Junior Fellowship

The CRRC-Georgia Junior Fellowship Program (JFP), launched in 2009, is a 5-9 month program offering extensive work experience and training to selected fellows. It is a unique opportunity for social science-oriented youth looking to gain skill sets that are largely missing in Georgia, such as the ability to analyze complex issues quickly and comprehensively, proficiency in essential computer programs (including statistical programs), and the opportunity to work with extraordinarily experienced and committed colleagues and superiors. Junior Research Fellows are required to contribute to complex research projects on issues that are important to Georgia's future, write analytical policy papers, be active team members, and work hard.

Jesse Tatum

Jesse Tatum holds a M.Sc. in European Studies with Translation from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK, and a B.A. in International Studies from Portland State University. Previously, he was a translator for the Groupe de sociologie politique européenne at Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg, France, and taught English in France and in China. His current research interests include the EU’s external relations and political trends in the Caucasus and Central Asia. He is the interview editor for the Caucasian Review of International Affairs (CRIA).

Sonya Kleshik

Sonya holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Central European University, where she wrote her thesis on language attitudes in Georgia. Previously, she worked for Human Rights Watch in New York as well as Bank Information Center in Washington, DC, on the countries of the former Soviet Union with a focus on the Caucasus and Central Asia. Sonya holds a BA from UC Berkeley in Comparative Literature as well as Russian Culture and speaks Russian and Spanish.

Robia Charles

Robia Charles is a California native who holds a B.A. from the University of California, Davis where she studied Russian and Mathematics. She has a M.A. in Eurasian an Russian Studies from the European University of St. Petersburg, Russia and a M.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at UC Berkeley and also currently an affiliated doctoral student at the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at the Freie Universitaet in Berlin, Germany. Prior to joining CRRC, Robia was employed as a Graduate Student Instructor at UC Berkeley, as a community organizer in Northern California, and as a limnological researcher in both Tanzania and Siberia. Robia’s academic interests...

Melissa Scholz

Melissa Scholz is a recent graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (M.A., German and European Studies), where she concentrated in international conflict resolution and humanitarian/refugee emergencies, particularly as applied to the Caucasus. She is a 2006 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology (B.S. International Affairs and Modern Languages, Highest Honors). Her most fulfilling previous jobs were with the Division of Biodefense tracking security issues in the FSU, and as a program coordinator for the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs. A collegiate athlete, she loves swimming and watching sports (especially Euro 2008), as well as photography, traveling, and spending time with her family.