Sashenka holds an M. Sc. in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Oxford where she studied as an Open Society Foundation Scholar. She previously completed her B. A. in Political Science at the University of Tirana and her B. A. in International Relations at the European University of Tirana. After completing her studies, she joined the Albanian Institute for International Studies (AIIS) as a Think Tank Fund Fellow through the Think Tank Young Professional Development Program for MA and PhD Graduates 2013-2014. During this period she has been working on the Western Balkans’ EU accession process as well as on Albanian citizens’ perceptions about domestic and regional issues.

Sashenka’s research interests are mainly related to post-communist transition and nationalism, ontological security, political discourse and identity. She is currently exploring the effects of territorial disintegrity on state’s identity and plans to develop a comparative analysis on the Balkans and the South Caucasus.

Isabelle has an MA in Area Studies from the University of London and an undergraduate degree in Politics and International Relations. She has worked as a writer and editor at various non-governmental organisations including the United Nations in Jerusalem and the Red Cross in London. Before joining CRRC she was an editor in the research impact team at University College London. Her research interests include mechanisms for government accountability, and the use of research by civil society and policymakers.

Dustin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Skidmore College. Prior to joining CRRC, he worked as an English teacher, freelance writer, editor and translator, an then as a lecturer in tourism geography at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University. His research interests include the anthropology of politics and economic anthropology. He is particularly interested in discourse, shifts in discourse, and its embodiment in Georgia and Georgian politics. Dusting speaks English and Georgian. 

Zofia obtained MA in Slavic Culture Studies at University of Warsaw. She is especially interested in circular labour migration from Armenia to European Union and international cooperation on migration management. Prior to joining CRRC, she worked as a Circular Labour Migration Expert in International Center for Human Development in Yerevan. In addition to her native Polish, she speaks fluent English and Czech and intermediate Russian. Currently she learns Armenian.

Emily Knowles is in the final stages of a master’s degree in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh (UK). She also holds a First Class bachelor’s degree in French and Spanish from the University of Surrey (UK), for which she was awarded the French prize for academic excellence.

Emily is completing a combined research placement of six months at the Caucasus Research Resources Center and the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies in Tbilisi. Her interests include territorial disputes, land claims, identity narratives, securitization and methodologies for conflict analysis. Her fellowship will culminate in two papers; one on the securitization of disputed borders and one on methodologies for stress-testing territorial conflict, to be presented at the Association for Borderlands Studies world conference and the International Peace Research Association’s 25th General Conference respectively.

Prior to arriving in Georgia, Emily completed research posts at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (The Netherlands), the City of Edinburgh Council’s international relations team (UK), and Electricité de France’s international relations and foresight division (France). She has also worked for the international development team at the Peruvian NGO Nexos Voluntarios (Peru).

Emily is a native English speaker who is professionally fluent in French and Spanish, and competent in Dutch. She can speak basic Russian and will be taking both Russian and Georgian language courses as part of her placement in Georgia.

Ryan is pursuing a M.A. degree in Geopolitics & the Global Economy with a regional emphasis in the South Caucasus at University College Dublin. He holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Oregon. His research interests include the status of quasi-states, the ‘intractable’ nature of conflict, U.S.-E.U. and Russian foreign policy in the South Caucasus, and the geopolitical consequences of climate change.

Prior to joining CRRC-Azerbaijan, he started working as an editor for “Eurasian Ideas”, a graduate journal based out of the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He also taught physical and human geography tutorials to first year students at UCD. Before attending UCD he taught English in Chivchavi with Teach and Learn Georgia.

Joseph holds an M.A. degree from Central European University where he focused on the economic transition from central planning to the market system in post-Communist states. Prior to joining the CRRC he worked in the fields of education and marketing in addition to dabbling in freelance writing and even doing come construction work along the way. His research interests include the relationship between political economy and geopolitics as well as the impact of globalization on the efficacy of public policy. After spending a few years in Hungary he is thrilled to experience living Georgia for the first time. 

Maximilien holds a Bachelor's degree in International Politics from Georgetown University. Prior to joining CRRC, he was a Fulbright fellow in Vratsa, Bulgaria and then worked at the National Democratic Institute on its programs in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. His research interests include the effects of economic crises and austerity policies on the rise of extremist parties as well as nationalist history making by political actors in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. He speaks French, English, and German. 

Gabriel graduated from the New York University School of Law with JD. His professional focus is on promoting human rights and developing effective domestic justice policies. Prior to joining CRRC, he was a law fellow at the office of the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia and his work involved researching international best practices vis-à-vis Armenian laws and institutions. Gabriel’s research goals at CRRC include quantitative analysis of Armenian citizens’ trust in political institutions and views on human rights violations.

Anastasia holds a Master’s degree in EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges. She also holds a joint Master’s degree in Global Studies from the University of Leipzig and University of Vienna and a Diploma with Honors in Linguistics from the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia. Anastasia worked for the Danish Cultural Institute in St. Petersburg and interned at the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna. Her research interests include migration and its intersection with civil society and democratization. Besides her native Russian, Anastasia is fluent in English and speaks Italian, French, Danish and German.

Severina Mueller holds a Master’s degree from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where she studied Sociology, Russian Studies and Criminology. She also completed two terms of study at the Moscow State University in Russia. In summer 2011 she spent a short period of time in Kazakhstan where she conducted a field research on changes in family values. Her academic interests include transformation process, ethnic conflicts, values and cultural changes in the post-Soviet region. Severina speaks German, English, French and Russian.

