TASK FORCE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Practitioner - in - Residence, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
Job Titles:
- Director for Technology and Democracy, Freedom House
- Vice President of Research and Analysis
As Vice President of Research and Analysis, Adrian Shahbaz oversees the organization's portfolio of annual publications and special reports. These include Freedom House's flagship study, Freedom in the World, the widely consulted annual reports Freedom on the Net and Nations in Transit, and new streams of work on transnational repression, China's global influence, election integrity, and media freedom.
Adrian previously served as Freedom House's director for technology and democracy, leading the creation and expansion of a multidimensional program dedicated to monitoring the global state of human rights online, analyzing digital threats to election integrity, and advocating for a free and open internet.
He has authored or coauthored internet freedom analyses, including The Global Drive to Control Big Tech (2021), The Pandemic's Digital Shadow (2020), The Crisis of Social Media (2019), and The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism (2018). Adrian has appeared on news outlets such as the BBC, CNN, and NPR, and his commentary has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and WIRED. Prior to joining Freedom House, he worked as a researcher at the UN Department of Political Affairs, the European Parliament, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He holds a master's degree from the London School of Economics.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Officer, Ukraine
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- Owner and Editor in Chief of CplusTV
Alamgir Apu, owner and editor in chief of CplusTV, had previously been the target of "a smear campaign in state-aligned Bangladeshi media outlets" because of his reporting on a gas crisis in 2023. CplusTV's offices were shuttered by a district administration order in June 2023.2
Job Titles:
- Director of Latin America
- Director, Latin America and the Caribbean Programs
Alessandra Pinna is the Director of Latin America and the Caribbean programs at Freedom House. In this capacity, she leads programs on democratic governance, civic engagement, strengthening of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Latin America, and oversees Washington-based and regional staff.
Alessandra brings nearly two decades of experience in civic engagement, civil society strengthening, human rights, and democratic governance. She joined Freedom House as a Program Associate in 2013 for the Dignity for All program, which provides emergency assistance to LGBTIQ+ human rights defenders, and civil society organizations at risk. From 2013-2016, she also held senior program associate and program officer position with Dignity for All. In 2016, Alessandra joined the Freedom House's Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) team as a senior program officer, and until 2022 held three other senior leadership positions (program manager, senior program manager and deputy director). In that capacity, she supported and led all aspects of the program, including developing a regional strategy, fundraising, implementation, and managing staff, both in the home office and the field. Alessandra also brings experience in designing and implementing advocacy initiatives to engage the United Nations, the European Union, and LAC regional bodies. Prior to Freedom House, Alessandra served as a researcher at Roma Tre University and coordinated several campaigns to foster democracy and protect human rights as a member of the Transnational Radical Party. Her research papers and articles have been published by Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, Taylor & Francis, and MCU Press among others. She received her PhD in Political Science and Democracy Studies from the Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane/Scuola Normale Superiore.
Job Titles:
- Research Analyst, Nations in Transit
Alexandra is a research analyst covering the Western Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe for Nations in Transit. Prior to joining Freedom House, Alexandra was an Associate Program Officer for the Western Balkans at the Center for International Private Enterprise. She has also held research and editorial positions at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Central European University's Center for European Neighborhood Studies, and the Post-Conflict Research Center, a Sarajevo-based NGO. Alexandra holds an MA in Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies from Columbia University's Harriman Institute and a BA in Political Science and Slavic Studies from Columbia College.
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- Leader of the APFP
- Leader of the Opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party
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- Expert
- Research Director for Technology and Democracy
As Research Director for Technology and Democracy, Allie serves as an expert on human rights in the digital age. She leads Freedom House's technology and democracy initiative, including Freedom on the Net, Election Watch for the Digital Age, and work related to protecting a free and open internet. She also represents Freedom House on the Freedom Online Coalition's Advisory Network, and serves on the Global Network Initiative's Board of Directors. Her writing has been published in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, WIRED, Lawfare, the Hill, the Diplomat, and Just Security, among others.
Prior to joining Freedom House, Allie worked at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers on issues relating to U.S. surveillance, closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and the right to counsel, and also worked with Human Rights First's foreign policy team. She holds a master's degree in human rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a B.A. in philosophy and political science from the University of Louisville.
Job Titles:
- Ambassador
- Executive Director of the Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University, FSI / Cyber Policy Center ( Working Group III Lead )
- Working Group III Lead
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- Ambassador
- Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy, Head of Heinz College in Washington, DC, Carnegie Mellon University ( Working Group II Lead )
- Working Group II Lead
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- Ambassador
- Senior International Policy Advisor at Arnold & Porter Former under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
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- Senior Associate, Human Rights Initiative, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Amy Slipowitz leads research for a new Freedom House initiative on political prisoners. She previously oversaw Freedom in the World, Freedom House's flagship annual report assessing the conditions of political rights and civil liberties in 210 countries and territories. Prior to joining Freedom House, Amy worked on the research team at the nonprofit organization DonorsChoose, and at a private investment management firm. She holds a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, where she specialized in human rights policy. She also holds a B.A. in economics and American Studies from Colby College.
