in southern Thailand, Timor Leste, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines; supports governance programs in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia; and has worked in South Asia, East Asia, and Africa. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Parks served the Foundation as Assistant Director for Governance, Law, and Civil Society, based in the San Francisco headquarters, providing intellectual and programmatic leadership for the Foundation's Governance, Law and Civil Society theme, and field offices on a wide range of governance programs. From 2001-2004, Mr. Parks' served as Regional Program Officer for Information and Communications Technology (ICT), providing technical assistance and small grants to governments and civil society organizations in ten Asian countries to help them improve governance, elections and human rights monitoring through the use of ICT.

Education: MA in Southeast Asian Studies and International Economics from the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, Washington DC; BA in Government from Harvard University.