Board of Directors

Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov

Chairman

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in the Soviet Union in 1963, Garry Kasparov became the under-18 chess champion…

Senator Heidi Heitkamp

President

Heidi Heitkamp is the founder and Chair of the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs…

Alexander Vindman
Alexander Vindman

Board Member

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander S. Vindman (Retired) was most recently the director for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Russia on the White House’s National…
Annie Duke
Annie Duke

Board Member

Annie Duke is an author, corporate speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space…

Senator Bob Kerrey
Senator Bob Kerrey

Board Member

Bob Kerrey is Executive Chairman of the Minerva Institute for Research and Scholarship, where he advocates for broad reform in…

Igor Kirman
Igor Kirman

Board Member

Igor Kirman is a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he focuses primarily on mergers and…

 
Linda-Chavez
Linda Chavez

Board Member

Linda Chavez is a Senior Fellow at the National Immigration Forum. Chavez authored…

Mark Lasswel
Mark Lasswell

Board Member

Mark Lasswell is an op-ed editor at the Washington Post. He is the former editorial features editor…

Max Boot
Max Boot

Board Member

Max Boot is a historian, best-selling author, and foreign policy analyst who has been called one of the “world’s…

Michael Steele
Michael Steele

Board Member

Michael Steele is a political analyst for MSNBC and a Senior Fellow at Brown University’s Institute…

Mickey Edwards
Mickey Edwards

Board Member

Mickey Edwards is a former eight-term member of Congress, having been a member of his party’s leadership, a senior member of…

Advisory Board

Anne Applebaum

Advisor

Anne Applebaum is a columnist for the Washington Post and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian…

Bill Kristol

Advisor

William “Bill” Kristol is a political analyst and media commentator regular panelist on…

 
Bret Stephens

Advisor

Bret Stephens currently works at the New York Times and is a journalist, editor…

Dan Benton

Advisor

Dan Benton founded the technology hedge fund Andor Capital Management…

Daniel Hurwitz

Advisor

Daniel B. Hurwitz is Founder & CEO of Raider Hill Advisors LLC. He is a graduate of Colgate…

Eric Wolf

Advisor

Eric Wolf served as an Investigations Officer in the National Unit for Serious…

 
Evan Mawarire

Advisor

He is a Reagan-Fascell Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy…

 
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg

Advisor

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is Chairman of Spitzberg Partners LLC. He served as German Minister…

Lisa Berg

Advisor

Lisa is a senior level advisor, strategist and leader with extensive experience supporting…

Lucy Caldwell

Advisor

In a career that has spanned the private & public sectors, Lucy has worked in political advocacy and tech….

Rina Shah

Advisor

Rina Shah is a DC-based political advisor, commentator, and social entrepreneur…

 
Whitney Haring-Smith

Advisor

Whitney Haring-Smith is a former Rhodes Scholar, entrepreneur, and investor focused primarily…

 

