Brian Harding joined the U.S. Institute of Peace in 2020 and has led a significant expansion of USIP's programming in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, including launching new country programs in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Papua New Guinea. Before joining USIP, Brian was deputy director of the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he managed a range of projects focused on Southeast Asia's political economy and U.S.-Southeast Asia relations. Previously, he directed East and Southeast Asia policy at the Center for American Progress. From 2009 to 2013, Brian served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon as country director for Asian and Pacific security affairs. There, he managed defense relations with major U.S. partners in Southeast Asia and Oceania, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Australia.