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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.

Shawn Turner is the general manager and director of broadcasting at WKAR Public Media and a professor of strategic communication at Michigan State University. His prior positions include deputy White House press secretary for national security, director of communications for national intelligence at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and deputy press secretary for foreign affairs for the National Security Council (NSC).

Louis Savoia is a program coordinator for the Alliance for Securing Democracy at GMF, where he serves as the lead author of the program's weekly newsletter, the Securing Democracy Dispatch.

Savoia holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from American University’s School of International Service. His studies focused on the EU and NATO, US foreign policy, and democratic governance. His capstone project investigated patterns of hostage-taking by US adversaries, and he was among a team that presented their research to the White House special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. He spent a semester studying European affairs in Brussels.

Krystyna (Krysia) Sikora is a research analyst for the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) at GMF. She supports research on election integrity and information manipulation. Her writing has been published in the EU Observer, Euractiv, and the Fulcrum. Prior to joining ASD, she played professional soccer in Poland for two years.

Sikora holds a master’s degree in Eurasian, Russian, and East European studies from Georgetown University. Her studies there centered on right-wing populism, disinformation, and democratic decline in Central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on Poland. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a certificate in policy journalism and media studies from Duke University.