Black Sea

Irina Neagu is a Bucharest-based program manager. She oversees multi-country initiatives in the Eastern Partnership and Black Sea regions that focus on strengthening democratic governance, civil society resilience, and cross-border cooperation.

Neagu's portfolio spans grantmaking in the two regions for capacity-building programs that support civil society actors in the South Caucasus especially those focused on institutional resilience and cross-border dynamics in the Black Sea region.

Neagu serves as president of a Romanian NGO dedicated to civic education and youth engagement. She holds a master’s degree in comparative politics and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and European studies from the University of Bucharest.

Laurențiu Pleșca is a Bucharest-based program officer and a political analyst and researcher focusing on EU enlargement, European security, Russian influence in the Black Sea region, Moldova, hybrid threats, and countering disinformation. He co-manages a project on electoral integrity in the Eastern Partnership region. 

Pleșca’s commentary has appeared on France24, Deutsche Welle, BBC, Radio France Internationale, TVP (Polish television), El Pais, Radio Free Europe, and other international and regional outlets. He holds a PhD from the University of Bucharest’s Doctoral School of Political Science, where he also earned a master's degree in international relations and European studies, and a bachelor’s degree.

Clara Volintiru is the director of GMF’s Bucharest office and of the organization’s Black Sea Trust. She is currently on temporary assignment with the Romanian government.

Prior to joining GMF, she was the director of the New Economy and Society Program at the Aspen Institute of Romania, and a consultant for international organizations such as the World Bank, the European Commission, Eurofound and the Committee of the Regions. Her work covered the EU, the transatlantic community, the Western Balkans, and the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries and Southern neighborhood.

In addition to her international policy work, Volintiru is an associate professor of international political economy at Bucharest University of Economic Studies. She holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Volintiru is a contributor to publications including Forbes, Emerging Europe, and Huffington Post.