European Union

Elene Kintsurashvili is a Warsaw-based senior program coordinator on GMF’s Transatlantic Security team, focusing on research and convening activities. Her areas of expertise include NATO and EU engagement in the Eastern Partnership countries. She also follows the South Caucasus and Black Sea regions, Georgian domestic and foreign policies, and Russian hybrid warfare and its impact on European security and democratic resilience.

Kintsurashvili previously served as assistant to the deputy secretary-general of the Georgian parliament. Outside her professional work, she has been involved in civic initiatives advancing democracy and Georgian aspirations to integrate into the Euro-Atlantic community.

Kintsurashvili received her master’s degree in European interdisciplinary studies from the College of Europe, where she specialized in European neighborhood policy and the Eastern Partnership, and was awarded an honorary bachelor’s degree in international relations from Vistula University. She speaks fluent Georgian, Russian, and Polish.

Niklas Ebert is a program manager with GMF’s Transatlantic Security program. Based in Berlin, he works mainly on issues of deterrence and resilience as well as German security and defense policy.

Prior to joining GMF, Ebert worked as a research assistant at the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Defence and Military Analysis Programme in Berlin. Previously, he worked for the German Federal Foreign Office focusing on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. He gained additional experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Ebert received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences from Maastricht University and holds a master’s degree in war and conflict studies from the University of Potsdam.

Hannah Abdullah is a senior fellow with the GMF Cities program, leading its work on sustainable urban development and local climate resilience. She heads GMF’s Transatlantic Forum for Nature and Environment (TAFNE) and the Ukraine Cities Partnership for Sustainable Local Recovery (UCP), initiatives that foster cooperation among local leaders, communities, businesses, and experts across Europe and North America.

Before joining GMF, she was a senior research fellow for the Global Cities Program of CIDOB–Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, where she led the program’s research and other activities on urban climate action in close collaboration with Barcelona City Council. She also served as a program officer for the New York office of the Goethe-Institut, Germany’s cultural agency.

Hannah Abdullah holds a master's degree and a PhD in sociology from the London School of Economics (LSE). She has held research, teaching, and lecturing positions at LSE and at the University of Dresden, the University of Leipzig, and Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.