Job Titles:
- Freedom House As a Distinguished Fellow
- Senior Adviser on Afghanistan Coordination / Distinguished Fellow
Anne C. Richard joined Freedom House as a Distinguished Fellow in October 2021 and helped launch the Afghanistan Human Rights Coordination Mechanism. Previously, she served as assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration during President Barack Obama's second term in office.
Formerly, Richard was the vice president of government relations and advocacy for the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Earlier in her career, she served in other senior positions at the State Department, at Peace Corps Headquarters and at the US Office of Management and Budget. As an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations in 1993-94, Richard was part of the team that created the International Crisis Group. She also was a fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation in Germany and a presidential management intern.
Richard is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and has a master's degree in public policy studies from the University of Chicago. She has lived overseas in Austria, Germany and France and traveled extensively to crisis zones around the world.
Richard has taught and/or lectured at a number of universities, including the University of Virginia's Miller Center, Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service and its Institute for the Study of International Migration, Hamilton College, and Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania.
She has also been an advisor/activist on refugee issues to a wide range of efforts and currently serves on the board of USA for IOM and the Harris Council advising the dean of the Harris School at the University of Chicago. Richard is a member of the Refugees International Advisory Council, and on the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service's President's Council and a Senior Advisor to #AfghanEvac.
Job Titles:
- Special Assistant to the President, Freedom House
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- National Security Expert
- Senior Democracy Fellow
Anne Witkowsky is a national security expert who has held leadership positions across the US government. She most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability and Humanitarian Affairs. She has held leadership roles in the State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism, and earlier in her career, served as a Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control on the White House National Security Council staff. In between her government service, she was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She received her BA in Russian and East European studies from Yale University and an MPA from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
Job Titles:
- Director of Advocacy, Freedom House
- Vice President for Policy and Advocacy, Mark Palmer Distinguished Fellow
- Working Group IV Co - Lead ) Director of Advocacy, Freedom House
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- Senior Fellow, Center for Sustainable Development, Brookings Institution / Ambassador Mark P. Lagon
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- Senior Scholar Emeritus, Freedom House
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- Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Ashley Quarcoo is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Her research focuses on threats to democracy, elections, social and political polarization, transitional justice, and comparative approaches toward building social cohesion and democratic renewal. Quarcoo served for nine years as a Democracy Specialist with the US Agency for International Development where she supported strategy, policy, and program development for a nearly $300 million democracy, human rights, and governance foreign assistance portfolio. She also previously worked for the State Department, the Carter Center, and the Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. Quarcoo was a 2019-20 Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow and is a former Council Term Member.
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- Co - Director, Media and Law Studies Association ( Turkey )
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- Advocacy Officer, Freedom House
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- Programmes Director, ILGA - Europe
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- Managing Director, the Sentry
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- Vice President, Development
Brian Hill joined Freedom House in October 2018 and serves as the organization's vice president for development.
With more than 15 years of nonprofit fundraising experience, he was most recently Officer on the Philanthropic Partnerships team at The Pew Charitable Trusts generating support for all of the organization's environmental and domestic policy programs. Before Pew, he worked at the German Marshall Fund of the United States raising support from U.S. and European governments, corporations, and foundations. His early career included positions with The Nature Conservancy, and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.
Brian has a B.A. from the University of North Carolina where he studied history, business, and music.
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- Senior Fellow of Economic Studies, Governance Studies, Metropolitan Policy Program Director of the Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative, Brookings Institution
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- Senior Advisor and Distinguished Fellow, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Carole Corcoran is the former general counsel, director of special projects and corporate secretary of International Crisis Group, an independent not-for-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent deadly conflict. She held these positions from 2001, when she opened Crisis Group's New York office, through March 2019. Ms. Corcoran is interested in international relations, human rights, eastern philosophy, and the visual arts.
Job Titles:
- Media and Communications Executive
Cater Lee is a seasoned media and communications executive with over 25 years of experience. Most recently, Cater launched-and is vice president of news and content for-the Southern California operations of Spectrum News 1, which operates several 24-hour local news networks. Prior to joining Spectrum News 1, she served for seven years as vice president of programing and senior director of television program development at the EW Scripps Company, and for 14 years as executive producer and development executive for Turning Point Productions. In addition to her distinguished work in the media industry, Cater was an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism. Cater earned a BA in marketing from the University of Virginia and an MA in journalism from USC.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant, Freedom House
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- Research Analyst
- Research Analyst, Middle East & North Africa ( MENA )
Cathryn is a Research Analyst covering the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for Freedom in the World, Freedom on the Net, and Election Watch for the Digital Age. Her research focuses on technology, democracy, and human rights in the MENA region. Grothe's writing has been published in various regional and international outlets.
Prior to joining Freedom House, Grothe worked at Women Deliver on issues related to humanitarian advocacy, gender-based violence, and refugee rights. She has extensive experience working with civil society organizations in Lebanon on gender equality programming.
