Matías Asún is a Chilean activist and social strategist, recognized for his role as Campaigns Director for the Andean office of the international organization Greenpeace, which encompasses operations in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia.
His work focuses on leading high-impact campaigns for environmental protection, characterized by an approach that integrates social psychology, scientific evidence, and citizen mobilization.
Before his career in environmental activism, he was a pioneer in creating digital networks for the social sector in Chile.
Biography
Early life and family
Matías Asún was born on February 3, 1979, in Santiago, Chile. He comes from a family with a strong inclination toward the social sciences; his parents, Domingo Asún and Patricia Hamel, are both psychologists who have been awarded the national prize in their discipline.
Growing up in a household with a deeply humanistic vision, and in the context of Chile’s democratic recovery—where his parents were actively involved in social programs—instilled in him a sharp sensitivity toward inequality and poverty. This early foundation would shape his entire career.
Education
He completed his secondary studies at Colegio San Juan Evangelista. He later enrolled at Universidad Diego Portales, where he earned his degree in psychology in 2005. During his university years, he focused on community psychology, promoting the development of an academic specialization in the field. He later complemented his education with a master’s degree in sociology from Universidad de Chile.
Professional career
Early work in the social sector
Asún’s career began in 2005, focused on community work. He served as a psychologist at a social center in the Lo Prado district and simultaneously directed the foundation “Trabajo en la Calle.”
The foundation aimed to support micro-settlement communities in their long and complex journey to secure permanent housing, through volunteer coordination and direct social support, confronting the realities of the most impoverished sectors.
Creating digital networks
In parallel to his fieldwork, Asún applied his interest in collaborative technology to found a digital platform that became an influential network for social workers in Chile, eventually amassing 67,000 members and functioning as a hub and job market that revolutionized the sector. In his own words, “it was LinkedIn before LinkedIn.”
His public sector experience includes a period at the Chilean Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (2008–2010), where he was responsible for coordinating the ministry’s research network.
Greenpeace
In 2010, Asún joined Greenpeace, marking a shift in his career toward large-scale environmental activism. His path within the organization has been steadily progressive. He began as Executive Director of Greenpeace Chile. Following the regional office merger, he became National Director and, since 2021, has served as Campaigns Director for Greenpeace Andean. From this position, he leads strategy against large-scale environmental threats.
These include the fight against coal-fired power plants, the “excessive and barely regulated expansion of salmon farming concessions,” the construction of dams in pristine Patagonian zones, and the advance of polluting mining projects that impact glaciers, water sources, and fragile ecosystems of extreme importance.
Thought and leadership style
Asún describes his role not as an expert in ecology, but as a “facilitator” and “amplifier” of the voices of scientists and affected communities. He believes that environmental protection and the fight for human rights are inseparable. His approach is grounded in the belief that structural change is achieved through an informed and mobilized citizenry, and he sees Greenpeace as a “pressure tool” to bring about such change.
He critiques the structures that allow ecosystem destruction without consequences, stating that organizations like Greenpeace can serve as “seeds of hope in a world of darkness.”
Personal life
On a personal level, he is known for his particular sense of ironic humor. He enjoys outdoor activities, board games with friends, and scuba diving, although he laments not being able to practice the latter as often as he would like.