He has also worked as an Australian diplomat, intelligence analyst, speechwriter, and think-tank researcher.

Prior to joining Asia Society, Anthony was the Chief Operating Officer of the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas. Before that he was a Principal at the international management consultancy, Nous Group. In 2004 he joined the Lowy Institute as one of its founding researchers and established its West Asia Program. Between 2012 and 2018 he was the Lowy Institute’s Research Director and Deputy Director.

While at the Lowy Institute Anthony published research on Islamist, energy security and geostrategic connections between the Middle East and Asia, and on Australian sports diplomacy in Asia. He is the author of Remaking the Middle East, published by Penguin Random House Australia. He has written for Australian and international publications including The Australian, the Australian Financial Review, the Financial Times, Asahi Shimbun, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, and The New Republic. 

Between 1991 and 2003, Anthony worked in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He served as an Australian diplomat in Saudi Arabia and Israel. From 1997 to 1998 he was seconded to the Office of National Assessments, where he was the senior Middle East analyst. He was a departmental speechwriter twice, in 1999 and 2003.

Thomas joined Asia Society Australia in 2019 as the Executive Director in Sydney. Previously, Thomas was the Head of International Research and Development at the University of Sydney, managing large international research and development projects in Asia, Europe and the US. He gave strategic advice on international funding opportunities and global partnerships, and led over 100 projects with national and international agencies, including the Australian Government, the United Nations, the European Commission, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

Prior to that, Thomas was International Programs Manager at the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, leading the institute’s executive leadership programs with China.

He also serves on the external board advising Australia’s Department of Defence on the implementation of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review and is co-lead of the 2024 independent review of Australia’s intelligence community.

Richard is a leading analyst of Indo-Pacific affairs and Australian foreign policy.  His work is published in Australia and internationally.

Richard came to Asia Society after a 30-year career in the Australian public service, where he held senior foreign policy and national security roles.  

From 2018 to 2019, Richard was Deputy Secretary, Indo-Pacific Group, in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australia’s senior official to the East Asia Summit.

In 2017, Richard was head of the whole-of-government taskforce which supported the preparation of the then Australian Government’s Foreign Policy White Paper.

Richard was Director-General of the Office of National Assessments, Australia’s peak intelligence agency, from May 2013 until November 2016. 

Before taking up this position, Richard was the senior adviser on foreign policy and national security issues to Prime Minister Julia Gillard (2010-2013).

Richard was appointed a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs in 2023. 

Nadia is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has held senior finance roles within the Health, Allied Health and NFP sectors where she has managed multi-disciplinary teams across Finance, HR, IT, Customer Service and Property. She has expertise in developing robust systems to protect the organisation from financial and non-financial risks and has driven performance improvements from both a commercial and compliance perspective.

Starting her career in smaller private sector health organisations and moving into the larger corporate sphere, her career development has enabled a practical, hands-on approach as well as broader strategic capabilities.

Her achievements include delivering major capital works projects across multiple states within budget and successfully implementing IT system upgrades and integrations.

With a commitment to providing operational excellence, Nadia supports her colleagues to achieve ASA’s goals and can bring about positive change through an inclusive and humanistic management style.

Guided by a passion for animal welfare, social justice and the environment, Nadia contributes to these regularly and volunteers as a member of the National Finance Team at the Animal Justice Party.

James leads Asia Society Australia's programs team and its strategic relationship with the Victorian Government and RMIT University. He is responsible for the organisation's major programs Asia Summit, Melbourne Asia Game Changers and international visitor program.

Previously, James was National Project Manager for the Australia China Business Council. In this role, James led high-level China policy briefings, China-Australia Free Trade Agreement training, market entry delegations to China and an Australia-China business podcast.

James has worked with Southeast Asia trade advisory firm TradeWorthy and Beijing-based environmental consultancy DEVELOPMENT Solutions. He also worked as a tour leader to North Korea and in 2020 self-published the now sold out photography book Hotels of Pyongyang.

James speaks Chinese at HSK 5 level proficiency and fluent German.

Natalie holds a BA (Asian Studies) (Hons) from the University of Western Australia, a MA (International Relations) and Master of Diplomacy from the Australian National University, and a PhD from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, the Australian National University on the Indonesian military’s history.

Since 2022, Natalie has worked as an academic with Deakin University, convening modules for the Australian War College’s Defence and Strategic Studies Course (DSSC) and Australian Command and Staff Course (ACSC). She has previously worked as a Research Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre, as an Analyst and Managing Editor of ASPI’s blog, The Strategist, at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), the Australian Department of Defence, University of Canberra and for the academic journal Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. In May 2014 and in January 2016, Natalie was a Visiting Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) in Washington, DC.

Natalie has been a guest lecturer and presenter at the Australian National University, Australian National Security College, Australian War College, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Indonesian National Resilience Institute (LEMHANNAS), Indonesian Defense University, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Canadian Department of National Defence and several international think tanks and universities. Her writing has appeared in the National Bureau of Asian Research, Security Challenges journal, South China Morning Post, War On The Rocks, The Diplomat, The Interpreter and The National Interest.