Grothe holds a M.A. in international relations from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in political science and public health from New York University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President for Asia, US Chamber of Commerce
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- Editor, Offshore Initiative
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- Senior Research Professor of European and Eurasian Studies, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
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- Vice President for Studies and Analysis, National Endowment for Democracy
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- Deputy Director of Africa Programs at Freedom House
Colby Pacheco is the Deputy Director of Africa Programs at Freedom House. He has a decade of experience managing, designing, and providing technical assistance to rights and governance programs in complex and restricted environments, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Pacheco has collaborated with dozens of civil society organizations across the region, helping groups develop strategies and advance advocacy goals. He is particularly focused on gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) and shifting power dynamics. Previous to his global development work, Colby was an AmeriCorps volunteer, a research analyst, and a freelance journalist. He holds a BS from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of International Affairs from UC San Diego.
Collin Roche joined GTCR in 1996 and is currently a Co-CEO and Managing Director of the firm. Previously, Collin was an Associate at EVEREN Securities in Chicago and an Analyst with Goldman, Sachs & Company in New York. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in political economy from Williams College. Collin was previously the head of the Financial Services & Technology group at GTCR. Currently, he is a Director of Allspring Global Investments, CAPTRUST, RevSpring and Ultimus Fund Solutions. Collin was previously a Director of GTCR investments including Aligned Asset Managers/The Townsend Group, Callcredit Information Group, Cambridge Protection, Convergex, Dash Financial LLC, Fundtech, HSM Electronic Services, National Processing Company, Optimal Blue, Premium Credit Limited, PrivateBancorp, Protection 1, Skylight Financial, Syniverse, Transaction Network Services, TransFirst and VeriFone. Outside of work, Collin stays involved in the community with various charitable institutions. In addition, Collin is active in supporting the educational missions of Harvard Business School and Williams College.
handpicked Alberto Fernández (no relation) as presidential candidate and has been the driving force behind the ruling coalition. Several ministers and lawmakers answer personally to her. Growing divisions between them have weakened the president's authority.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President & Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis, Center for Strategic and International Studies
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- President, International Republican Institute
Senior Fellow in the Václav Havel Program for Human Rights & Diplomacy and Director for European & Eurasian Studies, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University (Working Group I Lead)
David J. Kramer is Senior Fellow in the Vaclav Havel Program for Human Rights & Diplomacy and Director for European and Eurasian Studies at Florida International University's Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. Previously, Kramer served as president of Freedom House and also worked at the McCain Institute and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He served eight years in the US Department of State during the George W. Bush administration, including as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
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- Senior Fellow in the Forward Defense Practice of the Atlantic Council 's Scowcroft Center for Strategy
David L. Fogel is a nonresident senior fellow in the Forward Defense practice of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a member of Forward Defense's Gray Zone Task Force. He also currently serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches entrepreneurship. Fogel currently serves as CEO of NCCS, the operating subsidiary of Coinmint, LLC, a leading crypto mining company. In 2019, Fogel was appointed chief of staff at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and in 2020, he was appointed to multiple positions in the US Department of State. Prior to his government appointments, Fogel was a member of the Freedom House Board of Trustees.
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- President, National Democratic Institute
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- Journalist and Director of the Zbol.Com.Ar
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- Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Global Prosperity
Dr. Carol C. Adelman is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Global Prosperity at the Hudson Institute where she lectures and consults on economic growth, foreign aid, global philanthropy, and international healthcare issues. She developed the annual Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances and the Index of Philanthropic Freedom, comprehensive guides to the sources and amounts of global private giving and comparative rankings of countries' incentives and barriers to philanthropic freedom throughout the world. Dr. Adelman is also a visiting professor at Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She previously served as a career foreign service officer and presidential appointee with USAID in charge of aid to Asia, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe when the Wall fell. As President of an executive leadership training company, she teaches at corporate conferences and universities, including the Wharton Business School and Arizona State University. Her non-profit boards include UNICEF, Capital Partners for Education, American Shakespeare Center, Atlantic Council, and membership in the Council on Foreign Relations.
Dr. Dionisio Gutiérrez is a Guatemalan businessman, activist, and communications specialist and is currently president of Fundación Libertad y Desarrollo. He began working in his family business at age 17, ultimately helping transform it into the multinational corporation, Corporación Multi Inversiones. In 2006, Gutiérrez created the Fundación Libertad y Desarrollo, an independent think tank dedicated to the study and analysis of social, economic, and political issues to promote values and principles of a free society. Its goal is to develop long-term policy proposals for Central America. In addition to his business leadership, Gutiérrez has hosted numerous television shows since 1990. He currently hosts the talk show Razón de Estado, which is broadcast in Guatemala and parts of Central America and the United States and encourages thoughtful debate among civil society leaders in the region. He serves on the Georgetown University Latin American Council, the Johns Hopkins University Latin American Initiative, and the boards of the Harvard Kennedy School, Fundación International para la Libertad, Atlantic Institute of Government, and Escuela de Gobierno in Guatemala.
