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Nikki Garza is the manager of Development Systems and Strategy in GMF’s Washington, DC, office. She is a nonprofit leader and operations professional with over six years of experience spanning organizational leadership, development operations, and program coordination. She founded and managed an independent nonprofit for three years before specializing in development systems management and cross-functional operations for international organizations. Her public service work began at the American Red Cross, where she specialized in case work for Service to Armed Forces. She also served with AmeriCorps, supporting Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery efforts. 

Garza volunteers at Doorways, an organization supporting families and children affected by sexual and domestic violence. She holds a master’s degree in ethics, peace, and human rights from the American University School of International Service and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from the University of Houston. 

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.

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).

Yuliia Korotia is the office manager and Transatlantic Security program coordinator at GMF’s Warsaw office. Her expertise covers Eastern Europe-US relations and Ukrainian politics and security, with a focus on reconstruction and disinformation resilience. She contributes to work on Polish-Ukrainian relations by conducting research and organizing events aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Prior to joining GMF, Korotia honed her skills in operations management and event coordination in the business sector. She also gained programmatic experience at the Polish Ministry of Environment.

Korotia holds a master’s degree with honors in international relations from the University of Warsaw. She speaks fluent Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian, and has a basic command of German.