Staff

Uriel Epshtein

Executive Director

James Lewis

Writing and Policy Associate

Zachary Koslowski

Program Associate

Emily Murnane

Research and Writing

Giacomo D'Urbano

Research and Writing

Haven Lerner

Research & Writing

Joseph Tufano

Research & Writing

Katerina Kutuzov

Research and Writing

Richard Gray

Research and Writing

Caroline Ries

Development, Events, and Community Management

Dylan Ollivier

Social Media & Marketing

Wisam Mustafa

Social Media & Marketing

Gabriel Strobel

Graphic & Web Design

Michael Kern

Video Editing

Lawrence Halsey

Audio

Samaquias Lorta

Audio

Timothy Han

Operations Manager 

Luke Henkel

Research & Writing

Jace White

Program Associate

Audrey Firrone

Social Media & Marketing

Austin Fialkow

Social Media & Marketing

Piper D'Emanuele

Social Media & Marketing

Ruchit Negotia

Video Editing

Danielle Wietrzychowski

Video Editing

Ruchit Negotia

Video Editing

Ruchit Negotia

Video Editing

Ruchit Negotia

Video Editing

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ABOUT US

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WHAT WE DO

PROJECTS

VALUES STATEMENT

DEFINING DEMOCRACY

DEFINIENDO LA DEMOCRACIA

DEMOCRACY WEEKLY

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DEFINING DEMOCRACY
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Garry Kasparov
Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in the Soviet Union in 1963, Garry Kasparov became the under-18 chess champion of the USSR at the age of 12 and the world under-20 champion at 17. He came to international fame at the age of 22 as the youngest world chess champion in history in 1985. His famous matches against the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue in 1996-97 were key to bringing artificial intelligence, and chess, into the mainstream.
Heidi Heitkamp is the founder and Chair of the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs and concerns of rural America. Prior to founding One Country, Heitkamp served as the first female senator (2013-2019) from North Dakota.
Alexander Vindman
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander S. Vindman (Retired) was most recently the director for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Russia on the White House’s National Security Council. Prior to retiring from the U.S. Army, he served as a Foreign Area Officer with assignments in Moscow, Russia and for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a Political-Military Affairs Officer. While on the Joint Staff, he co-authored the National Military Strategy Russia Annex and was the principal author for the Global Campaign for Russia. He is currently a doctoral student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, a Pritzker Military Fellow at the Lawfare Institute and Visiting Fellow at University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House. His book HERE, RIGHT MATTERS (HarperCollins) will be published in the spring of 2021.
Annie Duke
Annie Duke is an author, corporate speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space. Her most recent book, “Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts” is a national bestseller. A world-champion poker player, Annie retired from the game in 2012. She is the co-founder of The Alliance for Decision Education, a non-profit whose mission is to empower students through decision skills education, and serves on the board of After-School All-Stars.
Senator Bob Kerrey
Bob Kerrey is the Executive Chairman of the Minerva Institute for Research and Scholarship, where he advocates for broad reform in higher education. From 1983 to 1987 Kerrey served as Nebraska’s 35th Governor, and then as Senator from 1989 to 2001.
Igor Kirman
Igor Kirman is a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where he focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and general corporate and securities law matters. He teaches as an adjunct at Columbia Law School, is the author of a book on M&A confidentiality agreements, and was named one of American Lawyer’s “Dealmakers of the Year” for 2006 and 2015.
Linda-Chavez
Linda Chavez is a senior fellow at the National Immigration Forum. Chavez authored Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation (Basic Books 1991), which the Denver Post described as a book that “should explode the stereotypes about Hispanics that have clouded the minds of patronizing liberals and xenophobic conservatives alike.” National Review described Chavez’s memoir, An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal (Basic Books 2002), as a “brilliant, provocative, and moving book.” In 2000, Chavez was honored by the Library of Congress as a “Living Legend” for her contributions to America’s cultural and historical legacy. In January 2001, Chavez was President George W. Bush’s nominee for Secretary of Labor until she withdrew her name from consideration.

Chavez has held a number of appointed positions, among them Chairman, National Commission on Migrant Education (1988-1992); White House Director of Public Liaison (1985); Staff Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1983-1985); and she was a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (1984-1986). Chavez was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Maryland in 1986. In 1992, she was elected by the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission to serve a four-year term as U.S. Expert to the U.N. Sub-commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.

Chavez was also editor of the prize-winning quarterly journal American Educator (1977-1983), published by the American Federation of Teachers, where she also served as assistant to AFT president Al Shanker (1982-1983) and assistant director of legislation (1975-1977).

Chavez serves on the Board of Directors of ABM Industries, Inc. a Fortune 500 company, as well as on boards of several non-profit organizations.

Chavez was born in Albuquerque, NM, on June 17, 1947, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Colorado in 1970 and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 2012. She currently resides in Silver Spring, MD.

Mark Lasswel
Mark Lasswell is an op-ed editor at the Washington Post. He is the former editorial features editor, overseeing op-eds, at the Wall Street Journal, where he also served as deputy books editor.
Max Boot
Max Boot is a historian, best-selling author, and foreign policy analyst who has been called one of the “world’s leading authorities on armed conflict” by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a Global Affairs Analyst for CNN.
Michael Steele
Michael Steele is a political analyst for MSNBC and a Senior Fellow at Brown University’s Institute for International and Public Affairs. When he was elected Lt. Governor of Maryland in 2003, Michael Steele made history as the first African American elected to statewide office; and again with his subsequent chairmanship of the Republican National Committee in 2009.
Mickey Edwards
Mickey Edwards is a former eight-term member of Congress, having been a member of his party’s leadership, a senior member of both the Appropriations and Budget Committees, ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, and an advisor to the State Department. He is Vice President of the Aspen Institute, a visiting professor of public and international affairs at Princeton University, a political columnist, a published author, and an inducted fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Agora Institute, where she co-directs Arena, a program on disinformation and 21st century propaganda.
William “Bill” Kristol is a political analyst and media commentator regular panelist on ABC and MSNBC. Mr. Kristol served as Chief of Staff for Vice President Dan Quayle, and led the Project for the Republican Future, where he helped shape the strategy that produced the 1994 Republican congressional victory. In 1997, he co-founded the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) with Robert Kagan and he is the founder and director of Defending Democracy Together.
Bret Stephens currently works at the New York Times and is a journalist, editor, and political commentator. He is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including two honorary doctorates and the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.
Dan Benton founded the technology hedge fund Andor Capital Management and served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman until 2008, when he then established the Andor Opportunity Fund, LP and the Andor Opportunity Offshore Fund, Ltd. He graduated from Colgate University in 1980, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1984.
Daniel B. Hurwitz is Founder & CEO of Raider Hill Advisors LLC. He is a graduate of Colgate University and the Wharton School of Business Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania.
Eric Wolf served as an Investigations Officer in the National Unit for Serious and International Crimes Investigations with the Israeli Police, where he conducted several international investigations on crimes including homicide, fraud, and kidnapping. He later worked as the head of the Ambassador’s Office at the Embassy of Israel in Moscow. He is a founder of Paragon Outcomes Management, a New York private equity fund. He earned a BA from Jerusalem Hebrew University, an MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and an Executive MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