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- Co - Founder, Board Chair and Interim CEO of Afrobarometer Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of Ghana, Legon
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- Director of RCDCS, Human Rights and Pro - Democracy Activist
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- Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She spent a decade as the founding CEO of the Truman National Security Project, which worked with campaigns, political, and policy leaders to advance security policies that supported democracy and human dignity. In 2010, Time named her one of the top 40 political leaders under 40. In 2011, Hillary Clinton appointed Rachel to the Foreign Affairs Policy Board, which advised the Secretary of State quarterly, a role she served through 2014. She is the author of three books on democracy, development, and the rule of law, and appears frequently in the media; her TED talk on violence in polarized democracies has been translated into 17 languages and watched over one million times.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Tuckson Health Connections, LLC
Reed V. Tuckson, MD, FACP, is Managing Director of Tuckson Health Connections, LLC, a vehicle to advance initiatives that support optimal health and wellbeing through the intersection of health promotion and disease prevention; applied data and analytics; enhanced quality and efficiency in care delivery; and the application of telehealth and biotech innovations. Currently, Dr. Tuckson's focus is on advancing his work as a co-founder of the Black Coalition Against COVID, a multi-stakeholder and interdisciplinary effort working to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C. and nationally. Previously, he enjoyed a long tenure as Executive Vice President and Chief of Medical Affairs for UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 20 Health and wellbeing company. A recognized leader in his field, Dr. Tuckson is honored to have been appointed to leadership roles at the National Institutes of Health; National Academy of Medicine; numerous Federal Advisory Committees; and corporate, non-profit and academic boards. He has been recognized several times by Modern Healthcare Magazine's listing of the "50 Most Powerful Physician Executives" in healthcare. He is a graduate of Howard University, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania's General Internal Medicine Residency and Fellowship Programs, where he was also a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar studying at the Wharton School of Business.
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- President of the Y & S Nazarian Family Foundation
Dr. Sharon S. Nazarian is the President of the Y&S Nazarian Family Foundation, with a regional office in Israel named the Ima Foundation and is the Founder of the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). In 2017, The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) appointed Sharon as Senior Vice President in International Affairs. Sharon served in this role for five years heading ADL's work fighting antisemitism and racial hatred globally, including in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, and ADL's Israel office. Sharon's interests are reflected in the myriad of organizations she devotes her time, talent, and energies to - she is the vice chair of the West Coast Board of the American Society of the University of Haifa, sits on the Board of Governors of Haifa University, the Advisory Board of Berkeley Institute, and is a member of the Chairman's Circle of the National Democratic Institute. She also sits on the board of the Anti-Defamation League, the Crown Center
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- Chairman and Director of CECHE
Dr. Sushma Palmer is the Chair and Director of CECHE, the Center for Communications, Health and the Environment, a non-profit she founded with her late husband, Ambassador Mark Palmer. Formerly, Dr. Palmer served as the Director of the US National Academy of Sciences' Food and Nutrition Board, as Director of nutrition at the Georgetown University Child Development Center, and as Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. She has over forty years of international experience in nutrition, public health policy, programs and research in the United States, India, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukraine.
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- Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
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- Member of the ReAl
- Member of the Republican Alternative Party
Faith Morningstar is a developmental psychologist with a primary interest in respect. Her work has been around the creation and implementation of educational programs designed to increase children's positive regard for both themselves and others. She spent two years in Azerbaijan, where, as the spouse of the U.S. Ambassador, she initiated the establishment of two networks: one in support of women entrepreneurs and the other in support of the empowerment of women and girls. Ms. Morningstar, along with her family, established the Morningstar Award for Excellence in Teaching at Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a supporter of the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program which encourages young people to engage in citizen leadership and promotes service as a strategy central to the health of democracies.
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- Philippine Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management ( 2010 - 2016 )
Florencio "Butch" Abad
Philippine Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (2010-2016)
Barış Altıntaş
Co-Director, Media and Law Studies Association (Turkey)
Shaza Bala Elmahdi
Sudan Country Director, Center for International Private Enterprise
Dr. Mutaal Girshab
Director of RCDCS, Human Rights and Pro-democracy Activist
James Gomez
Regional Director, Asia Centre (Bangkok, Thailand)
Idayat Hassan
Director, Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja
Mukami Marete
Co-Executive Director, UHAI - the East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative (UHAI EASHRI)
Franklin Oduro
Resident Program Director, Elections, NDI, Ethiopia Office
İsrafil Özkan
Secretary General General, Freedom Research Association
Veysel Ok
Co-Director, Media and Law Studies Association (Turkey)
Francis Fukuyama is Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), Mosbacher Director of FSI's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), and Director of Stanford's Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy. He is also professor (by courtesy) of Political Science. Dr. Fukuyama has written widely on issues in development and international politics. His 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man, has appeared in over twenty foreign editions. His most recent book, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, was published in Sept. 2018.
