2019

Badri Niparishvili is the acting Judge at District Court of Tetritskaro. For over six years he has been working as a head of secretariat at the criminal chamber of Supreme Court and has been engaged in wide range of processes, including Criminal Justice Reform, Electronic Justice, Administration of Justice, making recommendations in terms of legal issues in Criminal Justice System etc.

He has been actively involved in Judicial International Conferences. Alongside, Badri Niparishvili has been actively engaged in academic life, both as a student and as a lecturer. He has obtained Master`s degree in law from Tbilisi State University and currently is enrolled on PhD program at the same University, conducting research in terms of the admissibility of evidence obtained by breach of law. He has been permanently publishing articles on matter of criminal procedure in law journal – “Justice and Law”.

At different times he has been teaching original courses at five different University in Tbilisi namely Political and Legal Aspects of Terrorism, reasoning of judgements, power of investigative judge, preventive measures, criminal proc. he is an Alumni of Tbilisi School of Political Studies a part of the Council of Europe Schools of Political Studies founded in 2000 which is the most demanding space in Georgia.

The School is supporting civil society and democratic process development in the country and unites wide range of professionals around the world. He is amateur artist and had 3 solo and 3 group exhibitions – expressionism, modern expressionism.

Tamta Muradashvili is a Chief Executive Officer of Mtavari Channel LLC. She has been serving at this position from August 2019, when former senior management team of Rustavi2 established a new broadcasting company, Mtavari Channel, with the vision to create an independent platform and serve development of democracy in the country.

Tamta Muradashvili was a Chief Legal Counsel at Rustavi 2 Broadcasting Company from 2008 till August 2019. Prior joining Rustavi2, she worked for nonprofit organizations. Her work experience includes teaching media law at Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) since 2017. Tamta Muradashvili holds LLM from Tbilisi State University (2006) and is a certified specialist in Civil Law. She is also a licensed lawyer in Civil Law (Georgian Bar Association member since 2010). She holds second LLM from University of Vienna (2015) in European and International Business Law.

She is an alumna (2001-2002) of a student exchange program (FSA/FLEX) that is administered by American Councils and fully funded by US State Department. Tamta Muradashvili has contributed to the amendments of the Broadcaster’s Code of Conduct adopted in 2009, and has been actively involved in discussions of draft law projects related to media sector and free speech in general. She has been engaged in the events and developments of Georgian media; participated in panel discussions and conducted public lectures on freedom of speech. She has brought the Rustavi 2’s high profile legal dispute case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Free University of Tbilisi has nominated her as the nominee of the “Human Rights Defender of 2017” award for her contribution to human rights development and protection in the year of 2017. From 2019, Tamta Muradashvili serves as the Chairwomen of Media and Communications Law Committee at Georgian Bar Association and is a member of International Bar Association.

Salome Mukhuradze is a Senior Program Officer at the Eastern European Centre for Multiparty Democracy (EECMD) and has over 10 years of experience in support of democracy, political parties, policy development, and gender equality. Salome earned LL.B. and LL.M. in Public International Law from Tbilisi State University and holds an M.A. in Intercultural Conflict Management from Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences of Berlin. Since the final year of her bachelor studies, Salome has been employed by various state agencies, local NGOs, and international organizations. Additionally, Salome has worked as a trainer and invited lecturer on public international law and law of international organizations.

Sandro Megrelishvili is the acting head of Reform Coordination and Monitoring Division at the Ministry of Defense of Georgia (MoD).

For over six years, he has been engaged in wide range of dissimilar processes, including coordination, monitoring and reporting, policy formulation and system analysis. With the help of his colleagues, he has introduced the monitoring system for the ministry’s strategic documents. As a result, MoD has a properly working monitoring system that enables the pinpointing of the main challenges and malfunctions, offers profound material for thorough analysis and facilitates decision-making process. Apart from that, Sandro has been actively engaged in academic life, both as a student and as a teacher.

