Staff

Henry Hale

Director, IERES

Director, Petrach Program on Ukraine

Professor of Political Science and International Affairs

1957 E Street
Suite 412

202-994-4810
hhale@gwu.edu

Henry E. Hale is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, and Director of the Petrach Program on Ukraine. 

He has spent extensive time conducting field research in post-Soviet Eurasia and is currently working on identity politics and political system change, with a special focus now on public opinion dynamics in Russia and Ukraine.  His work has won two prizes from the American Political Science Association and he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for his research in Russia in 2007-2008.

Prior to joining GW, he taught at Indiana University (2000-2005), the European University at St. Petersburg, Russia (1999), and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (1997-98). He is also chair of the editorial board of Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization.

Matthew Kewley

Assistant Director

1957 E Street
Suite 412
mkewley@gwu.edu

Matthew Kewley is Assistant Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies and supports the Master of Arts program in European and Eurasian Studies. He holds an MA in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Indiana University (2017), an MBA from Excelsior College (2011), and a BA in Russian Studies from New York University (2008). Matthew has also completed foreign language study in Russian at Moscow State University, the Davis School of Russian at Middlebury College, and the University of Pittsburgh. 

Chris Ellison

Senior Editor

1957 E Street
Suite 412
chris_ellison@gwu.edu

Chris serves as Senior Editor for the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, its Journal of Illiberalism Studies, and assists faculty, staff, and international scholars with their editing needs.

Chris received his BA, cum laude, in Political Science and Literature from the University of California at San Diego; his MALD from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he was both a Dean Bosworth Scholar and a Fulbright Fellow; and his MA in History from Rice University, where he also studied at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

Having previously worked in various roles in international development, diplomacy, and higher education, Chris also serves on the board of the anticorruption nonprofit organization Fides Intl. He has lived throughout the Americas and Europe, as well as in East Asia. A lifelong editor at heart and translator known to family members as “Mr. Red Pen,” he speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and French, and has more recently begun learning Korean.

Brooke Holmes

Administrative Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412

Brooke Holmes is an Administrative Assistant at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. She is an undergraduate at the Elliott School of International Affairs majoring in International Affairs with an interest in security and gender policy. 

Leonardo Pell

Administrative Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412

Leonardo Pell is an Administrative Assistant at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. He is an undergraduate student at Elliott School of International Affairs majoring in International Affairs with interest in security policy, diplomacy, Europe and Eurasia. 

Elisabeth Reznikov

Administrative Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412

Elisabeth Reznikov is a Administrative Assistant at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. She is an undergraduate student at GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs, with a concentration in Europe and Eurasia and a double-major in Russian Language and Literature. Elisabeth has interned at United Help Ukraine, the Caspian Policy Center, and Progres(s) Foundation.

Paul Tervo

Administrative Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412

Paul Tervo is an Administrative Assistant at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. He is an undergraduate at GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, pursuing a double major in Political Science and Physics.

Rafael Wexler

Administrative Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412

Rafael Wexler is an Administrative Assistant at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. He’s an undergraduate student at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where he is pursuing a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Peace Studies and a triple concentration in International Politics, Conflict Resolution, and Security Policy.

Before joining the Institute, Rafael served as an Administrative Assistant at the Elliott School’s Office of Graduate Student Services. He also served as an intern at the National Endowment for Democracy and the United States Senate.

His area of interest includes key foreign policy issues related to terrorism, sanctions, human rights, international law, democracy promotion, and “rogue” states.

European and Eurasian Studies MA Program

Christopher Kojm

Director, European and Eurasian MA Program

1957 E Street
Room 605N
ckojm@gwu.edu

Christopher A. Kojm serves as the Director of the European and Eurasian Studies MA Program and the Elliott School’s Leadership, Ethics and Practice Initiative. He re-joined the School as a Professor of Practice in International Affairs after serving as Chairman of the National Intelligence Council from 2009 to 2014. He is also the Director of the US Foreign Policy Summer Program and served previously as director of the mid-career Master’s in International Policy and Practice program. He taught previously at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs.

