Geeta Anand ‘89 is editor-in-chief of VTDigger. A Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, author and former university dean, Anand brings nearly 30 years of experience in investigative and public service journalism to the role. Anand served as dean of the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and worked as a foreign correspondent for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, reporting from India on a range of international issues. Anand began her career in Vermont, covering southern Vermont and Rutland for The Rutland Herald, where her reporting on credit reporting errors led to congressional action. She later covered City Hall for The Boston Globe and is the author of “The Cure,” a book about a family’s search for medical answers that was adapted into the film “Extraordinary Measures,” starring Harrison Ford

Mona El-Naggar is an international correspondent and documentary filmmaker with twenty years of experience producing and driving award-winning work for the New York Times. She is an expert in Middle East politics, religion, women, youth, and culture, and has reported in nearly every country in the Arab world. Based in Cairo, she authors stories that cover gender issues, war and conflict, and the changing political and social dynamics shaping everyday life. El-Naggar holds a BA in Political Economy from Georgetown University and a MA in News and Documentary from New York University. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for international reporting, an Emmy Nominee for news and documentary, and the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Best of Photojournalism Award.

Nicholas Opiyo is the Senior Director for Human Rights at the African Middle Eastern Leadership Project, and a Frontline Fellow with the Renew Democracy Initiative. He is an award-winning human rights attorney and democracy and justice advocate from Uganda, where he founded a civil rights charity and was targeted and attacked for his work. Nicholas has fought for electoral security, free speech, free press, and LGBTQ rights in Uganda. 

Gottemoeller was the Deputy Secretary General of NATO from 2016 to 2019, where she helped to drive forward NATO’s adaptation to new security challenges in Europe and in the fight against terrorism. Prior to NATO, she served for nearly five years as the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the U.S. Department of State, advising the Secretary of State on arms control, nonproliferation and political-military affairs. While Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance in 2009 and 2010, she was the chief U.S. negotiator of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the Russian Federation. Prior to her government service, she was a social scientist at RAND and a Council on Foreign Relations international affairs fellow, as well as a senior associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, with joint appointments to the Nonproliferation and Russia programs. She served as the Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center from 2006 to 2008, and is currently a nonresident fellow in Carnegie's Nuclear Policy Program. She is also the William J. Perry Lecturer at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Research Fellow at the Hoover Institute, where she teaches and mentors students in the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy program and the CISAC Honors program; contributes to policy research and outreach activities; and convenes workshops, seminars and other events relating to her areas of expertise, including nuclear security, Russian relations, the NATO alliance, EU cooperation and non-proliferation.

Candace Rondeaux directs Future Frontlines at New America. Future Frontlines is a public intelligence service for next generation security and democratic resilience. A journalist and public policy analyst, she is a professor of practice and fellow at the Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies and the Center on the Future of War at Arizona State University. She is a columnist for the World Politics Review and a contributing writer for the Daily Beast. Catalyzing the global human pursuit of dignity, justice, equity, transparency, and accountability is a through line in all her work. Her forthcoming book, “Putin’s Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia’s Collapse into Mercenary Chaos,” will be published in May 2025 by Public Affairs. Before joining New America, Rondeaux served as a senior program officer at the U.S. Institute of Peace where she launched the RESOLVE Network, a global research consortium on conflict and violent extremism and as a strategic advisor to the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.  She holds a B.A. in Russian area studies from Sarah Lawrence College, an M.A. in journalism from New York University, and an M.P.P. in public policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. 

Dr. Yael Berda is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Hebrew University and Academy Scholar for International and Area Studies at Harvard University. Previously, Berda was the Gerard Weinstock Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University and an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International & Regional Studies, WCFIA from 2014-2017. Berda has taught at Princeton, NYU, Tel Aviv University and Jindal Global University. She received her PhD from Princeton University; her MA from Tel Aviv University, and her LLB from Hebrew University faculty of Law. She was a practicing Human Rights lawyer, representing clients in Military, District and Supreme courts in Israel. Her most recent book is Living Emergency: Israel's Permit Regime in the West Bank (Stanford University Press, 2017). Berda is currently working on a book manuscript entitled: "The File and the Checkpoint: The Administrative Memory of the British Empire". Her other research projects are about the construction of loyalty of civil servants in Israel and India, the use of emergency laws to shape the political economy of colonial states, and colonial legacies of law and administration that shape contemporary homeland security practices in postcolonial states. She publishes, teaches and speaks on the intersections of sociology of law, bureaucracy and the state, race and racism and sociology of empires.