He is a Reagan-Fascell Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, a former fellow at Stanford University’s Centre for Democracy Development and the Rule of Law, and a 2020 Yale University World Fellow. Named as the 2016 African of the year by the Daily Maverick Newspaper of South Africa and one of 100 top global thinkers of 2016 by Foreign Policy magazine of the USA, Mawarire continues to work as an advocate, speaker and trainer on nonviolent citizen-driven change, democracy development and human rights.

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is Chairman of Spitzberg Partners LLC. He served as German Minister of Economics and Technology and then as Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Mr. zu Guttenberg was a Member of the German Parliament, a Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Secretary General of Germany’s CSU party.

Lisa Berg is a senior level advisor, strategist and leader with extensive experience supporting C-suite executives transform business vision into actionable solutions for financial services and non-profit organizations. Lisa is a graduate of Cornell University and has served in a number of non-profit leadership and board roles for organizations including: Cornell University, the GO Project, the Dalton School, her Co-op Board and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

In a career that has spanned the private & public sectors, Lucy has worked in political advocacy and tech. She served as Joe Walsh’s campaign manager during his insurgent run against Trump and formed Mockingbird Lab to get issue-advocacy orgs to shift towards data-driven tactics. Until 2019, Caldwell served as the Chief Strategy Officer & EVP at Crowdskout, ultimately helping to shepherd the company through a successful acquisition. Under her tenure, Crowdskout was named the Best Advocacy Technology Platform by Campaigns & Elections Magazine. Caldwell has appeared on & written in numerous outlets including CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, and NPR’s Diane Rehm Show. She frequently speaks and writes on the collision of technology and issue-moving.

Rina Shah is a DC-based political advisor, commentator, and social entrepreneur. She is currently the Senior Fellow for Inclusive Governance at the Rainey Center for Public Policy and a Contributing Writer for The Week. She is a proud daughter of West Virginia and of immigrants from Uganda and India. In 2016, she led the #NeverTrump movement, becoming the first RNC delegate to speak out against candidate Donald Trump––for which she was canceled by the RNC, only to be reinstated after a lengthy legal battle. She later worked as Chief Spokesperson for Evan McMullin’s presidential campaign, just one of nearly 40 political campaigns on which she has worked. In 2020, she founded Republican Women for Biden. In addition to her political work, she is co-founder of the Women’s Public Leadership Network and sits on the board of many women-focused nonprofits.
Whitney Haring-Smith is a former Rhodes Scholar, entrepreneur, and investor focused primarily on industrial and technology businesses. As a Managing Partner at Anzu Partners, Dr. Haring-Smith leads the portfolio support functions and has led most of Anzu’s acquisitions and software companies.

Prior to joining RDI as its Executive Director, Uriel worked in the private sector – first as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and then in strategy at start-ups in the mobility space including DoorDash and Uber. As a student at Yale University, he founded and to this day, continues to chair the Peace & Dialogue Leadership Initiative (PDLI), an organization dedicated to bridging the civil-military divide and creating a space on campuses for a nuanced discussion of the US role in the Middle East.

James Lewis joined RDI from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies where he worked as a Research Assistant for Senior Fellow Anne Applebaum. There he helped create an interdisciplinary course entitled “Democracy,” taught for the first time in the Spring of 2021. His academic background is in American political history and international relations. James is a graduate of Yale University.

