Dimitar Keranov is a visiting fellow with GMF’s European Resilience program. His areas of expertise are democratization and Eastern European, especially Bulgarian, politics, on which he has written articles and been quoted in the media. Prior to joining GMF, he worked at the Institut für Europäische Politik in Berlin and in the private sector.

Keranov holds a PhD in political science from Varna Free University “Chernorizets Hrabar”, a Master’s degree in governance from the University of Hagen and a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the Free University of Berlin. In addition to his native Bulgarian, he speaks English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian, Serbian, Russian, Sesotho, Czech, and Afrikaans. He is Think Tank Lab fellow and a member of the National Capital Area Political Science Association (USA).

Emily Silence is the development manager for foundations at GMF. Emily is an experienced development professional with a background in nonprofit organizations, environmental advocacy, communications, philanthropy, and fundraising.

Previously, Emily was the development manager at the Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN), a Washington, DC-based environmental nonprofit. During her five years at the organization, she worked to protect the public’s right to clean water in the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers through fundraising efforts including grant writing, event planning, donor management, and social media outreach. Prior to her employment at PRKN she interned for the Pisces Foundation, a grantmaking organization based in San Francisco, California.

Emily received her bachelor's degree in political science and economics and her master’s in public policy at American University in Washington, DC.