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- Resident Program Director, Elections, NDI, Ethiopia Office
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- Officer
- Ret. ) Joseph L. Votel
Joseph L. Votel is a former US Army four-star officer and, since January 2020, president and chief executive of Business Executives for National Security. His last military post was as commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for US and coalition military operations in the Middle East, the Levant, and Central and South Asia. During his 39 years of military service, he commanded special operations and conventional military forces at every level, including combat in Panama, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Prior to his assignment at CENTCOM, Votel served as commander of US Special Operations Command and the Joint Special Operations Command. His service has been recognized by the Atlantic Council, the National Medal of Honor Society, the Lead the Way Foundation, and the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. He serves in various capacities at the CFR, the Middle East Institute, the Sierra Nevada Corporation, Noblis Corporation, Service to School, Minnesota Wire, and Digital Force Technologies, among others. Votel also lectures and advises at some of the nation's leading academic institutions, including the Belfer Center of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Votel is a 1980 graduate of the US Military Academy and earned master's degrees from the US Army Command and Staff College and the Army War College.
Job Titles:
- Director of Latin America and Caribbean Programs, Freedom House
- Vice President, International Programs
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- Vice Chair
- Co - Founder and CEO of StartItUp
Goli Ameri is the Co-Founder and CEO of StartItUp. She is the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and Under Secretary for Humanitarian Diplomacy at the International Federation of Red Cross. Ms. Ameri was a Representative to the 60th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, and served as a Public Delegate to the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
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- Research Analyst for Technology and Democracy
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- Chief of Staff, Institute of International Finance
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- Cohen Professor of International Relations, Lehigh University
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- President of Konar Properties
Howard Konar is president of Konar Properties, a family-owned real estate development business in his hometown of Rochester, New York. Before joining Konar Properties, he worked as a lawyer specializing in the use of Employee Stock Ownership Plans to help employees buy companies from their owners. Howard has served as a trustee of the George Eastman Museum and Monroe Community College, and as a council member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In 2017 he founded Civic Genius (formerly Common Ground Solutions) to highlight areas where American voters agree on policy issues and to connect them with their elected leaders.
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- Co - Founder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative
Ian Simmons is Co-Founder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative, where he oversees a portfolio focused on investments that generate competitive financial returns and address social and environmental challenges. A champion and practitioner of impact investing for two decades, Ian advances Blue Haven's investment, research and policy strategies. He is particularly passionate about pursuing solutions to complex challenges, such as clean energy and affordable housing. Ian also advocates for policies that facilitate long-term investing and promote corporate and political transparency and accountability. Committed to initiatives and corporations that advance investing and strengthen democracy, Ian is the President of the Foundation for Civic Leadership and Chair of the Youth Engagement Fund. Ian serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, Social Finance, Issue One, Organizing for Action, the National Advisory Board for Public Service at Harvard College, and Karibu Homes, an affordable-housing company in Kenya.
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- Director, Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja
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- Secretary General General, Freedom Research Association
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- Research Assistant for the Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies
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- Regional Director, Asia Centre ( Bangkok, Thailand )
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- Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States
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- Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
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- Senior Vice President, Global Security, American Express Company
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- Deputy Director of Policy and Advocacy for Technology and Democracy
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- Director, Emergency Assistance Programs
For media interviews or to speak with one of our experts, please contact us at press@freedomhouse.
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- Deputy CEO, Open Government Partnership
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- Director of Africa Programs, Freedom House
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- Founder and Managing Partner of ACON Investments
Jonathan Ginns is a Founder and Managing Partner of ACON Investments. Prior to co-founding ACON in 1996, Mr. Ginns was a Senior Investment Officer at the GEF Funds group. Previously, Mr. Ginns was a Management Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. Mr. Ginns often serves on the board of ACON fund/investment vehicle portfolio companies. Among his current positions, Mr. Ginns serves on the board of Sequitur Energy Resources. Mr. Ginns has also previously served on the Board of Directors of several public companies including Mariner Energy (NYSE:ME) and Northern Tier Energy (NYSE:NTI), each realized ACON fund portfolio companies, and Optimal Group (NASDAQ:OPMR).
Working Group V: Aligning economic, trade, development, and investment policy with the goal of strengthening democracy
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- Director for Strategy, Evidence and Learning
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- Deputy Director for Policy and Advocacy Summit for Democracy Coordinator
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- Senior Adviser, Project on Prosperity and Development, Center for Strategic and International Studies
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- Research Lead, China Dissent Monitor Program Manager, Asia Programs
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- Senior Research Analyst, Technology and Democracy
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- Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute / Ambassador Thomas Shannon ( Task Force Member )
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- Vice President of Communications
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- Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
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- Director, Policy & Programmes, Free Press Unlimited
Lynn Novick has been directing and producing documentary films about American life and culture, history, politics, sports, architecture, literature, and music for more than 30 years. The 90 hours of acclaimed PBS programming she has created in collaboration with Ken Burns includes, most recently, their 2022 series (directed with Sarah Botstein), The US and the Holocaust, as well as The Vietnam War, Hemingway, Baseball, Jazz, Frank Lloyd Wright, The War, and Prohibition, landmark films that have garnered 19 Emmy nominations. She also directed the four-part series, College Behind Bars, which follows a group of incarcerated men and women trying to earn degrees while serving time for serious crimes. For her work, Novick has received Emmy, Peabody, and Alfred I. duPont Columbia Awards.