Zach Koslowski joined RDI after serving as an AmeriCorps member with City Year Philadelphia. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and has a background in political theory and diplomatic history. While at Penn, Zach worked as a research assistant for Professor Rogers Smith, aiding in his publications on populism and peoplehood. He has previously worked at the U.S. House of Representatives and the Brookings Institution. Zach is a Liverpool fan, a national park enthusiast, and an ardent Trekkie. 

Emily Murnane is a fourth year student at Kent State University studying Political Science. Before joining RDI, she interned with her local United Way and the Northeast-Ohio based Growing Democracy Project, where she developed a passion for making politics and civic engagement easier and more accessible for beginners. In her free time, Emily enjoys cooking and going to spin classes.

Giacomo D’Urbano is a graduate from Queens College in New York City where he majored in Political Science with a double minor in Latin American Studies and Honors in the Social Sciences. Before joining RDI, he worked on the policy research team for NYS Senator John Brooks authoring a report on veterans’ educational benefits. Born and raised in Italy, it goes without saying that he loves calcio (soccer) and hiking. When not at work, he tries to keep up with a never-ending list of news articles and books, watches the NBA, and never misses a Juventus game!

Haven Lerner is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in political science and a minor in history. At Penn, he was editor of the Interview Staff for the Penn Political Review (PPR), doing interviews with policy experts including former president of Mexico Felipe Calderón and Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work and Co-founder of a new podcast for the PPR , ‘Let’s Talk Politics’, which explores current issues in greater depth with campus faculty. He likes audiobooks, basketball, and baseball (when the Yankees are winning).

Joseph Tufano is a graduate from the University of North Florida, where he studied English and Environmental Studies. In college, he published short fiction and helped ghostwrite a memoir. Prior to RDI, Joseph was a researcher for a nonprofit raising awareness of human rights violations in East Africa. He worked as a freelance copywriter for a travel marketing company and is currently an editor. In his free time, Joseph reads literary fiction, scuba dives, and travels; lately, he just reads.

Katerina Kutuzov is a Research and Writing Intern at RDI and a freshman at Fordham University, studying integrative neuroscience and urban studies on a pre-law track. Outside of RDI, Katerina is very involved in community service and volunteering, with organizations such as the Brooklyn Public Library and the American Red Cross. She also serves as the Co-Editor-in-Chief for the 100k Deeds Challenge, an international initiative working to promote the ideals of the UN, and has had direct experience with radio and press across the New York Metropolitan Area. In her free time, Katerina loves reading and literature, as well as spending time at home with her three cats.

Richard Gray attends Grinnell College, studying for a Bachelors in History, with the intention of pursuing a Master’s in International Relations. He is a former intern with the US Department of State, where he connected with foreign embassies in collaboration with alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program. He worked for the Haiti Endowment Fund from 2017-2018 and during the gas riots of 2018. He is an Eagle Scout and in 2019 was accredited for the Cannes Film Festival. He is interested in foreign policy, literature, rhetoric, and transit.

Caroline is a student at the University of Scranton studying Public Policy and Service with plans to study abroad in Spain for a language immersion experience. During Caroline’s hiatus from her studies, she was a state delegate for Bernie Sander’s 2020 presidential campaign and a volunteer coordinator for a progressive congressional campaign in Pennsylvania’s largest rural congressional district. During this time, she owned and managed the largest online community for teenagers. She is also a Hard of Hearing (HoH) advocate who proudly wears hearing aids as a young person. A cat mom of three, she spends most of her free time with her spouse and kitties when not traveling. She is interested in public health policy and emergency management, and she hopes to serve a year in the Americorps NCCC FEMA Corps after graduation.

Dylan Ollivier is a senior at Columbia University studying Political Science and Economics. At his school, he works for the International Students and Scholars Office where he manages the office’s social media platforms and produces informational videos. Dylan has also worked for the Global Coronanet Project as a Research Assistant and the national legal website Prelawland as a Contributing Writer. In his spare time, Dylan loves to watch movies, keep up with foreign policy, and play and watch soccer.

Wisam Mustafa is a first-generation graduate from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Law History and Society along with a minor in Arabic. During her time at Vanderbilt, she served as president of STRANDS, the organization for the empowerment of Black women. She also directed public relations for the undergraduate chapter of the NAACP. When she is not volunteering in political spaces, she enjoys building muscle in the gym, listening to music, and spending time with family.

