Russell Pickard is a special advisor in the Executive Office of the Open Society Foundations. Previously, Pickard served as deputy director of the Open Society Foundations Africa Regional Office, which is responsible for the strategic direction, operational support, and advocacy for the Foundations’ work in Africa.

Pickard has 20 years of experience in advocating for change in European government policies, particularly in relation to African governance initiatives and human rights policies. During his time with the Foundations, he has served as deputy director of the International Advocacy Department in London and as a senior policy officer at Open Society’s office in Brussels.

Pickard represented the Foundations on the advisory board of Ariadne, the European Human Rights Funders Network. He was also a founding coordinator of the Brussels-based Human Rights and Democracy Network. He has previous experience with several NGOs in the human rights and conflict prevention field, including Human Rights Watch.

Pickard holds an MA with distinction in international relations from the University of Kent.