Ash Harris completed his Bachelors of Arts in International Affairs from the University of North Georgia in 2014 and is finishing his Masters of Arts in International Affairs from UNG in 2021. He joined the United States Army Reserve immediately out of high school and enrolled in UNG (then NGCSU) and joined the Corps of Cadets the same year. Ash’s role in the US Army was Psychological Operations where he attended the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Ft. Bragg and deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan less than a year later to support the US military in combat operations and counterinsurgency.

Following his return from Afghanistan, Ash took various opportunities during his undergrad program to serve local communities in developing nations such as Peru, El Salvador and India. After completion of his degree, he gained experience in the business sector with construction management throughout the US but ventured back to the international theater through a growing NGO known as Samaritan’s Purse International Relief.

There, Ash has served for four years in the International Security Department which oversees the safety of hundreds of staff residing or traveling abroad each year. Most of the locations where staff are located are deemed high or extreme risk and require various layers of insight to ensure their safety.

In his current role at Samaritan’s Purse, Ash leads the Short-term Response and Training programs of the Samaritan’s Purse Security Department. This team is responsible with training all staff who travel or are posted abroad in best safety and security principles and practices. His team also develops and trains national staff at Samaritan’s Purse’s Country Office locations, to include Niger, Iraq, South Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Furthermore, Ash manages the security program at either the field or headquarters level during international disaster responses.

Notable responses during Ash’s tenure include the Ebola response in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019, hurricane relief in Mozambique and Bahamas, COVID care units in 2020, and relief efforts during armed conflicts in Armenia and Ethiopia over the last nine months.

Ash’s opportunities with the University of North Georgia, the Army, and Samaritan’s Purse have allowed him to serve communities in nearly twenty countries over the last ten years. He has partnered with multiple NGOs, the United Nations, USAID, US Department of State and the faith-based community to help those in need. Serving in these capacities has given him a deeper sense of purpose, and he is ever-growing his base of knowledge–whether in structured academia or on field assignments–to ensure those he serves and instructs receive the best information available.