Gabriel Strobel is a Graphic & Web Designer at RDI and a recent graduate from Catalyst Berlin, where he studied electronic music production. He is a multimedia artist in Berlin exploring his creativity under the alias ‘OIIA’, and often works as media producer, audio technician, and photographer on a freelance basis. During his free time he can be spotted enjoying long walks at the riverside.

Michael Kern is a fourth-year student at the University of Texas at Austin studying Film Production and Conflict Resolution. Being born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Michael always took a special interest in both politics and film. With this in mind, he has had a myriad of experiences in both fiction and non-fiction filmmaking, including shooting a documentary in rural Kenya. He is interested in understanding how storytelling can be used as a tool to decrease domestic polarization. In his free time, Michael loves reading good sci-fi novels, watching movies, and cooking.

Lawrence is a classically-trained composer and audio engineer from Virginia with respective bachelors degrees from Shenandoah Conservatory and Old Dominion University. Before interning with RDI, Lawrence worked closely with the Old Dominion University Symphony Orchestra to successfully engineer their Spring 2021 virtual concert. He has also performed instrumental/audio work for artists by the names of Ivana Lee, Noah Chapman, Ghost Town Remedy, and Alexa Rose. Lawrence is also responsible for the 2019 independent release of the niche electronic music album Admirer. Away from audio, Lawrence likes UFOs, dancing in the mirror, and eating good food.

Samaquias Lorta is an interdisciplinary artist from a Mexican migrant community in the United States currently based in Berlin, Germany. Outside of RDI Lorta is an interdisciplinary artist working on productions involved with ecological thought and mental health. Samaquias studied cello performance and music composition at Boise State University. As a recent graduate of Catalyst Institute in electronic music production, Samaquias is committed to democratic values and an ethos that is inclusive of diversity and inclusion.

Prior to joining RDI, Timothy Han worked in the campaign and political consulting worlds. He is a fan of the Bears, Bobby Kennedy, and democracy.

Luke Henkel is a rising junior at Georgetown University studying government with a minor in history. Prior to RDI, Luke worked as an intern for the city government of Indianapolis, Indiana, his hometown. In addition, Luke currently serves as an editor for Left Middle Right and on the board of the Georgetown Bipartisan Coalition. In his free time, he likes watching college basketball (among other sports), hiking, and reading or listening to political news and commentary.

Audrey Firrone is a senior undergrad and first year graduate student at the University of Memphis. Her undergraduate studies are in creative mass media, French and political science, and her graduate studies are in journalism. At RDI, Audrey works as a Social Media and Marketing Intern. She also works with student-led groups advocating for Uyghur human rights through social media content creation, research and writing blogs. Research is also one of her passions as she works with two international organizations collecting data about policy decisions regarding COVID-19 that is used widely by social scientists and governments. When she is not working, she can be found reading fantasy or historical fiction novels.

Austin is a recent graduate from New York University, where he studied media, culture, and communication while working in the entertainment world. His love of democracy and interest in electoral reform are what brought him to RDI, where he is a Social Media and Marketing Intern. Austin lives in Chicago with his dog.

Piper D’Emanuele is a fourth year at the University of Virginia studying American Politics and English. She has previously worked for local and national politicians from her home state of Minnesota. Most recently she worked as a Legislative Intern for a D.C. law firm. At the University of Virginia, Piper is a member of One for the World, an organization which encourages students to pledge 1% of their future yearly earnings to charities approved by the effective giving standards. She also works for a local business. In her free time Piper loves to explore all Charlottesville has to offer, taste test bubble tea, and spend time with her friends.

Ruchit Negotia is a 2020 graduate of the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in Film. He has produced, written, directed several short films during his 4 years of school. Alongside, producing his own content, he has worked on countless other films in various production roles. Having a passion for great storytelling has brought him to RDI. Where he is the video editor responsible for crafting a strong narrative. Besides editing videos, Ruchit also has a passion for painting, playing the guitar, and taking photos.

Danielle Wietrzychowski is a 2020 graduate of the College of New Jersey where she graduated with high honors with a bachelor’s in communications, majoring in interactive multimedia and minoring in management. While in college Danielle volunteered to assist disabled individuals and students through her involvement in the Special Olympics and the TCNJ Disability Support Services. In her prior work, Danielle used video for public information initiatives including a video collaboration with the New Jersey Brain Injury Alliance. Danielle has a passion for using light, movement and sound in video and animation to stimulate the senses and emotions and drive engagement. In her free time Danielle enjoys gaming, troubleshooting software to improve user experience, and having spirited discussions with friends and colleagues about technology and its uses.

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