The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Laura Thornton is NDI’s resident director in Cambodia, having previously served in the same capacity for the Institute in Thailand and Malaysia from 1998 to 2001. Also for NDI, she designed and directed NDI’s regional program on political party reform in eight Asian countries from 2001 to 2005, during which time she co-edited and authored several chapters in Political Parties in Asia: Promoting Reform and Combating Corruption. In addition, she managed and evaluated Institute programs in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste.

Before joining NDI in 1998, Ms. Thornton worked as a consultant for the democracy and governance unit at the U.S. Agency for International Development in Phnom Penh, and as a program officer and trainer for women’s health and advocacy organizations in Thailand and the United States. Ms. Thornton earned her master’s degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs and her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.

Selected writings from Ms. Thornton:

• Electoral Reform in Cambodia, report, August 1, 2009
• Political Party Strategies to Combat Corruption, executive summary, January 2002