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Information
Potential Members
Current Members
Standards
Events
Internship Program
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DOUG BROOKS
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United States  |
President
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The founder of the International Peace Operations Association, he is a specialist in African security issues and has written extensively on the regulation and constructive utilization of the private sector for international stabilization, peacekeeping, and humanitarian missions. Mr. Brooks has testified before Congress, appeared on a range of national and international news programs, and has lectured at numerous universities and colleges. Previously, he has been an Adjunct Faculty member at American University and an Academic Fellow and Research Associate with the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), Johannesburg.
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J. J. MESSNER
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Australia  |
Director
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Originally from Adelaide, Australia, J.J. received his Master's degree in Peace Operations from George Mason University School of Public Policy where he specialized in refugees and post-conflict elections, with an emphasis on the fledgling nation of Timor-Leste. In addition, J.J. holds a B.A. in Politics and International Studies from the University of Adelaide, during which he also studied at the University of Adelaide Law School and the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. J.J. previously worked in the field of corporate antitrust law for a large firm in Washington, D.C. and for education-related non-profit organizations in Australia.
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MELISSA SABIN
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United States |
Manager of Business Development
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Melissa returns to IPOA after a stint of business development and recruitment at Catapult Consultants, an Arlington, Virginia-based financial management, acquisition management, program management and information assurance firm serving U.S. government agencies. Prior to this, Melissa was an External Relations Associate at IPOA. Previously, Melissa was a correspondent in Beirut, Lebanon and Fez, Morocco for Sayidaty (a pan-Arabic women’s magazine) and the Middle East Reporter, also in Beirut. Melissa’s academic background includes a joint degree in International Affairs and Middle Eastern studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University and Diplomacy and International Affairs studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Melissa is also conversant in Arabic. |
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KRISTEN BLANDFORD
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United States |
Publications Associate
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Kristen Blandford received her B.A. from Xavier University in 2009, where she focused on democratic consolidation issues and constructs of citizenship in European and Eurasian affairs. She spent the past year teaching in a public school in Madrid, during which she observed the Spanish state’s process for fostering democratic values in its youngest generation. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in International Politics at American University. She will continue her work on democratic consolidation issues with a focus on transnational crime and corruption, and in the future, hopes to contribute to efforts to increase the transparency and efficacy of government in Latin American and in recently admitted EU member states. Kristen is a native of Kentucky and is conversational in Spanish.
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GEOFFREY GOLDBERG
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United States |
Research Associate
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Geoffrey Goldberg is an International Policy Specialist and Research Associate at IPOA. His background includes graduate studies of International Policy at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and undergraduate studies of Political Science at Franklin & Marshall College. His academic areas of specialty include, counterterrorism, intelligence, defense, national security affairs, as well as regional security studies to include Africa, Middle East, the war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan. His areas of interests include research and analysis of matters pertaining to terrorism, rebel movements, coup d’etats, and political developments throughout regions of conflict.
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WHITNEY GRESPIN
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United States |
Programs Associate
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Whitney comes to IPOA with a background of having facilitated international educational and development programs in Argentina, China, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. Previously, Whitney worked at the Ford Institute for Human Security researching human trafficking patterns in South-East Asia, and the Ridgway Center for International Security Studies where her work focused on stability issues related to extractive industries throughout Africa. She has also worked as an Analyst for the National Cyber Forensics & Training Alliance. Whitney received her Master’s degree in Public and International Affairs with a focus on Human Security from the University of Pittsburgh with additional coursework at Moscow State University, and her B.A. in Art History from Duquesne University. |
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VILDANA KRSLAK
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Netherlands  |
Government and Legal Affairs Associate
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Vildana Krslak recently earned her Master of Laws (LL. M) at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) School of Law, with a focus in International Law. Prior to her studies in California, She studied law in Sydney, Australia for a year at the University of Western Sydney as part of a Study Abroad and Exchange Program, and started her academic career at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in Rotterdam, the Netherlands where she received her Bachelor of Laws (LL. B). She speaks fluent English, Dutch and Bosnian and is also proficient in German.
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MAVZUNA TURAEVA
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Tajikistan  |
Development Associate
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“Mavzuna is an MBA graduate (class 2010) from the University of Montana. Prior to joining IPOA, she spent a month in Cairo, Egypt, to study Arabic and Egyptian colloquial languages on a full scholarship. While in Cairo, Mavzuna completed an independent study on the Arabic language institutions by conducting an analysis of the host school’s marketing strategy with an emphasis on their brand positioning, and providing recommendations for its improvement. Her final report was extensively used by the school. Mavzuna’s prior experience includes volunteering as Young Entrepreneurs Program Co-Instructor for the Warren Miller Freedom Foundation, where she taught middle school students the fundamentals of Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and etc. She holds a B.S. degree in Finance and International Business majors and a minor in French (University of Montana), complemented with two exchange programs to France and Egypt. Mavzuna is native to Tajiki and Russian, proficient in French and has intermediate Arabic language skills”.
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CAITLIN TYLER-RICHARDS
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United States |
Assistant Editor
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Caitlin received her B.A in English and History from the College of Wooster. During her time there she was lucky enough to study abroad at the University of Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand, and conduct a number of independent research projects. This including her interdisciplinary senior thesis, “’Nothing But a Fiction’: Re-Writing History to Re-Imagine Identity in Third Generation Nigerian Fiction,” which explores how third-generation Nigerian authors re-interpret traumatic historical events to comment upon their nation’s identity. Caitlin has interned with World War II magazine and occasionally works with the Maryland Montgomery County Council. She is currently working on a career in publishing, but also intends to pursue a PhD in Africana Studies. |
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