Ethan Geary is the South Asia regional coordinator for The Asia Foundation. He previously served as deputy country representative for the Foundation in the Philippines. In this role he supported all programs, operations, and external relations in the Philippines, focused on supporting economic growth, strengthening justice and the rule of law, fostering peace and development, and improving governance.
Geary began with the Foundation in 2010. In Afghanistan, Geary served as education program manager, managing a diverse portfolio of bilateral and private projects including USAID’s Strengthening Education in Afghanistan II and the Carnegie Corporation scholarship for Afghan Women. He then led the Program Management Office, where he developed office-wide systems and tools for standardizing project management with a focus on program design, M&E, donor communications, capacity development, and implementing partner harmonization. From 2015 onward, Geary served the Foundation in acting country leadership roles in Vietnam and Laos and as a program and technical advisor across Southeast Asia.
In addition to the Foundation, Geary has served in consulting and advising roles in the private sector and for organizations including GIZ, multiple UN agencies, and the Global Partnership for Education in education, policy development, project management, elections observation, and strategic consulting. An education expert, Geary most recently oversaw policy development for the Afghanistan Ministry of Education under the Global Partnership for Education and UNICEF, producing comprehensive national-level strategy and policy documents in coordination with international stakeholders. Key policies developed include community-based education policy and social mobilization strategy, among others.
Education: Ethan Geary holds a master’s degree in International Political Economy of Southeast Asia from UC San Diego’s Graduate School of Global Policy and Strategy. He received bachelor’s degrees in Classical Piano and Philosophy from the University of Southern California.
