President, EAP Associates, Inc.
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
James A. Kelly served three terms as a member of The Asia Foundation’s board of trustees. In government service, he served from 2001-2005 as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He is now president of EAP Associates, LLC of Honolulu. From 1994-2001, Mr. Kelly was president of a think tank, the Pacific Forum at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) of Honolulu. Previously, Mr. Kelly served at the White House in Washington, D.C. as special assistant to President Ronald Reagan for National Security Affairs, and as senior director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council, from 1986-1989. From 1983-1986, Mr. Kelly was at the Pentagon as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (East Asia and Pacific.) Mr. Kelly is an advisory board member to Marvin and Palmer, Inc., a Wilmington, Delaware equity management firm. He is a senior adviser to CSIS, and Counselor of Pacific Forum/CSIS. He served from 1959-1982 in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a Captain. Mr. Kelly earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard University and is also a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the National War College.