Since 2018, John has served as the International Republican Institute’s Resident Program Director in Georgia, designing, overseeing and implementing programs on political party and public policy development, women’s political participation, youth political and civic engagement, public opinion research, election observation, conflict resolution and dialogue, as well as national and sub-national governance. From 2014-2018, he served as IRI’s RPD in the Kyrgyz Republic. During his time at IRI, John has advised a range of political parties, along with national and local leadership across Asia, Eurasia and Europe. He has also overseen multiple international election observation and assessment missions, in addition to observing across the Eurasia region. 

Prior to joining IRI, he worked as the Operations Manager with International Foundation for Electoral Systems in Central Asia, where he oversaw reporting, monitoring, evaluation and learning, procurement, budgeting, proposal development, donor outreach and event management. Before this, John served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kyrgyz Republic, designing and managing region-wide programs for a local human rights and gender equality NGO. During this time, he secured funding to establish one of Kyrgyzstan’s first shelter for victims of gender-based violence. He also served on USAID Kyrgyzstan’s national gender assessment team, co-authoring the gender analysis for the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (2015-2019).  

Prior to joining the Peace Corps, John spent two years as a Human Capital Consultant with a legal consulting firm in Chicago. He also interned with both the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, as well as a United States Senator, in addition to working on an Illinois Gubernatorial campaign. He holds a BA in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago, as well as a MA in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies. John is proficient in Russian, Kyrgyz, Italian and Spanish, and speaks conversational Georgian. 

Nino Dolidze is a civil activist and freedom fighter from Georgia. Currently, she is an Executive Director of International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), a key election watchdog in Georgia. Before joining ISFED, she worked at the International Republican Institute (IRI) for eight years, leading the Election Program, Developing Multi-party Democracy and Political Empowerment of Women. While working at IRI Georgia, she implemented various large-scale projects aimed at promoting the democratic development of the country, including good governance, legislative strengthening, rule of law, human rights, local government. Outside of her work at ISFED, she serves as an expert on electoral and gender equality issues in various international organizations, including USAID and the EU. She has participated in more than 20 domestic and international election observation missions, including OSCE/ODIHR, IRI, NDI, and ENEMO, in Georgia and abroad. She holds a master's degree in Public Policy and Administration from University of Georgia; and Bachelor’s degree in History of Diplomacy and International Relations from Tbilisi State University. She is an alumna of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University.

Ovidiu Anemțoaicei is GMF’s Washington, DC-based monitoring and evaluation specialist. He has more than 15 years of experience in project management, monitoring and evaluation, and gender equality policies. He previously worked as personal adviser to the secretary of state of the Romanian National Agency of Equal Opportunities. 

Since 2009, Anemțoaicei has served as a consultant, project evaluator, or as part of the managing team in numerous projects implemented by public institutions and civil society organizations focused on labor issues, education, and professional and vocational training for vulnerable groups, among other areas. As a member of research teams established by the European Commission, the European Institute for Gender Equality, the UNDevelopment Programme, or as a consultant for the World Bank, he conducted research and contributed to regulatory impact assessments and publications on women’s political representation, gender-based violence, and men and gender equality.

Anemțoaicei cofounded MozaiQ, one of Romania's largest LGBTQ+ organizations, and Hecate, the country’s first explicitly feminist and queer independent publishing house. He has also contributed to building the first intersectional community center in Bucharest, providing essential services to marginalized communities, including Roma women and Ukrainian refugees. He holds a PhD in comparative gender studies from Central European University.