In government, Chris served as a staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee from 1984-98 under Rep. Lee H. Hamilton, as a deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1998-2003), and as deputy director of the 9/11 Commission (2003-04). He was also president of the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, the Commission’s follow-on public education organization (2004-05). He also served as a Senior Advisor to the Iraq Study Group (2006).

He received a master’s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs.

Program on New Approaches to Research and

Security in Eurasia (PONARS Eurasia)

David Szakonyi

Co-Director, PONARS Eurasia

Associate Professor of Political Science

202-994-9231
dszakonyi@gwu.edu
www.davidszakonyi.com

David Szakonyi is Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, co-founder of the Anti-Corruption Data Collective, and Associate Director of PONARS Eurasia. His research focuses on corruption, clientelism, and political economy in Russia, Western Europe, and the United States. His book — Politics for Profit: Business, Elections, and Policymaking in Russia (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics, 2020) — examines why business people run for elected political office worldwide, how their firms perform as a result, and whether individuals with private sector experience make different policy decisions. Other research looks at the effectiveness of anti-corruption campaigns, employers mobilizing their employees to vote, and nepotism under authoritarian rule. His investigative work has been published in the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, the Daily Beast, and the Miami Herald, among other outlets. In addition, he is a Research Fellow at the International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Sara Huzar

Program Coordinator, PONARS Eurasia

1957 E Street
Suite 412
shuzar6@gwu.edu

Sara is a young professional with experience and interest in youth development and public diplomacy in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Originally from Pennsylvania, she moved to northern Virginia to attend George Mason University, graduating in 2019 with a degree in Global Affairs and History. After graduation, Sara moved to Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria, where she served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. Sara’s other past affiliations include non-profits, think tanks, and government entities such as Rise to Peace, the Caspian Policy Center, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, the Bulgarian English Speech and Debate Tournament (BEST) Foundation, and One To World. 

Russia Program

Ivan Grek

Director

1957 E Street
Suite 412
grek@email.gwu.edu

Ivan Grek, PhD, is Director of the Russia Program at George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies. Trained in political science and history, Ivan specializes in studies of illiberal grassroot movements and ideology in Russia. Ivan’s research was published in peer-reviewed political science journals, as well as US and Russian media outlets such as the Washington Post and Kommersant.

Kristina Aleksanyan

Program Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412
kristina.aleksanyan@gwu.edu

Kristina Aleksanyan is a Program Assistant for the Russia Program at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian studies. In 2023 she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Oklahoma. Currently, Kristina is furthering her academic journey by pursuing an M.A. in European and Eurasian Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs. Previously, Kristina completed an internship at the European Union Department at the Municipality of Arezzo in Italy, where she spent an academic year studying abroad. In addition, Kristina held various internships and affiliations with lobbying organizations and the private sector. Kristina is fluent in Russian and Armenian languages, and is interested in studying the rise of nations and nationalism in Europe and Eurasia. 

Petrach Program on Ukraine

Gabbie Fisher

Program Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412
gabbie.fisher@gwu.edu

Gabbie Fisher is a Program Assistant for the Petrach Program on Ukraine at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in Russian and International Studies with a specialization in Security and Intelligence from The Ohio State University. In addition to her work at IERES, Gabbie is pursuing an M.A. in European and Eurasian Studies at the Elliott School, where she was honored to receive a Wolcott Fellowship that assists students seeking a career in government service. Her studies focus on Russian politics, US-Russian relations, and Slavic regional issues. Before joining IERES, she worked at The Ohio State University’s Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures Department and has held various internships with companies such as the Russian American Foundation.

Central Asia Program

Sebastien Peyrouse

Director, Central Asia Program

Research Professor of International Affairs

1957 E Street
Suite 412
speyrouse@gwu.edu

Sebastien Peyrouse was a doctoral and postdoctoral Fellow at the French Institute for Central Asia Studies in Tashkent (1998-2000 and 2002-2005), a Research Fellow at the Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University in Sapporo (2006), and a Research Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington (2006-2007). In 2008-2012, he was a Senior Research Fellow with the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program (SAIS, Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C.) and with the Institute for Security and Development Policy (Stockholm). He is an Associated Scholar with the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS, Paris), and with the Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE, Madrid) and a member of the Brussels-based EUCAM (Europe-Central Asia Monitoring).