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- Director, Operations and Inclusion
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- Director, Europe and Eurasia Programs
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- Director of the Political Prisoners Initiative
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- Director for US Democracy
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- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Colorado Nut Holding Company
Mark D. Goodman is chairman and chief executive officer of Colorado Nut Holding Company. A former economic and foreign policy advisor to Sen. Edward Kennedy, Goodman previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Save-A-Lot; executive vice president and chief marketing officer for strategy, membership, and e-commerce at Wal*Mart/Sam's Club; corporate vice president for US strategy for the McDonald's corporation. Currently, Mr. Goodman serves on the Boards of Tufts University, Pinnacol Insurance, Bellco Credit Union, and The College of Wooster.
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- Senior Associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies
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- Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
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- Senior Fellow, Center for Sustainable Development, Brookings Institution / Ambassador Mark P. Lagon
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- Head of Communications of Argentinian Media Firm
Martin Etchevers is the Head of Communications of Argentinian media firm, Grupo Clarin, where he began his career in 1993, first as a journalist and later in Institutional Relations. In his current role, he oversees all institutional communication strategy for domestic and international institutions and is in charge of the Noble Foundation, named after the founders and major shareholders of Grupo Clarin. Mr. Etchevers holds a law degree from the University of Buenos Aires and an MBA from Universidad del CEMA. He is an active member of the board of several institutions related to freedom of expression, transparency, and accountability in Argentina and Latin America.
Mathea Falco, a leading expert on drug abuse and drug policy, is President of Drug Strategies, a nonprofit research institute she founded in 1993 with the support of major foundations. The first U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters, appointed by President Jimmy Carter, she held earlier positions as Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, and Special Assistant to the President of the Drug Abuse Council. She was also a Fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and Associate Professor at the Weill Cornell Medical College Department of Public Health. A graduate of Radcliffe College and Yale Law School, Ms. Falco served on the Board of Overseers of Harvard University and the Board of Trustees of Radcliffe College. She has served on the national boards of Girl Scouts, USA; Big Brothers of America; the International Women's Health Coalition; the International Center for Research on Women; the Ploughshares Fund; the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, the Treatment Research Institute, and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Job Titles:
- Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at the Transamerica Corporation
Maurice A. Perkins is the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at the Transamerica Corporation, overseeing all corporate communications, brand marketing, and global government affairs teams. Prior to joining Transamerica (part of the Aegon Group), he served as the Head of Federal Government Relations at the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). Mr. Perkins served as a professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking as well as the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He worked closely with senior officials from the U.S. Department of Treasury and U.S. Department of State, responsible for legislation related to national security issues, foreign aid, and international financial institutions. Mr. Perkins is a native Spanish speaker and a first generation American. His undergraduate degree is from Ithaca College and has a Masters Degree from Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Executive Chairman and Co - Founder of the Chertoff Group
Michael Chertoff is the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of The Chertoff Group, a global advisory firm that provides business strategy, risk management, and mergers and acquisition (M&A) advisory services to clients seeking to secure and grow their enterprises. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Chertoff served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he led the federal government's efforts to protect our nation from a wide range of security threats, including blocking would-be terrorists from crossing our borders or implementing their plans if they were already in the country. Earlier in his career, Mr. Chertoff served as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies Professor and Director of Asian Studies, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Professor and Director of Asian Studies, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service (Working Group V Co-Lead)
Job Titles:
- National Security Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates
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- Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
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- Senior Research Analyst, Europe and Eurasia
Mohamed Benhalima, a dissident and whistleblower who fled the country in 2019 after participating in the Hirak protests, was extradited to Algeria from Spain on dubious terrorism charges in March. Benhalima was sentenced to 12 years in prison in August, but additional charges remained pending; according to some reports, he was also sentenced to death by a military court on charges including "espionage."
