Elene Kintsurashvili is a program coordinator at GMF East. Based in the Warsaw office, she works on research and convening activities that foster transatlantic cooperation related to the region. 

Prior to joining GMF, Elene worked as an assistant to the Deputy-Secretary General at the Parliament of Georgia. Elene received her master’s degree in European Interdisciplinary studies from the College of Europe and was awarded with an honorary bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Vistula University. Her areas of expertise include NATO/EU vis-à-vis Eastern Neighborhood matters, the Caucasus region and Georgian domestic politics. 

Elene is fluent in Georgian, English and Russian, she speaks Polish with working proficiency and has a basic knowledge of French.

Lauren Koons was formerly Grants and Revenue Manager at GMF.

Katerina Geisler is a senior program coordinator for the GMF Cities team. She focuses on projects that link city and international affairs, and that connect cities on both sides of the Atlantic so that they can better tackle shared local challenges.

Geisler has experience working in democracy and international cooperation. She joined GMF from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of International Affairs. Before that, she worked as a policy analyst for a US congressional campaign.

Geisler holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and political science from Florida International University and an executive course certificate in subnational diplomacy from The George Washington University.

Bogdan Cozma is a program coordinator at the Black Sea Trust. He supports the Pro-Elect project, which promotes participatory and representative democracy in the Eastern Partnership countries. He also writes policy briefs on electoral systems in the Black Sea area, the impact of geopolitics on Central and Eastern Europe, and the role of civic engagement in promoting democratic principles. He previously worked on grantmaking initiatives in Ukraine and Türkiye with funding from USAID, the European Commission, the Porticus Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Cozma has additional expertise in the Three Seas Initiative, EU institutions and foreign policy, and the politics of the Black Sea region. 

Cozma holds a master’s degree in philosophy, politics, and economics and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Bucharest. He is a PhD candidate at the Doctoral School of International Affairs at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies.

Iryna Khomiak is a program officer with GMF’s Ukraine: Relief, Resilience, Recovery program, based in Berlin. She works within the emergency response programming for support of Ukrainian civil society and independent media, especially in terms of the full-scale Russian war. Prior to this, she worked as a coordinator of the Master in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Program at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, and on judicial, police, and juvenile probation reforms in Ukraine. She has worked within international projects funded by USAID and Global Affairs Canada as well as on numerous projects of the British Council in Ukraine.

Inspired by the spirit of the Revolution of Dignity and her experience, Iryna decided to pursue her Master’s degree in human rights at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. There, she focused mainly on peace and conflict resolution policies, women’s rights within this, and the right to education for national minorities. She also holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in the theory and history of literature and comparative studies from the National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla academy” in Kyiv, Ukraine. In addition to her native Ukrainian, she speaks English and German, and she has basic knowledge of Polish. 
 

Niklas Ebert is a program manager based in Berlin, Germany. 
 

Irene Fam is finance analyst based in Washington, DC.

Sarah Jones is GMF's managing director of leadership programs. Based in Washington, DC, she oversees the organization's leadership development portfolio including the Marshall Memorial Fellowship, Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network, Policy Design Network, and other initiatives aimed at strengthening and advancing the transatlantic relationship. She has more than a decade of experience building curricula and inclusive programs.

Jones joined GMF in 2022 as the organization’s inaugural senior manager of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She worked with the human resources and leadership teams to ensure equitable policies are in place, inclusive practices are encouraged at all levels, and workforce diversity is the outcome of equity efforts. She put in place GMF’s first-ever Inclusion Roadmap, ensuring the organization has a strategic plan for fostering equity and inclusion for staff and stakeholders.

Jones is a member of Black Professionals in International Affairs, Global Access Pipeline, Spark DEI through the ENAR Foundation, Think Tank DC Consortium, and Berlin-based #teamDiversity.