We are happy to introduce four new members of the StrategEast Advisory Board: former President of the Kyrgyz Republic Roza Otunbayeva, former State Department diplomat and Defense Department official Debra L. Cagan, member of the UK Parliament Mark Pritchard and former Head of Administration (Chief of Staff) to the President of Georgia David Tkeshelashvili.
The Advisory Board provides strategic advice and guidance to the Center.
Former President of the Kyrgyz Republic Roza Otunbayeva currently heads “The Initiative of Roza Otunbayeva” International Foundation. In 2007 Ms. Otunbayeva was elected to the Kyrgyz Parliament and led the opposition faction until April 2010. After April Revolution of 2010 she became a Head of the Interim Government. From July 2010 to December 2011, Roza Otunbayeva served as President of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Debra L. Cagan worked as a State Department diplomat and Defense Department official from the Reagan to Trump administrations, including serving as Deputy Assistant secretary of Defense for Coalition, Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Disaster Relief; Senior Director for European, Russian and Eurasian security issues; Special Adviser for Strategic and Nuclear Policy for Europe; Senior Adviser to U.S. and NATO military officials. Ms. Cagan led negotiations for the Highly Enriched Uranium Agreement with Russia and headed coalition operations for Iraq and Afghanistan. Ms. Cagan, a native Chicagoan, has a BA and MA from the University of Iowa and completed additional post-graduate work at the University of Chicago towards her doctorate, where she was named the first woman fellow for the prestigious Armed Forces and Society Consortium.
Mark Pritchard is a Member of the UK Parliament, a member of the UK’s governing Conservative Party, and had served in the UK Parliament since 2005. Mr. Pritchard has extensive international experience, being the first MP to serve consecutively, on the NATO, Council of Europe, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assemblies. He is also the UK Prime Minister’s Trade and Investment Envoy to Georgia and Armenia.
David Tkeshelashvili is a former Georgian Politician, who was Vice Prime Minister and then First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia from 2008 to June 2010. From 2010 to May of 2013 he served as a Head of Administration (Chief of Staff) to the President of Georgia. Mr. Tkeshelashvili is an Associate Director of the Center of International and Comparative Law (CICL) at Emory University School of Law. He is a Professor of Law, teaches course in public international law.
We are thrilled to have such distinguished individuals on our board!