Job Titles:
- Director for Democracy and Technology, National Democratic Institute
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- Senior Advisor for Human Rights and Democracy, McCain Institute for International Leadership, Arizona State University
Job Titles:
- Co - Executive Director, UHAI - the East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative ( UHAI EASHRI )
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- Director for Economics and Trade, US - China Economic and Security Review Commission
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- Director of Research Strategy, Freedom House
- Senior Director of Research, Countering Authoritarianism
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- Head of Public Policy Strategy, Development and Partnerships, Twitter
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President, Freedom House Kelly and David Pfeil Fellow, George W. Bush Institute
Nina Jacobson founded the independent production company Color Force in 2007. Color Force's feature credits include The Hunger Games franchise, Crazy Rich Asians, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Color Force has also produced television shows ranging from the groundbreaking Pose to The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story and the Emmy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Color Force also produced the recently premiered Impeachment: American Crime Story and Y: The Last Man. Prior to Color Force, Jacobson built an impressive career as a senior film executive at three major motion picture studios, rising to president of the Walt Disney Motion Picture Group. Nina is a graduate of Brown University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Managing Partner
Norman Willox is Managing Partner & Chief Executive Officer, Bluewater International, a leading information risk investment advisory firm. Mr. Willox founded Bluewater International in 2009 to provide societally needed and disruptive high growth risk advisory services. Prior, Mr. Willox co-founded Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions group in 2001; one of the fastest growing Portfolio Companies for Reed Elsevier during that decade. Mr. Willox also started several government initiatives, post 9/11 to immediately deal with rapidly needed information risk analytics platforms required by the emerging threat of global terrorism and cybercrime. Mr. Willox is an experienced board member and serves as director and investor to a number of risk analytics technology companies. He remains active in many professional expert organizations. Mr. Willox possesses a Top Secret Clearance.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow at Stanford University 's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
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- Senior Fellow in International and Public Policy, Brown University
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- Senior Director of the Human Rights and Democracy Programs, McCain Institute for International Leadership, Arizona State University
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- Policy Advisor, US Helsinki Commission
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- Vice Chair
- Managing Member of Kingswood Holding
Peter Bass is Managing Member of Kingswood Holding, LLC, an international investment and advisory firm. Previously, he worked for more than 10 years in senior positions at the State Department and the White House, including as Executive Assistant to the national security adviser. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy, Sanctions, and Commodities. He was later a Managing Director of Promontory Financial Group, where he advised global financial institutions on governance and compliance matters. Immediately prior to joining Promontory, Mr. Bass was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where he was chief of staff to the firm's President and co-Chief Operating Officer.
Job Titles:
- Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
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- Senior Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University
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- Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Security and Technology
Raghunath Kha, a correspondent for online newspaper Dainik Projonmo Ekattor and Deepto TV, was abducted on January 23, 2023, and was accused of carrying explosives and extortion by police.5 After being released on bail on January 29, Raghunath said that he was beaten and electrocuted while in custody.6
In June 2022, social activist Mizanur Rahman, who is vocal on Facebook, was picked up, interrogated, and tortured by police due to his alleged involvement on an attack on a policeman in Jurain.7 However, talking to reporters after the incident, he said he was scolded for his commentary on Facebook on public interest issues and accused of being involved in activities against the state and the law, which he denied.8 He was released after several hours.
In July 2022, Hasibur Rahman Rubel was found dead in Khulna. He worked with several outlets, including news site CrimeVisionBD.com, though it is unclear if he was killed in retaliation for his reporting.9
Job Titles:
- Founding Director, Ranking Digital Rights
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- US Representative ( R - IL - 16 )
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- US Representative ( D - NY - 5 )
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- US Representative ( D - CA - 37 )
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- Senior Vice President for Policy, Human Rights First
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- Chairman in Human Rights, Georgetown University Law Center
A businessman and public servant with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors, Robert H. Tuttle is co-managing partner of Tuttle-Click Automotive Group, a large retail automotive company. He was nominated to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom by President George W. Bush and served as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James's from 2005 to 2009. Previously he worked in the White House during the Reagan administration (1982-1989) as an Assistant to the President in 1982, and Director of Presidential Personnel from 1985-1989. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Council on International Policy (co-chair from 2010-2017), is a member of the Board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation, the USC Annenberg School for Communication, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy. He was recently selected to become a fellow of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2018) and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a former Trustee of the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in Washington, D.C. (until 2019), and formerly the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, where he was Chairman from 2001-2004.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- CEO of Cimpress
Robert Keane is the CEO of Cimpress, a global company with over 11,000 employees and approximately $2.5 billion of annual revenue. Cimpress' proprietary internet-based mass customization technology enables the company to produce branded apparel, signage, promotional products and printing in very small individual orders. The company produces approximately 50 million custom product orders annually. Robert founded Cimpress in 1995 in Paris, France.
Job Titles:
- Founder & CEO of Prove Identity
Rodger Desai is Founder & CEO of Prove Identity, a PE-backed software company that provides identity authentication services to Fortune 500 and Global 1000 enterprises. After beginning his career in engineering management positions at ExxonMobil and General Electric, Rodger served as an executive at Accenture's telecom practice before becoming CEO of mobile technology pioneers Vettro Corp. and Rave Mobile Safety. Rodger has assisted in numerous non-profit initiatives that leveraged mobile phones to solve societal issues, such as real-time disease surveillance and micro-lending programs in developing countries. Rodger attended the Harvard Business School and graduated from Rensselaer.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
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- Senior Associate and Director, Gender, Women and Democracy, National Democratic Institute
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- Senior Advisor for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan
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- Director of US Foreign Policy, Open Society Foundations
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- Founder of the Yezidi Center for Human Rights
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- Fellow, Democracy and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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- Senior Adviser, Abshire - Inamori Leadership Academy, Center for Strategic and International Studies
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- the Texas Tribune As Editor in Chief
Sewell Chan joined The Texas Tribune as editor in chief in October 2021. Previously he was a deputy managing editor and then the editorial page editor at the Los Angeles Times, where he oversaw coverage that was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 2021. Chan worked at the New York Times from 2004 to 2018, as a metro reporter, Washington correspondent, deputy Op-Ed editor and international news editor. He began his career as a local reporter at the Washington Post in 2000. A child of immigrants, Chan was the first in his family to graduate from college. He has a degree in social studies from Harvard and a master's in political science from Oxford, where he studied on a British Marshall scholarship. He is a member of PEN America, the Council on Foreign Relations and numerous journalism organizations.
