Rich Garella

RG has a long history in US-based and international organizing, journalism, communications and democratic development. After several years in Philadelphia as a political organizer working chiefly on foreign policy and health care access, he lived in Cambodia for most of 1995 – 2003. He was managing editor of The Cambodia Daily, and later worked as press secretary for Cambodia’s main opposition party during the contentious 1998 parliamentary election and its violent aftermath. After several years in technology development at the New York Times, he returned to Cambodia as a consultant for a USAID-funded democratic development project during the 2003 parliamentary election. In 2004 he co-wrote and produced the nationally broadcast Polygraph ad for MoveOn.org’s “Bush in 30 Seconds” project and then coordinated MoveOn’s national campaign for voting system integrity. With Eric Pape, he wrote A Tragedy of No Importance, about the 1997 grenade attack against the Cambodian opposition. Most recently he produced the documentary “Who Killed Chea Vichea?,” which won a Peabody Award in 2012. Adept political analyst, expert writer and editor, visionary systems builder, effective team facilitator and methodical planner and project manager. Broad knowledge of communications technology and understanding of technical trends. Experienced in training organizational staff, journalists and political organizers. Post-conflict experience in Cambodia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Lebanon and the Thai-Burma border. Established record of building individual and organizational capacity in contexts of social and political change. RG has both US and Italian citizenship.