Ana Aelenei is the head of leadership and democracy initiatives for GMF’s Leadership Programs. Her work takes a transatlantic look at the future of democracy and how leaders from both sides of the Atlantic can strengthen and advance democracy. She also manages two fellowship programs for leaders from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

She previously served as deputy director of the GMF Bucharest office and Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation (BST) where she oversaw BST’s grantmaking operations and managed the Trust’s portfolio for Ukraine. Ana has a master’s degree in security studies from the University of Bucharest, Romania and a Certificate d’Etudes Politiques from the Institute of Political Science of Lyon, France. Ana is also a fellow of the Japan Foundation.