Deputy Country Representative, Vietnam

Filip Graovac is The Asia Foundation’s deputy country representative in Vietnam. He has experience working in Vietnam and the Middle East, with a particular focus on humanitarian assistance, refugee issues, sustainable livelihood development, local governance, climate change and disaster risk management, and private sector engagement.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Graovac served as country director in Vietnam for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), where he oversaw all aspects of ADRA’s operations in Vietnam, including programs, administration, human resources, fundraising and marketing, and building and fostering relationships with key local and international stakeholders. He facilitated an organizational and programmatic expansion that resulted in a number of new multiyear projects funded by bilateral and private donors.

Filip Graovac has also held multiple positions with ADRA in Pakistan and Yemen, from 2010-2012. In these positions, he worked on an array of projects that focused on access to education, economic development, water, sanitation and hygiene, refugee rights, and conflict mediation, among other critical relief and development issues.

Graovac was also elected as an international nongovernmental representative to the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum (former consultative group) in April 2014. In this role, he is one of four representatives of the INGO community elected to represent the INGO community in high-level policy dialogue with the Government of Vietnam and the donor community. Furthermore, he is the co-founder and co-chair of the INGO working group (Corporate Engagement Working Group) concentrated on partnerships between civil societies and corporate entities on development issues in Vietnam.

Education: Filip Graovac holds a master’s degree in Administration with a concentration in Community and International Development from Andrews University in Michigan, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Theology from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom.