Who we are

Name: ASRA
Price range: $

ASRA is a unique initiative catalyzing the development of practical tools decision-makers need to effectively cope with and navigate polycrisis. We are home to a global network of risk thinkers and doers who are radically rethinking risk in order to improve policy and decision-making to the benefit of nature and humanity.

The Team

Ruth Richardson

Executive Director

Ajay Gambhir

Director of Systemic Risk Assessment

Hanna Asipovich

Director of Network Facilitation

Sarah Hendel-Blackford

Director of Systemic Risk Policy and Response

Zabrina Kjeldsen

Operations Manager

Kasia Murphy

Director of Communications

Phil Tovey

Director, Nature-Centric Approaches

The Network

Bryan Bixcul (Maya-Tz’utujil)

Global Coordinator, SIGRE Coalition

Mel Cowans

Researcher, Nemesys Insights

Sandy Trust

Director of Sustainability Risk, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Emmanuel Raju

Director of Centre for Disaster Research, University of Copenhagen

Lindsey Jacobson

Graduate Research Assistant, North Carolina State University

Georgios Kostakos

Director, FOGGS - Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability

Elias Kock

Policy Analyst, Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Pedro Nascimento de Lima

Associate Engineer, RAND

Genevieve Liveley

Professor, University of Bristol

Reinhard Bonke

PhD candidate, Clemson University / Independent consultant

Kenya

Chris Cormack

Managing Director, Quant Foundry

Joshua Trump

Founder, Resilience Analytics

Javier Guillot

Sensing and Learning Coordinator - mundo común

Sensing and Learning Coordinator - mundo común

Javier Guillot

Colombia

Javier Guillot is Sensing and Learning Coordinator at mundo común, a Colombian biomimetic design lab generating cultural shifts that inspire interspecies care. He is a philosopher specialized in applied behavioral sciences and a designer of systems for eco-social innovation. He holds a Master's in Public Policy from the Hertie School (Berlin), a Master's in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania, and a degree in Philosophy from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He has led multidisciplinary teams and managed innovation processes across the public, social, and impact sectors, including Colombia's National Planning Department, the Mayor's Office of Bogotá, and USAID's Destination Nature program. He has also consulted for UNICEF, the World Bank, and Bloomberg-Harvard's Cities Leadership Initiative, and taught at universities including EAFIT and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.

As an entrepreneur, he co-founded Power Compost, a triple-impact enterprise focused on organic waste management and soil regeneration. At mundo común, he leads the development of the Interspecies Auditorium, an experimental sensing and learning system that reinterprets monitoring as relational rather than extractive, integrating biophysical, social, and somatic dimensions of perception. His work bridges behavioral science, systems thinking, and methodologies that honor diverse forms of knowledge to address the planetary polycrisis.

Henry Willis

Associate Director of Research - RAND Global Emerging Risks Division

Associate Director of Research - RAND Global Emerging Risks Division

Henry Willis

Henry H. Willis is the associate director for biosecurity research for the RAND Center on AI, Security, and Technology. He is a senior policy researcher at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy.

Willis is a recognized expert in risk analysis and management. Recent work analyzes biosecurity risks and biodefense capabilities; emerging and existential risks; climate and natural disaster risks; critical infrastructure resilience; and national preparedness to chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological attacks. Through his work he testified before Congress; served on several committees of the National Academy of Sciences; advised government agencies across the United States, Europe, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates; and published dozens of journal articles, reports, and op-eds on applying risk analysis to homeland security policy.

Willis is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Science and Governance Committees of the Society for Risk Analysis. His work in homeland security policy evolved from his work on program evaluation at the White House Office of Management and Budget and infrastructure design as a water and wastewater engineer. He earned his Ph.D. in engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, M.S. in environmental engineering from the University of Cincinnati, and B.A. in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania.

Rachel Ainsworth

Project Research Director, SoDy, Seshat

Mark Anthony

Professor, University of Vienna

Professor, University of Vienna

Mark Anthony

Mark Anthony’s research focuses on the ecology and evolution of fungi. By employing genomic tools to characterize the composition, diversity, and functioning of fungal communities, Mark and his group investigate how the forest mycobiome drives emergent forest functions, like forest productivity and soil carbon storage.

They also explore how soil fungi respond to ongoing environmental change, from invasive species to global warming. Recent work has encompassed multiple trophic levels, examining interactions among fungi, prokaryotes, plants, and animals. Current studies focus on the roles of mycorrhizal fungi in shaping tree responses to climate change, the functioning of common mycorrhizal fungal networks, the ecology of fungal endophytes, and microbiome engineering to manipulate plant growth, reproduction, and death. Mark was recently awarded a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Ambizione Fellowship and a WWTF Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators grant.

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The Steering Committee

Elizabeth Cousens

President and CEO, UN Foundation

Lou Munden

Founder, TMP

Zora Kovacic

Senior Ramón y Cajal Research Fellow, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Ayan Mahamoud

Senior Programme Coordinator, Intergovernmental Authority on Development

Michael Lesnick

Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Meridian Institute

As complex crises and risks intensify, the value of a catalytic initiative like ASRA has only become clearer. We are proud to host this crucial network as a contribution to better decision-making about our greatest collective challenges.

Elizabeth Cousens

President and CEO, UN Foundation

Public and private decision-makers are looking for practical tools they can use to effectively anticipate and respond to the increasingly dynamic risks we all face today. I’m delighted to be part of ASRA’s Steering Committee, helping advance this important agenda.

Michael Lesnick

Senior Fellow, Meridian Institute

ASRA is making crucial advances in a time of worsening systemic crises, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

Michael Lawrence

Polycrisis Fellow, Cascade Institute

The health of our planet and all living beings is deeply interdependent. The SDGs reflect this, with each goal intertwined and feedback loops pervasive. Comprehensive risk assessment that addresses connections is not just critical; it's urgent for sustainable development.

Pavan Sukhdev

CEO and Founder, GIST Impact

Who we are

The Team

Ruth Richardson

Ajay Gambhir

Hanna Asipovich

Sarah Hendel-Blackford

Zabrina Kjeldsen

Kasia Murphy

Phil Tovey

The Network

Bryan Bixcul (Maya-Tz’utujil)

Mel Cowans

Sandy Trust

Emmanuel Raju

Lindsey Jacobson

Georgios Kostakos

Elias Kock

Pedro Nascimento de Lima

Genevieve Liveley

Reinhard Bonke

Chris Cormack

Joshua Trump

Javier Guillot

Henry Willis

Rachel Ainsworth

Mark Anthony

The Steering Committee

Elizabeth Cousens

Lou Munden

Zora Kovacic

Ayan Mahamoud

Michael Lesnick

Testimonials

Discover our approach and how we work together.