Ethan Geary

Ethan Geary serves as Director of Programs, based at The Asia Foundation’s (TAF) headquarters in San Francisco. In this role, he supports several institutional program priorities with specific charge of the Innovation and Impact Fund, a multicountry initiative that seeks to catalyze innovative programming solutions to critical challenges across Asia. Additionally, Ethan leads and supports enterprise-level project management processes and provides close program and operational support to country offices across Asia.

Ethan holds deep experience in core areas of TAF’s work, including governance, peace and security, human rights and the rule of law, and their many points of intersection. An education expert, Ethan works regularly with and alongside international nongovernmental organizations, bilateral, and multilateral agencies on education policy and support across Asia, with specific expertise in Southeast Asia education systems.

Ethan has served in multiple program and operational leadership roles across TAF. Spending the majority of his career in Asia, Ethan served as deputy country representative of the Philippines country office from 2017 to 2022, in acting leadership roles in Vietnam and Laos from 2015 to 2017, and as education program manager and director of the Project Management Office in Afghanistan from 2013 to 2015. At headquarters, Ethan has served as head of Asia and Pacific Operations and chief of party for a regional EU-funded project. In addition to his time with TAF, Ethan has served as staff and consultant for organizations including the Global Partnership for Education, multiple UN agencies, and GIZ.