He has graduated from University of St Andrews with Honors Degree in International Relations and gained Master’s Degree in Political Science at Ilia State University. Currently, he is enrolled on PhD program at Ilia State University, researching the role of political parties in the democratic consolidation process. For two consecutive years, Sandro has been teaching ‘Introduction to Democracy’ at a summer school (Guivy Zaldastanishvili American Academy in Tbilisi), while, currently, he is lecturing ‘Democratic Governance’ at the Business and Technology University, the main goal of which is to support students to become active and responsible citizens. S

andro’s is keen to contribute to the strengthening of Georgia’s defense and security, and to its democratic consolidation and sustainable development. He hopes that through participation in LAD program, he will be better prepared to advance these goals.

In 2016 Elene Khoshtaria was elected to the Parliament of Georgia, where she is a vocal member of the following committees: Human Rights and Civil Integration and Healthcare and Social Issues. In 2017 she ran as a Tbilisi Mayoral candidate in the Municipal Elections.

Since 2012 she has been a Professor of Political Ideologies and International Affairs at the Tbilisi State University, Agrarian and Free Universities. In the period of 2007-2012 she held a position of the First Vice-State Minister of Georgia for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. During this period Georgia achieved the major milestones on its path to NATO integration. In 2004, she worked at the Ministry of Internal Affairs; later at the Ministry of Defense and further at the Office of the State Minister of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, she headed the process of Georgia’s NATO integration in the capacity of the Head of Foreign Affairs Department.

In 2012, Ms. Khoshtaria co-founded a non-partisan, non-governmental policy watchdog and think tank “Georgia’s Reforms Associates” (GRASS) and became an active defender of the Human Rights. From the Civil Society platform, Ms. Khoshtaria was vocal about democracy challenges, annexation of Georgia’s occupied regions by the Russian Federation and Georgia’s Foreign Policy. Elene Khoshtaria graduated from Moscow State Institute for International Affairs (MGIMO).

Ruslan Khoroshvili is a country managing partner of EY in Georgia.

With 20 years of experience in the accounting and auditing profession, he is one of the leading professionals in this sphere in Georgia. He started his career with GCG-Audit in 1999 as a trainee. First working on the joint engagements of GCG-Audit and Andersen and later joining EY in 2003, during their acquisition of GCG-Audit. Throughout his career at EY, Ruslan worked in EY’s Tbilisi, Moscow, Almaty, Astana and Bucharest offices. He served leading EY’s local and international clients, participated in IPO’s and bond offerings in Georgia, UK, Russia and Kazakhstan. In 2003, Ruslan was the first active professional from Georgia to obtain a US Certified Public Accountant designation. He was promoted to audit partner in 2001 at age of 31, becoming the first locally promoted partner for Big4 professional services firms in Georgia.

In 2003, Ruslan was promoted to lead EY’s Georgian practice as a country managing partner. Ruslan is actively engaged in the promotion and development of audit profession in Georgia. He represented audit profession on the first board of the Service for Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Supervision of Georgia. He is also active member of the Georgian Federation of Professional Accountants and Auditors, currently serving as a head of its Audit Quality Committee. Apart from professional endeavors, Ruslan is passionate about charity and social work. In the past, he has participated in large number of social initiatives.

He promotes the idea of social engagement both at EY and broadly in the Georgian society. Currently, Ruslan is a board member of not-for-profit organization First Step. Ruslan is a Bachelor of Business Administration from ESM-Tbilisi. He is active Certified Public Accountant from a State of New Hampshire, USA and is licensed auditor in Georgia. Ruslan has a wife and three kids.

Levan Koberidze is an elected majoritarian member of the 9th term of the Parliament of Georgia. He is a member of the Healthcare and Social Issues Committee in the Parliament of Georgia. Levan Koberidze is a main staff member of the parliamentary delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of Francophonie (APF).

