Nikki Garza is a development operations coordinator at GMF. She is concurrently a graduate student at American University's School of International Service, studying ethics, peace, and human rights. Her professional experience includes supporting federal and state policy objectives and leading projects for her own startup, which promotes paid internships at international organizations, and for mid- to senior-level leaders in the public and private sectors. Garza began her career conducting research on perceptions of climate change at Lund University in Sweden before joining the American Red Cross. Her expertise includes nonprofit management, cross-cultural awareness, strategic planning, operations management, and social science research. Garza holds a bachelor's degree (cum laude) in sociology and psychology from the University of Houston.
European Union
Matt Ellias is a former Development Coordinator, Government Funding at GMF.
Laurențiu Pleșca is a scientific researcher and PhD candidate of the Doctoral School of Political Sciences at the University of Bucharest. His main areas of expertise are Russia's geopolitics in the Black Sea, the Eastern Partnership, EU common policies (foreign and security policy, and the Eastern Neighborhood), and the internal and external policies of the ex-Soviet states.
Pleșca has a master's degree in international relations and European studies, and a bachelor's degree in political science, from the University of Bucharest.