The Asia Foundation Selects Laurel E. Miller as New President & CEO

San Francisco, December 16, 2022 — The Asia Foundation Board of Trustees today announced it has named Laurel E. Miller as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective February 1, 2023. Laurel is a dynamic, experienced leader whose background spans nonprofit, public policy, private sector, and governmental leadership roles. She succeeds David D. Arnold, who is retiring after 12 years of leading the international development nonprofit during a period of profound change across Asia and the Pacific.

Laurel brings a strong professional and personal commitment to The Asia Foundation’s mission of improving lives and expanding opportunities across the world’s most diverse region. Presently the director of the Asia Program at the International Crisis Group, Laurel is highly regarded for her policy analysis, diplomatic, and negotiating experience in the U.S. government and with independent research institutions. She has dealt extensively with government and private sector leaders, civil society organizations, and international and multilateral organizations.

In prior roles with the RAND Corporation, Laurel led research and policy analysis on national security, foreign policy, and foreign aid issues. She has served in several roles at the U.S. Department of State and National Security Council, including as Acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Recently, she was appointed to serve as a member of a congressional commission charged with conducting a review of U.S. involvement in the region. Her early career as a journalist based in Tokyo for the Japan Times and in New Delhi at the Center for Science and Environment, where she authored a study of the environmental impact of the Green Revolution, unleashed a life-long interest in the Asia-Pacific region. Laurel is a graduate of Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and the University of Chicago Law School.

“We are thrilled to introduce a leader of Laurel’s caliber to guide the organization into its next stage of growth and impact,” said Tim Kochis, chairman of The Asia Foundation Board of Trustees. “She has spent her career analyzing and solving complex issues, negotiating with diverse stakeholders, and building bridges across cultures and sectors—and this perspective is key to the Foundation’s strength in a rapidly shifting world.”

“I am honored to be joining an organization highly respected for its contributions to people’s lives and well-being across Asia and the Pacific,” said Laurel Miller. “I look forward to sustaining and building on The Asia Foundation’s impact by working with the organization’s long-standing friends, supporters, and partners, and with its many talented, committed professionals across the globe.”

The intensive, wide-ranging global search was conducted in partnership with BoardWalk Consulting, an Atlanta-based firm focusing on nonprofit and foundation leadership searches. A large initial prospect pool was narrowed by stages to a group of finalists who interviewed with the Board’s search committee and select staff across the Foundation.

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment and climate action, and regional and international relations.

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