Nazima Tursun

Program Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412
infocap@gwu.edu

Nazima Tursun is a Program Assistant for the Central Asia Program. She is an undergraduate student at the GW School of Business, pursuing a double major in Finance and Political Science with an interest in public policy and international trade. Nazima has previously interned at the White House, where she helped advance the Administration’s economic policy agenda.

Marhabo Rakhimova

Program Associate

1957 E Street
Suite 412
mrakhimova@gwu.edu

Marhabo Rakhimova has a background in non-government organizations as an experienced international program coordinator. With a focus on Central Asian programs, she has coordinated projects aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of civil society organizations in various fields (health, youth, and women empowerment) by integrating transparency, social inclusion, participatory approaches, and accountability in those sectors. She earned her Master’s Degree in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Public Administration and International Affairs at Syracuse University.

Illiberalism Studies Program

John Chrobak

Research Program Coordinator

1957 E Street
Suite 412
johnchrobak@gwu.edu

John is a Research Program Coordinator for the Illiberalism Studies Program. He has an MA in International Affairs from GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs with a specialization in U.S. Foreign Policy and Eurasian Politics. His work has focused particularly on regional politics and security in Eurasia as well as the use of social media to manipulate and spread information for political influence. More recently, his work has focused on democracy resilience. He has previously worked at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Research Lab (DFRLab). He holds a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from McGill University.

Aaron Irion

Research Program Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412
airion23@gwu.edu

Aaron Irion is a Research Program Assistant at the Illiberalism Studies Program. He has an M.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Montana. His work has focused on the political economy of populist, illiberal, and far-right movements, particularly their relationship with social insurance and the welfare state. His research interests include the realignment and dealignment of party systems, post-neoliberalism, the changing nature of working-class politics, populist economics, and much more. Much of his work can be found here.

Erik Piccoli

Research Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412
erikpiccoli@gwu.edu

Erik Piccoli is a Research Assistant for the Illiberalism Studies Program where he writes about populism, the far-right, and illiberalism in Europe. Erik has previously worked for the Italian Institute for International Political Studies. He graduated from Louisiana State University with a BA in Journalism and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in European & Eurasian Studies at the Elliott School.

Sang Kyung Lee

Postdoctoral Associate

1957 E Street
Suite 412
sangkyung.lee@gwu.edu
www.sangkyunglee.com

Sang Kyung Lee is a Postdoctoral Associate at IERES in the Illiberalism Studies Program. Prior to joining GW, he received a Ph.D. (Sociology) from Cornell, an M.Sc. (Political Sociology) from LSE, and a B.A. (Sociology) from Yonsei University.

His research is primarily concerned with the social origins and consequences of economic and political crises. His recent projects explore the causal mechanisms underlying varying popular responses to sovereign debt crises and recession and the implications of the unprecedented surge of populism over the past few decades for the quality and stability of democratic governance in the long run.

Transatlantic Program &

Jean Monnet Center of Excellence 

Erwan Lagadec

Director and Associate Research Professor of International Affairs

1957 E Street
Suite 412
lagadec@gwu.edu

Dr. Erwan Lagadec is Associate Research Professor at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES), where he leads Elliott School programs on EU and NATO affairs. He is the Director of IERES’ European Union “Jean-Monnet” Center of Excellence; and he leads a Memorandum of Understanding between the Elliott School and NATO’s Allied Command Transformation. He is also a nonresident senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative and its Europe Program.  He was previously affiliated with Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy; France’s Saint-Cyr Military Academy (he is a former officer in the French Navy Reserve); Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; the University of Virginia-Charlottesville; Tulane University; Harvard University; MIT; the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies; and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. A French-U.S. dual citizen, he holds a D.Phil. in History from the University of Oxford.

Ian Cameron

Program Assistant

1957 E Street
Suite 412
iacameron1s@gwu.edu

Ian Cameron is a Program Assistant for the Transatlantic Program and the Jean Monnet European Union Center of Excellence. Ian is pursuing an M.A. in European and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University’s Elliott School, where he focuses on European and German politics and foreign policy, the European-Russian relationship, and regional security issues. Ian’s prior professional experiences include an internship with the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, as well as internships with the American Security Project and the American Foreign Policy Council.