Dr. Robert Glasser is a Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and served as the inaugural Head of ASPI’s Climate and Security Policy Centre from 2021 to 2024. He previously held the role of United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, where he was a member of the Secretary-General’s Senior Management Team.

Prior to his work with the UN, Dr. Glasser was the Secretary-General of CARE International, one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations, overseeing a global workforce of more than 10,000 staff across 80 countries. From 2003 to 2007, he served as Chief Executive of CARE Australia. Earlier in his career, Dr. Glasser held the position of Assistant Director General at AusAID (the Australian Government’s aid agency), where he led programs for Papua New Guinea, Southeast Asia, corporate policy, and the Infrastructure and Environment Group.

Dr. Glasser’s earlier work includes contributions to climate change science and policy analysis with the US Department of Energy at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Center for National Security Studies. Additionally, he conducted research on peace and conflict issues at several institutions, including 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.

Currently, Dr. Glasser is a member of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Development Program Committee, which oversees Australia’s development cooperation initiatives. He also serves on the boards of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and Fire to Flourish and is a member of the Lethal Humidity Global Council.

 Previously, he was 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.