Shiori Ito is an Oscar and BAFTA nominated documentary filmmaker, journalist, writer, and co-founder of Hanashi Films, focusing on gender-based human rights issues. Named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2020, her voice continues to resonate globally through film, writing, and public speaking

Ito’s earlier work includes documentaries highlighting social justice and personal stories from across the globe. Her debut feature, Black Box Diaries, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and has since been released worldwide. The film won a Peabody Award, received Oscar and BAFTA nominations, and earned more than twenty international prizes. Screened in over fifty countries, it has sparked global conversations on gender, power, and justice.

Ito is the author of Black Box (2017), a memoir based on her own experience of sexual violence that exposed systemic sexism in Japan. In 2018, it won the Free Press Association of Japan’s Best Journalism Award and has since been translated into ten languages including English. Her latest book, Swim Naked (2023), was published in Japan and China, exploring themes of resilience, vulnerability, and survival.

Ito’s work has appeared in outlets such as the BBC, Al Jazeera, and The Economist. She was recognized by Newsweek Japan as one of the “100 Most Respected Japanese People in the World” in 2019 and named One Young World’s Journalist of the Year in 2022.

Henry T. Wooster serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.  He served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from September 2020 to July 2023, and prior to his Ambassadorship, as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Maghreb and Egypt. He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Previously, he was the Deputy of Chief of Mission in Paris and Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. at U.S. Embassy Amman. Prior to those assignments, he was Political Counselor at U.S. Embassy Islamabad.Henry T. Wooster serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.  He served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from September 2020 to July 2023, and prior to his Ambassadorship, as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Maghreb and Egypt. He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Previously, he was the Deputy of Chief of Mission in Paris and Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. at U.S. Embassy Amman. Prior to those assignments, he was Political Counselor at U.S. Embassy Islamabad.

Susan Stigant is the director of Africa Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace that last month established an Africa Center to deepen, elevate, and expand the Institute’s commitment to stem violent conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ms. Stigant oversees the Institute’s programming on strategic regional engagement in the Greater Horn of Africa, with the African Union as well as constitutional reform and national dialogue processes. She is also the co-director of Senior Study Group on Peace in the Red Sea Arena convened by the U.S. Institute of Peace. Ms. Stigant previously managed constitutional development, citizen engagement and election observation programs with the National Democratic Institute. She was the NDI program director in South Sudan from 2005-2011 where she supported the implementation of the peace agreement. She previously worked with the Forum of Federations on comparative federalism and with the research unit of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in South Africa.

Michael[a] Woldemariam is an associate professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for International & Security Studies at Maryland. Woldemariam’s teaching and research interests are in African security studies, with a particular focus on armed conflict in the Horn of Africa. Woldemariam’s scholarly work has been published in a wide-range of peer-reviewed journals, most recently in Contemporary Security Policy and Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. His popular essays have appeared in outlets such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Current History. His first book, Insurgent Fragmentation in the Horn of Africa: Rebellion and Its Discontents, was published with Cambridge University Press in 2018. In addition to his scholarly work, Woldemariam has consulted with a number of international organizations, primarily on issues related to politics, governance, and security in the Greater Horn of Africa region. He holds a BA from Beloit College, and MA and PhD degrees from Princeton University. Prior to joining SPP, Woldemariam was a tenured faculty member at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies and the Director of its African Studies Center. He has also worked as a research specialist with Princeton University’s Innovations for Successful Societies program and held fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Penn State’s African Research Center. In 2020-21, Woldemariam served on the Democratic staff at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee through a Council on Foreign Relations fellowship.

