Richard Ellings is President of The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution whose mission is to inform and strengthen Asia-Pacific policy. Co-founder of NBR, he has served as the institution’s Executive Director and sits on its board of directors. He is also affiliate Professor of International Studies at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington.

Prior to serving with NBR, Dr. Ellings was Assistant Director and on the faculty of the Jackson School, from 1986 to 1989. In this capacity, he was a member of the School's Executive Committee and responsible for a wide range of administrative functions. He taught courses dealing with Asia, American foreign policy, and international relations (including foreign economic policy and international political economy), and was director of the George E. Taylor Foreign Affairs Institute.

In 1984 and 1985, Dr. Ellings served as Legislative Assistant in the United States Senate, office of Senator Slade Gorton. He was the Senator's senior advisor, and responsible for legislation, on foreign and defense policy issues.

Dr. Ellings is the author of Embargoes and World Power: Lessons from American Foreign Policy (1985), co-author of Private Property and National Security (1991); editor of Power and Purpose (2001), Asian Aftershocks (2002), and Fragility and Crisis (2003) with Aaron Friedberg, Korea’s Future and the Great Powers (2001) with Nicholas Eberstadt, and Southeast Asian Security in the New Millennium (1996) with Sheldon Simon; the founding editor of the NBR Analysis publication series; and the author of numerous articles and book chapters. He established the Strategic Asia Program and AccessAsia, the national clearinghouse that tracks specialists and their research on Asia, and has served as consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of State, and other U.S. offices and agencies. He received the University of Washington's Distinguished Teaching Award and was a nominee for the same award at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he taught in 1980 and 1981. He specializes in the political economy of international relations and national security, with emphasis on East Asia.

Dr. Ellings earned his B.A. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Washington. He studied in China as well, and his professional activities continue to take him overseas regularly.