Dr Robert Glasser is a Senior Fellow with ASPI, and the former Head of its Climate and Security Policy Centre from 2021-2024. He was previously the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and a member of the Secretary General’s Senior Management Team.

Before joining the U.N., he was the Secretary General of CARE International, one of the world’s largest non-governmental humanitarian organisations, with over 10,000 staff active in 80 countries. From 2003-2007, Dr Glasser was the Chief Executive of CARE Australia. Prior to joining CARE, he was Assistant Director General at the Australian Government aid agency (AusAID) where he headed the PNG programme, programmes in South East Asia, Corporate Policy, and the Infrastructure and Environment Group.

Dr Glasser’s previous work also included climate change science and policy analysis for the US Department of Energy (Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Center for National Security Studies) and research on peace and conflict issues at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, the Cornell University Peace Studies Program and the Centre for International and Strategic Affairs at the University of California.

Dr Glasser is on the board of WaterAid Australia, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and Inclusivo (Santiago, Chile). He was previously the inaugural board chairman of the CHS International Alliance, chair of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response, an Advisory Panel member of the Climate Vulnerability Monitor, a member of the Principals Steering Group of the United Nations Transformative Agenda for Humanitarian Action, and a member of the Steering Group for the World Economic Forum project on The Future Role of Civil Society.