Job Titles:
- President and CEO, Fair Labor Association
Interviews
High Level Interviews
Elliott Abrams
Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Madeleine K. Albright
Former Secretary of State
Peter Berkowitz
Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Stephen Biegun
Former Deputy Secretary of State of the United States
Ambassador William J. Burns
President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Michael Chertoff
Chairman of the Chertoff Group and Chairman of Freedom House
Michèle Flournoy
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Stephen J. Hadley
Former National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush
Anthony Lake
Former National Security Advisor of the United States
Job Titles:
- Sudan Country Director, Center for International Private Enterprise
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- Toni Stabile Professor and Director, Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University
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- Deputy Director, Europe and Eurasia Programs
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- Lead for International Cyber Strategy, USAID
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- Senior Political Scientist, the RAND Corporation
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- Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Human Rights, Microsoft Corporation
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- Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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- Head of Board, Truth Hounds
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- Policy Director for Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats, R St Institute
Jane Harman is a former nine-term congresswoman from California and former ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, a position she held for four years after 9/11. She recently completed a decade at the nonpartisan Wilson Center as its first female president and CEO, where she is now president emerita and distinguished fellow. Harman is recognized as a national expert at the nexus of security and public policy issues and has received numerous awards for distinguished service. She has served on advisory boards for the CIA, the Director of National Intelligence, and the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State. Harman is currently a member of the NASA Advisory Council, the Homeland Security Advisory Council, the Aspen Strategy Group, the National Council on Election Integrity, the advisory board of the Munich Security Conference, the Eisenhower Fellowships, the Executive Committee of the Trilateral Commission and co-chairs the Homeland Security Experts Group with former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. In 2022, she was named a presidential scholar-in-residence at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. She is also a 2022 Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. Harman's book, "Insanity Defense: Why Our Failure to Confront Hard National Security Problems Makes Us Less Safe," was published by St. Martin's Press in 2021.
Job Titles:
- Chairman, Project 2049 Institute
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- Senior Vice President for Studies and Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Over the course of the past 25 years, Thomas P. Staudt has been associated with leading private equity firms in varying capacities from Chief Executive Officer for various portfolio companies to Executive Chairman. His experience has spanned the healthcare, financial and insurance services sectors with a focus on technology and B2B commerce. His executive role responsibilities have included companies and business units in the United States, South America, Europe and Asia. Tom is currently the Managing Partner and Founder of Island Peak Capital Partners. He also serves as an Operating Partner with the Intermediate Capital Group - Private Equity Solutions, a firm focused on the private equity secondary market. Thomas P. Staudt holds a Bachelor of Science in International Security Affairs from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and a Master of Business Administration from San Francisco State University in San Francisco, California. Staudt was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 1999.
Job Titles:
- Director, Africa Programs
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- Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
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- Fellow at the Center for Congressional
Tom Kahn is a distinguished faculty fellow at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University and a senior consultant at the Cormac Group, a Washington, DC public affairs firm. He is also a consultant to the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute. A leading scholar of congressional and presidential studies, Tom brings a wealth of knowledge from serving on Capitol Hill for over 30 years, including 20 years as staff director and chief counsel of the House Budget Committee. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Tom practiced law at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. In addition to Freedom House, Tom serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the National Budgeting Roundtable and is on the boards of the Jewish Electorate Institute, the American Jewish Committee, the Israel Policy Forum, and the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry. Tom graduated magna cum laude from both Georgetown Law School and Tufts University.
Job Titles:
- Director, Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University
- Toni Stabile Professor and Director, Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University
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- Program Manager, Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University, FSI / Cyber Policy Center
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- Senior Program Manager, Dignity for All
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- Senior Technology and Policy Advisor, Institute for Security and Technology Founder, Zakem Global Strategies ( Disinformation Lead )
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- Co - Director, Media and Law Studies Association ( Turkey )
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- Adjunct Professor at the School of Medicine
Vivek Paul is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Medicine at Stanford University. Mr. Paul has served as CEO of Wipro, a public technology services company, where he was recognized as among the top 30 global CEO's by Barron's. Mr. Paul has served as an executive at GE's medical device business, as a Partner in TPG, a private equity firm, as a consultant at Bain & Co., and founded and sold, KineticGlue, a technology startup. He has served on several Boards, including the California Chamber of Commerce, Electronic Arts, and on the advisory council of the Federal Reserve of San Francisco. Mr. Paul currently serves on the Board of Taylor Fresh Farms. Mr. Paul has earned a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from BITS, Pilani and MBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Job Titles:
- Project Director, Vilnius Office
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- Research Director, Strategy and Design
Job Titles:
- Research Director for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan