Ali Gillies is the Senior Gender Advisor at the Australia Pacific Security College. She has extensive experience in international development. She specializes in political analysis, program strategy and design for peace-building and state-building in fragile and conflict affected situations. As Assistant Director General in Australia’s Agency for International Development she led AusAID’s fragility and conflict team. She was co-chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee Task Team on Implementation and Reform and co-chair of the International Dialogue on Peace-building and State-building Working Group on Implementing the New Deal. As Minister Counselor she led Australia’s development assistance program to Timor-Leste. She was a founding member of the World Bank’s Low Income Countries Under Stress group and Australia’s Deputy for the 13th IDA Replenishment.

She led gender policy for the Australian aid program as Gender Coordinator, and has been responsible for governance and capacity building policy, NGO programs and humanitarian response. She guided Australia’s World Bank, Asian Development Bank and UN peace building partnerships, and was responsible for Australian aid programs to South East Asia, Africa and the Middle East.