Thomas O. Melia is Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL). He is responsible for DRL’s work in Europe, including Russia, and the countries of Central and South Asia, as well as worker rights issues worldwide. In addition to serving as Head of U.S. Delegation to several meetings of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Melia is the U.S. co-chair of the Civil Society Working Group in the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission.
Mr. Melia came to DRL in 2010 from Freedom House where he was Deputy Executive Director for five years. Earlier, Mr. Melia held senior posts at the National Democratic Institute including from 1998 to 2001, Vice President for Programs. From 1986 to 1988, he was Associate Director of the Free Trade Union Institute at the AFL-CIO. Prior to that, he worked on Capitol Hill as senior legislative assistant for foreign policy to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY).
In addition, Mr. Melia has taught democracy and human rights courses at Georgetown University and the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) for more than 10 years. From 2002 to 2005 he was Director of Research at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. He has published a number of widely read articles on democracy and human rights issues; and is the co-editor of Today’s America: How Free? (2008).