Natalie has previously been involved with the Australian Institute of International Affairs ACT; the US-based Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) and was a founding member of ASPI’s Women in Defence and Security Network (WDSN). Follow her on Twitter @securityscholar.

With a background in engagement, marketing and events Rachel has been working in the not-for-profit and associations space for over a decade. She has extensive experience in stakeholder management and business development in the education, union and professional body sectors.

Previously Rachel was Associate Director at the Caulfield Grammarians’ Association (CGA) where she managed a team of 4 staff, secured an additional 100k in funding, more than doubled engagement across digital communications, and won two international awards for a brand, visual identity and website project and the inaugural Young Alumni Ambassador Program (YAAP).

Rachel is passionate about using strategy to increase organisational impact and working with young people to empower them to be the next generation of leaders.

Prior to her role at CGA Rachel spent 15 months living and working in Berlin.

Rachel graduated from the Queensland University of Technology with a Master of Creative Industries (Creative Production and Arts Management) in 2012 and a Bachelor of Creative Industries (Visual Arts)/Bachelor of Arts (History) in 2010.

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn

Prior to joining ASPI, Dominique worked in the field of atrocity prevention in Geneva, where she lobbied governments to incorporate an atrocity prevention lens into their human rights work and undertook research into risk factors for atrocity crimes.

Dominique completed a Master in International Affairs at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, following a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in International Relations, from which she graduated as Valedictorian of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Queensland.

An integral part of this role is to provide leadership in the optimisation of resource and business planning including the organisation’s data management system.

Jaimie coordinates process automation and is part of the team responsible for transforming the organisation’s technology and transformation capabilities. Jaimie brings a strong background in office and financial administration management to Asia Society Australia and has worked across the private and not-for-profit sectors. She has an aptitude for leaning new applications and is an advocate of technology automation and strategic change.

Jaimie holds a Master in Professional Accounting. She is inspired daily by her husband and their daughter and is an aspiring yoga and pilates instructor in her free time.

Aster holds a Master of Development Studies from the University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Arts (International Studies) from RMIT University. Aster has spent extensive time studying and working in Indonesia with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, focusing on regional security issues, international development, and migration issues.

Prior to working with Asia Society Australia, Aster was a Program and Engagement Manager for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, expanding the reach of the world’s leading youth development program.

Aster speaks fluent Indonesian, intermediate Malay, and beginner Spanish.

She brings a wealth of experience from both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, with particular expertise in events management and marketing. Prior to her current role, Tara spent nearly a decade at the Lowy Institute, where she was a key member of the events team, overseeing the organisation of more than 150 events annually.

Jafrin has completed a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in International Relations and Politics from ACU Melbourne. She has experience working in various leadership and project management roles including organising the Asia-Pacific Model United Nations Conference 2022 leading a team of 11 as the Co-Secretary General to bring the conference back to in-person since 2018. Being part of the university Academic Board and other advisory and governance committees, she was nominated by the ACU Vice Chancellor for the National Leadership Forum (organised at National Parliament House and Hyatt Hotel, Canberra), where she participated as a delegate. Jafrin was also selected to undertake a placement at the Embassy of Ireland, Canberra through the Girls Run the World Program 2022.

Jafrin has pursued her education across three countries and two continents; originally coming from Bangladesh, having lived in Pakistan briefly and finishing her undergraduate in Australia.

She speaks fluent Bengali, Hindi and Urdu, and is interested in learning more languages.

As a digital designer, she has previously worked with organisations across industries such as fashion, entertainment, education, and marketing. She has worked with brands such as Australian streetwear fashion brand Observe Gallery, Canadian content creator Leah Wei (Leah's Fieldnotes/ Friendly Bureau), and has had her worked displayed and featured in Federation Square and the Frankie magazine blog.

Majdina completed a Bachelor of Design (Digital Media) at RMIT University and is a New Colombo Plan Alumna where she spent a semester studying Entertainment Design at Kookmin University in Seoul, South Korea.

Majdina speaks Indonesian and TOPIK Level 5 Korean.

Greg was the deputy editor, opinion editor, national affairs editor, and Asia Pacific editor of The Australian Financial Review during a long journalism career. He is now an independent writer, editor and consultant; is researching a book about Australia and Asia; and writes a column on economic diplomacy for The Lowy Institute’s The Interpreter.

He spent more than a decade as a reporter based in Tokyo, Jakarta, and New York. He has had extensive experience in many aspects of relations with Asia from exchange programs to engagement projects and bilateral visits, including as a board member of the Australia-ASEAN Council, the Australia Japan Foundation; the Australian National University Indonesia Project; the New Colombo Plan selection committee; and the Australia Indonesia Dialogue steering committee.  He was also the editor of Australian Foreign Affairs Weekly and has worked on conferences or publications for several Australian universities.

His connection with the region began as a high school Indonesian language student in rural Victoria followed by a year as an exchange student in the Philippines and has continued on to his family hosting Asian students visiting Australia. He has studied at RMIT University, the Australian National University, and the University of the Philippines.

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn and Twitter.