Elaine Pearson is acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Based in Sydney, Pearson works to build Human Rights Watch’s profile in Australia and regularly briefs journalists and policy makers. Pearson writes frequently for numerous publications, and her articles have appeared in the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, The Australian, and Human Rights Quarterly. From 2007 to 2012 she was the Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division based in New York.

Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Pearson worked for the United Nations and various non-governmental organisations in Asia and London. She has specialised expertise in human trafficking and migration. Pearson holds degrees in law and arts from Australia’s Murdoch University and obtained her Master’s degree in public policy at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.