As a member of the Parliament of Georgia, Levan Koberidze was a deputy chairman of the Healthcare and Social Issues Committee and a member of Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee. He was a Head of the parliamentary friendship group with Japan, a main staff member of the Parliamentary Delegation in the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly and a member of Gender Equality Council of Parliament of Georgia. Levan Koberidze was in charge of development of Georgian winery sector as he was a chairman of Georgian Wine Producers Union and gained enormous experience from working in “Georgian Wines and Spirits Company”.

Levan Koberidze holds an MBA Degree from Stockholm School of Economics and he also graduated from the department of medicine, general surgery at Tbilisi State Medical University

Nino Kiknadze is the Director of the project “Law, media and Health” at the Open Society Georgia Foundation.

Nino Kiknadze’s background spans such areas of Law as Civil Law (Corporation and Business Law, Labor Law and Health Care law) and human rights. Nina enrolled in Tbilisi State University (department of Jurisprudence) in 1995, which she graduated with honors in 2000 and acquired LLM degree. She also holds an MPA degree from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs. In 2004, she completed the Leiden University and passed the BAR exam with success. In 1999 Nina worked for Georgian State Chancellery as a Lawyer, where her obligation was legal assessment of Georgian President’s radio speeches.

From 2000 to 2006, Nina Kiknadze worked for Children Central Hospital as a head of legal department. She also worked for Commercial Bank as a Head of Legal Department. Since 2003 till present  Nino Kiknadze  works for  European Union’s, USAID›s, UNDP and World Banks projects as a legal expert.

Since 2006, Nina has been working for Open Society Georgian Foundation as a Law, Media  and Health Initiative  Director. During this period, she has done  researches and till know provides lectures in “Labor Law”, “Contract Law” and “Health law” for different institutes. She is a professor at GIPA. She is an author of some articles published in International Journals and co-author of 3 books. In 2017-2018 Nino Kiknadze was a member of Prisoners Pardon Commission of Georgia. She is a founder of First Children’s Hospice “firefly World” in Georgia. Nino Kiknadze was awarded Order of Honor by President of Georgia. In 2018, in Rome, she was awarded first prize for commitment and dedication to children.

Dr. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo is a founding member and Executive Director of Nonviolent Initiative for Democracy Inc. (NID) and a founding member of Yalda Network for women’s political participation where she has led a training program to assist women to run for public office which previous training help 22 women got elected for local councils in Iran.

Dr. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo is an expert in Iran’s internal affairs and an advocate of human rights, women’s rights, and democracy in Iran. She was a member of Iran’s reformist parliament from 2000-2004. She has published book chapters and papers on the women’s and democratic movements in Iran. She wrote a book,  Search for Truth, which is an account to her trial sparked by her attempt to make the judiciary system accountable. She is also working on a book manuscript entitled A Voice for Truth. She has engaged in public speaking and Media appearance. She is a faculty member of the Eurasia Foundation where she teaches Advocacy and participatory decision making.

Alsi she was a faculty member of the Women’s and Gender Studies Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the University of Connecticut.  She developed an online certificate on “Women’s Leadership in Global Perspective” for UMass Boston’s Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy. Also, a research fellow at MIT’s Center for International Studies and Harvard Kennedy School. She has over 6 years of experience in e-learning, strategic planning & project management, policy development, problem-solving skills, team building, staff development, organizational skills, monitoring & evaluation. Managed day-to-day operations, grant proposal writing, budget development and management, and financial report writing  and liaised donor. Adept at using project management technology and e-learning platform such as Webex, Blackboard, Adobe.

Skilled in qualitative & quantitative research, proficient use of SPSS & office software. She oversaw curriculum design, content development, delivery of training and 23 online modules on leadership and electoral campaign management  on women’s political participation. In 2005, Dr. Haghighatjoo earned her Ph.D. in Counseling. She was a faculty member of Tehran University and Shahid Beheshti University before moving to the USA. She was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2005.

Dr. Tamar Gvaramadze is a legal professional, with over 12 years of cumulative experience, covering both managerial and administrative positions, as well as content-related analytical work at the public and non-governmental sectors.

