Dr. Richard Downie is a Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Pacific Council on International Policy, an Adjunct professor in the University of Southern California’s Global Security Studies Program, and Missouri State University’s Defense and Strategic Studies Program. He serves on the Boards of the World Hwa Rang Do Association and Westport Construction Incorporated and is a member of the Faculty of the Thayer Leader Development Group at the United States Military Academy. Dr. Downie is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

He has held several senior defense and academic leadership roles helping to shape security and defense cooperation across the Western Hemisphere. In his last position in the U.S. Army, he served as the first Commandant of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Following retirement from the Army, he was Director of the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies in Washington, D.C. for nine years. He is also the former President & CEO of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council--and previously, the World Affairs Council of Orange County.

A graduate of the United States Military Academy, Dr. Downie earned his Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Southern California. He is a frequent commentator on international and hemispheric security affairs, appearing on CNN/Español, Univision, Telemundo, Bloomberg, NPR, NTN24, and other media outlets.