Dr. James Gomez is the Regional Director of Asia Centre, a civil society research institute in Special Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC. In January 2025, he was appointed Global Democracy Goodwill Ambassador for the Korean Democracy Foundation for 2025–2026, recognising his commitment to promoting democracy in Asia. With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Gomez has been a strong advocate for democratic governance and human rights. He has received the Human Rights and Service Fellowship from the Taiwan Democracy Foundation (2009) and the Taiwan Fellowship from the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2020). In 2018, he was awarded the Korean Democracy Fellowship from the Korea Foundation. Dr. Gomez has contributed to various publications on democracy and human rights, including an upcoming special issue of Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia titled "Eroding Electoral Integrity: Reasons for Democratic Backsliding in Southeast Asia." Dr Gomez holds a Ph.D. from Monash University.