Under her management in one of the leading NGOs in Georgia – Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) the rights of over a quarter-million individuals were protected, Dr. Gvaramadze drew forward major amendments into Georgian legislation and led the establishment of important human rights precedents at the courts – both at domestic and international levels. In her capacity as a human rights lawyer, her work covered protection and advocacy for the diversity of rights of hundreds of vulnerable individuals. Currently she holds the position of the First Deputy Public Defender of Georgia.

In addition to the successful career in non-governmental and public sectors, Dr. Gvaramadze has Ph.D. in Law, is Associate Professor of Law at the Tbilisi State University (TSU) and Board Member of the major human rights organizations in Georgia such as GYLA. In 2014-2016 she was member of Advisory Council of the National Preventive Mechanism under the Office of Public Defender of Georgia. Moreover, Dr. Gvaramadze is an author of various papers for widely acclaimed international organizations: Council of Europe, GIZ, DFG, and GBA.

George is a banker and financier with hands-on over 20 years, a professional manager with strong turnaround management practice.

George graduated from Tbilisi State University in 1994 with Master’s degree in Economics, majoring in Banking and Finance. Received bank auditor’s certificate from Georgian Chamber of Auditors in 2000, completed Harvard VPAL FinTech online course in October 2019.

Presently Independent Member of Supervisory Board and Chairman of Audit Committee at Pasha Bank Georgia, Non-Executive Vice President of GFTC – SWIFT Service Bureau in Georgia, Freelancer specialized in Management Services, Consulting, Business Turnarounds. Most recent Assignments include the following positions and achievements: 2014–2018 – CEO at Super TV (leading Pay TV company) – Doubling EBITDA, quadrupling Net Profit and increasing the volume of business by 25% in less than one year; 2009–2013 – CEO at KSB (Kor Standard Bank) (Presently Tera Bank) – remarkable turnaround from loss-making bank, to a highly profitable and reputable financial institution; 2008–2009 – CEO at People’s Bank of Georgia (presently Liberty Bank) – rescuing the bank from bankruptcy and transforming to one of the highest-return-giving banks; 2005-2008 – Vice President of the National Bank of Georgia (Central Bank) – optimization of the Central Bank’s operations and modernization of the regulatory framework for the Georgian Banks. Other positions during career include: 2003–2005 – Deputy CEO at People’s Bank of Georgia (presently Liberty Bank); 1999-2003 – CEO, Managing Partner and Founder at UBC International LTD (Audit & Consulting) 1992-1999 – Various positions at leading Georgian Banks. George is a Board member of Georgian Independent Directors’ Association. Speaks English (Fluent), Russian (Fluent) and Georgian (Mother-tongue).

Nino Gelashvili is a Senior Editor at the RFE/RL Georgian Service. She started practicing journalism in 1992 with the local Georgian newspaper.

In 1994 she as a young journalist took part in the US funded internship program. In 1995 Nino Gelashvili joined the RFE/RL as a freelancer. Prior to that she was hired by the newly opened European Commission Delegation in Tbilisi as a press assistant. In 2003-2005 Nino moved to the RFE/RL headquarters in Prague and worked as a broadcasted for the Georgian Service. She returned to Tbilisi Bureau as a Senior Editor and a moderator of a live radio talk-show. Today she hosts a daily radio program “Dilis Saubrebi” (Morning Talks) where she discusses various important topics with the guests and the listener.

Nino Gelashvili’s video interviews are published on the RFE/RL Georgian Service internet sites. She is mostly interested in politics (Georgia’s path towards the NATO, integration with the EU, relations with Russia, state of democracy in Georgia, judicial reform), human rights (minority rights, environment, rule of law) and economic issues. She is also invited to the various panels as a moderator. In different years Nino Gelashvili served as a teacher in news reporting and radio journalism with different students’ classes at the GIPA, the Caucasus University and the Liberty Media School. Nino Gelashvili graduated from Tbilisi State University Journalism faculty.