Thomas E. Garrett is the Einaudi Center Lund Practitioner in Residence and Distinguished Global Democracy Lecturer in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy during the fall 2024 semester.

He served from 2017 to 2024 as the Secretary General of the Community of Democracies, a global intergovernmental coalition comprised of Member States coordinating efforts on the rule of law, democracy, and human rights. In 2024, the Government of Romania conferred the National Order of Merit–Grand Officer on Garrett for his work on behalf of human rights and democracy.

Previously, Garrett was Vice President of Global Programs at the International Republican Institute, a nonpartisan NGO supporting elections, civil society, and democratic governance in 80+ countries. Earlier, he was a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski (R) of Alaska. 

An enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, he began his national career at the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs as the Director of Congressional and Legislative Affairs and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. Garrett holds a Master of Arts in Diplomacy-International Relations from Norwich University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Oklahoma.