Georgia

Natia Kaldani has more than 9 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Master’s degree in Diplomacy and International Politics from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. Natia is the Co-founder and Board Member at the Civil Development and Research Institute, as well as the International Projects Director at Europe-Georgia Institute. She has first-hand knowledge of good governance issues in government institutions and civil society organizations that stems from more than 7 years of dedication to the design, coordination, and implementation of government reforms working with civil society organizations in Georgia and Europe. She has provided hands-on support on flagship reforms in the areas of capacity development of civil servants, freedom of information, and civil service reform while she gained valuable insight into government relations with excellent knowledge of best practices in cross-governmental policy coordination. She managed USAID and SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) funded large-scale projects supporting the improvement of public policy and fostering good governance in Georgia. She has been working on the Russian disinformation issues in Eastern Partnership Countries and has managed the project “Visegrad and EaP Countries against Disinformation”. Apart from this, she is actively supporting the youth involvement in Politics and political education among the youth wings of political parties through various projects.

Mariam is a Development Practitioner with around five years of experience in project design and implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, research, budgeting, and reporting. She is skilled at identifying and mapping potential funders, establishing and maintaining productive working relationships with bilateral and multilateral donor organizations, and drafting strategic documents. She has earned her Graduate degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University in Massachusetts, focusing on development management. Mariam has diverse experience working in the nonprofit field, private sector and international organizations. Recently, she served as an M&E and Grants Specialist at UNDP Georgia, contributing to the strengthening of the vocational education related to agriculture. Mariam’s work focuses on capacity building and empowerment. She has a strong passion for local economic development and is committed to advancing social justice around the globe.

Host Organization: Open Road Alliance

Role at Open Road Alliance Mariam will serve as the Portfolio Fellow: supporting the improved risk management of Open Road’s loan portfolio by maintaining Open Road’s risk score Excel model, updating and improving loan portfolio data, and conducting market research to develop a database of investors, donors, and ecosystem organizations.

Demna has three years of professional working experience in the nonprofit sector and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence from Georgian Technical University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Ilia State University in Georgia. He was granted a scholarship from the European Commission and studied at Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, as an exchange master student of social sciences. While working as a legal officer under the migration program for the United Nations Association of Georgia, he supported asylum seekers, refugees, and other individuals of concern with administrative and legal issues. Previously, Demna worked with a community-based organization to promote access to education for ethnic minority youths in Georgia. As a civil servant, Demna worked with state agencies for number of years and was closely involved in institutional reforms in Georgia. He also conducted research on civil service and pension reforms in Georgia that attracted a lot of media attention. Through these experiences, he has developed strong analytical, project coordination, and implementation skills. Demna enjoys focusing on the topics of migration, personal data protection, public administration, and youth engagement, and he has a strong passion for analytical work.

Host Organization: National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry

Role at Host Organization: Demna’s responsibilities include monitoring legislation, researching and reporting on regional developments, producing publications, maintaining a web site, attending hearings and briefings, organizing and staffing events, and general administrative duties.