J.C. Lintzenich is a Washington, DC-based visiting senior fellow. He has worked for three decades at the intersection of intelligence, defense, foreign policy, and the legislative process, with a focus on transatlantic security and strategic competition.

Before joining GMF, Lintzenich was principal adviser for national security affairs to US Senator Thom Tillis. In that role he supported the senator’s leadership of the Senate NATO Observer Group and advised on a broad portfolio of issues including national security, foreign policy, international affairs, veterans’ issues, geopolitical dynamics, and the intersection of policy with industry, emerging technologies, and transatlantic economic relations.

Lintzenich also served as a senior adviser to the Director of National Intelligence, where he enabled the integration of defense and intelligence strategies at the highest levels of the US government. He was defense policy director for the Western Balkans in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he advised on critical regional issues and promoted initiatives that had a lasting impact on US foreign policy and security cooperation, and NATO integration.

A retired senior military intelligence officer, Lintzenich served in several elite units, supporting critical intelligence and special operations initiatives. He held key intelligence assignments in conventional and special operations forces, including at the theater level while based in Germany, where he oversaw intelligence support for a major US Army organization operating in Europe and Africa. Throughout his career, he contributed to intelligence capabilities and operational readiness in multiple organizations, including providing executive intelligence support to senior Army leadership. He is the founder of Lintzenich Advisory, a consultancy, and serves on the board of directors of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, the board of trustees of the Valley Forge Military College & Foundation, and the Volunteer Advisory Committee of the International Spy Museum.

Lintzenich holds a master’s degree with distinction in national security and strategic studies from the US Naval War College and a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University.

Polina Panainte is a governance and democracy expert with over 17 years of experience advancing electoral integrity, civil society engagement, and public-sector transparency in Moldova and the broader Eastern European region. She serves as deputy director of the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT, one of Moldova's leading civil society organizations, and as head of the Secretariat of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections. During Moldova's 2025 parliamentary elections, she led the coalition's efforts tosafeguard the integrity of the elections. A recognized voice in Moldova's civil society, she has provided substantive input into international electoral observation missions and contributed actively to the reform and modernization of the country's electoral legislation.

Prior to her current roles, Panainte held positions at UN Women, the Institute for Public Policy, and the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Moldova, leading substantive programs across governance, gender equality, and civic development. She also served as a consultant to organizations including GMF, the UN Development Programme, and Internews.

Panainte holds a master’s in public policy from University College London and a master’s in political science from Moldova State University.