Rania Aziz is Sudanese activist who is deeply enmeshed in Sudan’s transformative landscape. She played a pivotal role in the revolution as a former member of the Sudanese Professional Association. Within the MANSAM Coalition, she championed women’s involvement in the transition government and spearheaded civil service reforms. As the founder of the Interconnect Initiative, she underscores the importance of movement building and psychological resilience. Actively engaging on both local and international platforms, she generously shares her expertise with activists worldwide, fostering solidarity and empowering marginalized voices in the pursuit of social change.

Ms. Wendy Cue joined the Inter-Agency Standing Committee secretariat at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in January 2018. Prior to this role, she served as Head of the OCHA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean from July 2015. Wendy has more than 25 years of international and UN experience in humanitarian affairs, human rights, and sustainable development. Her previous assignments include as Head of the OCHA Office in Nepal, Chief of the Emergency Preparedness Section, Coordinator for the Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium, Chief of the Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit, Field Manager for the Pandemic Influenza Contingency, and Team Leader for human rights investigations in Rwanda and Haiti. Her professional journey began in 1992 when joined the Organization of American States/UN human rights mission to Haiti. In 1997, she monitored human rights in Rwanda during the post-genocide years. She joined OCHA in 1999, reporting on the conflict and coup d’état in Guinea-Bissau. Wendy has led UN emergency teams in coordinating initial responses to major disasters, including the tsunami in Sri Lanka, floods in Pakistan, volcano eruption in Cabo Verde, hurricane in Haiti, and Ebola response in the DR Congo.

Ms. Cue has a degree in Engineering Sciences and Romance Languages from Dartmouth College and a Master’s in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.

Khalil Shikaki is a professor of political science and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah. He is also a senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. He is a co-founder of the Arab Barometer and the Arab Reform Initiative and a co-author of the annual report on the Arab Democracy Index. Since 1993, Shikaki has conducted hundreds of polls among Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and, since 2000, dozens of polls among Israelis. His research has focused on Palestinian state building, public opinion, security sector reform, transition to democracy, and the impact of domestic Palestinian politics on the peace process.

Bios: 

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian politician, author, and historian who was imprisoned from 2022 to 2024 for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. He’s a recipient of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for commentary and a longtime advocate for democracy in Russia. A close colleague of the late opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir played a pivotal role in the adoption of the Magnitsky sanctions against Russian human rights violators. Despite surviving two assassination attempts through poisoning, he continues to be a relentless voice for freedom. Beyond his political work, he’s also an accomplished filmmaker, having directed three documentaries. Vladimir has led international efforts to honor Nemtsov, including street designations and his recent film, ‘Nemtsov’. He is the founding chairman of the Nemtsov Foundation and served as vice president at Open Russia and the Free Russia Foundation—two organizations that were later labeled "undesirable" by the Russian government. 

Evgenia Kara-Murza. As Advocacy Director of the Free Russia Foundation, Evgenia plays a critical role in advancing public diplomacy and global outreach for Russian civil society. Following the politically-motivated imprisonment of her husband, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Evgenia has worked to hold Russian officials accountable for violating international commitments to human rights, democracy, corruption, and rule of law. As part of the Free Russia Foundation, she’s a powerful voice in the global campaign supporting Russian anti-war and pro-democracy activists, both inside and outside the country.

Tikhon Dzyadko, editor-in-chief of TV Dozhd, which was formerly the only independent TV station in Russia. In March 2022, Russian authorities blocked access to TV Rain in response to its coverage of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Under Tikhon’s leadership, TV Rain relaunched from Latvia and later continued broadcasting from the Netherlands after securing a Dutch license in 2023. Despite ongoing pressures from the Kremlin, TV Rain remains a crucial platform for independent journalism, airing through YouTube to reach audiences both inside and outside Russia. Tikhon is a former deputy editor-in-chief and host of the RTVI channel and a former correspondent and presenter of the radio station Ekho Moskvy.