Chris Abbott

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT CHRIS ABBOTT

I am a nonprofit leader and social entrepreneur committed to protecting those at risk - from frontline human rights and environmental defenders to international organisations advancing social change in high-risk contexts.In the late 1990s, I worked alongside environmental defenders and Indigenous communities in Ecuador and the Philippines, supporting their resistance to multinational oil and mining companies. I later moved into the policy arena, helping shape strategies to protect civilians in conflict and address the growing threat of climate insecurity.I have served as deputy director of the Oxford Research Group, held honorary research fellowships at the Universities of Bristol and Bradford, and was a founding collaborator in the Civic Ecosystems Initiative. I am the author of two books and more than 50 reports and articles on security, politics, and history. My work has been widely featured in international media, and human rights champion Desmond Tutu described it as “radical in the proper sense.”In 2011, I founded Open Briefing - a mission-driven nonprofit and social impact consultancy that defends those who speak out against unaccountable power. Last year alone, we delivered more than hours of protection and wellbeing support to human rights defenders and at-risk organisations across 100 countries.Today, alongside leading Open Briefing, I sit on the advisory board of the Funders Initiative for Civil Society and, until recently, served as a director of Peace Brigades International. In March 2025, I was inducted into the Charity Hall of Fame for my work protecting activists at risk around the world.Closer to home, I live with my family on a smallholding in Cornwall, where we have planted over trees as part of our commitment to climate change mitigation and regenerative farming.