Risa Pieters serves as the Deputy Director of Global Programs, Asia-Pacific Lead at the Obama Foundation. With extensive experience in the Asia-Pacific, she convenes government, business, and social innovation leaders to collaboratively scale solutions, foster international cooperation, and drive innovation with respect for tradition.

Her mixed Japanese-South African heritage and formative experiences with atomic bomb survivors in Japan and anti-apartheid leaders in South Africa have inspired her work in peace and reconciliation, memory preservation, and social movements for change. Risa spent five years in Hong Kong working with policymakers and corporate leaders to drive social innovation through corporate social responsibility initiatives and impactful public-private partnerships.

She now leads the Obama Foundation's work in the Asia-Pacific region, where she designs curriculum and oversees a leadership development program that equips leaders across sectors to engage across differences, embrace pluralism, and drive collaborative progress. Risa also engages in trans-Pacific cultural diplomacy initiatives, including food, sports, and literature, to bridge divides, foster international exchange and understanding, and promote peace.

Risa is a graduate of Duke University (B.A., Global Health and Philosophy, Minor in Turkish) and the University of Hong Kong (M.Ed., Comparative and Global Studies in Education and Development). She is currently based in Los Angeles, but also calls Japan home.