Drew is M.A. Candidate for International Political Economy and Development at Fordham University. He has finished his course work for at Fordham University for an MA in the International Political Economy and Development graduate program with a concentration in international and development economics. He is in Armenia for one year with the US Boren Fellow Program where he will be studying Armenian as well as working with CRRC. Prior to graduate school he has worked in Cambodia, The Philippines and Uganda for US based microfinance funder, Kiva Microfunds. In the United States, Drew worked for the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Colchester, Vermont and Washington, DC. While there, he helped resettle and serve refugees from many parts of the world. Drew’s specific research interest is the role of civil society in Armenia in the political and economic development of Armenia.

Ms. Diaz holds a master’s of science in Social Work: Community and Administrative Leadership and holds a bachelor’s in International Studies. For over five years she has been working in the field of migration from within nonprofit agencies, private firms, and grassroots and international organizations; working closely with natural disaster survivors, asylum seekers, and refugees. She joined CRRC Armenia in April 2011.

Ben holds a Masters degree in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights from the University of Essex in the UK. He wrote his dissertation on the United States criminal justice system and how it came to replace slavery as an institution of controlling African Americans. Previously, he worked as a researcher for the International Centre for Prison Studies, and has also worked in housing discrimination and grassroots organization. His research interests include human rights, criminal justice sector reform, and European Union integration in the CIS countries. Ben also holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice, Political Science, and Sociology from the University of Delaware in the US. He speaks English, some Spanish, and is currently taking intensive Russian courses.

Gavin is a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, UK. He holds a first degree from the University of Wales, and Masters degrees from Central European University, Budapest and the University of Oxford. He lived and worked in Russia for almost five years and first came to Georgia as an English teacher in 2002. He has spent the last three years conducting his PhD research on Georgia. His interests are criminological in focus and include: organised crime and state responses to it, penal subcultures, and prison and police reform in the post-Soviet space. 

Laurene is finishing her Master in European and International Studies at the Grenoble Political Science Institute. She did her first year of Master as an exchange student at the University of Amsterdam. Laurene’s Master's thesis is on the relations between the European Union, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Laurene has volunteered to teach English in Southern Thailand. She was awarded several scholarships for projects focusing on Women in India and the Saga in Iceland. Laurene speaks French and English, and she is learning German, Russian and Spanish.

Sonya holds a Master's degree in Political Science from Central European University, where she wrote her thesis on language attitudes in Georgia. Previously, she worked for Human Rights Watch in New York as well as Bank Information Center in Washington, DC, on the countries of the former Soviet Union with a focus on the Caucasus and Central Asia. Sonya holds a BA from UC Berkeley in Comparative Literature as well as Russian Culture and speaks Russian and Spanish. 

Currently, Malte is a B.A. student in political sciences at the Institute for Political Studies in Paris. He joined CRRC's fellowship program in February 2010 as part of his undergraduate studies. Prior to that, he worked for a year on solar energy projects in Burkina Faso, in which he is still actively engaged today. Malte is involved in different social projects both at home and abroad. Amongst others, he helped to set up an educational center in rural Morocco and organized an annual music festival and a monthly parlour game club for young people in his hometown in Northern Germany. He has done internships at the Aspen Institute Germany and the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.

In addition to his native German, he speaks French, English and studies Russian. His research interests include the nexus between energy politics, democracy and social policy, and the transformation process in the CIS countries.

Jesse Tatum holds a M.Sc. in European Studies with Translation from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK, and a B.A. in International Studies from Portland State University. Previously, he was a translator for the Groupe de sociologie politique européenne at Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg, France, and taught English in France and in China. His current research interests include the EU's external relations and political trends in the Caucasus and Central Asia. He is the interview editor for the Caucasian Review of International Affairs (CRIA).

Alexander, from St. Paul, Minnesota, is presently pursuing his B.A. from the University of Rochester in Russian Studies and History. He spent a large portion of 2008 in Russia, interning at Cross Cultural Solutions, where he worked in orphanages and children’s hospitals in Yaroslavl. He spent the second-half of the year studying Russian language and culture at St. Petersburg State University through CIEE, where he developed a great interest in the Caucasus region. In his spare time, Alexander enjoys both piano and voice, and from time to time a rousing tennis match or run.

Robia Charles is a California native who holds a B.A. from the University of California, Davis where she studied Russian and Mathematics. She has a M.A. in Eurasian an Russian Studies from the European University of St. Petersburg, Russia and a M.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at UC Berkeley and also currently an affiliated doctoral student at the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at the Freie Universitaet in Berlin, Germany. Prior to joining CRRC, Robia was employed as a Graduate Student Instructor at UC Berkeley, as a community organizer in Northern California, and as a limnological researcher in both Tanzania and Siberia. Robia's academic interests include nationalism and the intersection of politics and religion, especially in post-Soviet Eurasia. In her spare time she loves to travel, study languages and juggle. She is very excited to be in Georgia for the first time and to work at CRRC.

Melissa Scholz is a recent graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service (M.A., German and European Studies), where she concentrated in international conflict resolution and humanitarian/refugee emergencies, particularly as applied to the Caucasus. She is a 2006 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology (B.S. International Affairs and Modern Languages, Highest Honors). Her most fulfilling previous jobs were with the Division of Biodefense tracking security issues in the FSU, and as a program coordinator for the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs. A collegiate athlete, she loves swimming and watching sports (especially Euro 2008), as well as photography, traveling, and spending time with her family.