Gretchen Kunze

Gretchen Kunze joined the Council in February 2023 as Director for the Health and LifeSciences portfolio. She also serves as Executive Director of the US ICT Council for Myanmar, an affiliate of the US-ABC. Gretchen has spent over 20 years living and working in Asia in international development, designing and leading programs focused on governance and democracy building, economic growth, digital development, policy reform, and civic engagement.Gretchen Kunze joined the Council in February 2023 as Director for the Health and LifeSciences portfolio. She also serves as the Executive Director of the US ICT Council forMyanmar, a sister organization of the US-ABC, where she has led government relations, policy engagement, and digital development in Myanmar since 2020 forCouncil member companies comprising seven of the world’s leading technology firms.Gretchen has spent more than 20 years living and working in Asia in international development, focused on governance and democracy building, economic growth, policy reform, and civic engagement.Previously, she was based in Yangon as World Learning’s Country Representative forMyanmar, where she led the Institute for Political and Civic Engagement at the U.S.Embassy’s American Center. Her prior positions include Asia Division Director inWashington, DC, and Resident Mongolia Country Representative in Ulaanbaatar for theInternational Republican Institute; and Country Representative for Laos, and DeputyCountry Representative for Thailand and Laos for The Asia Foundation. She has written numerous articles on Asian political and economic affairs and authored the chapter onLaos for the Routledge Handbook on Civil Society in Asia. Gretchen has fulfilled short-term assignments in Afghanistan, Cambodia, North Macedonia, and the Philippines, and spent three years in Japan with the Ministry of Education’s JET Programme. She has an MA from the Korbel School for International Studies at University of Denver, a BA in Political Science from Villanova University, and studied Thai politics at Chulalongkorn University