Adam John Greis is a second year Masters student at American University. He is concentrating on International Service and specializing in European and Russian studies. Originally from the metro Atlanta hub of Snellville, Georgia, Adam graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005 with a Bachelor's Degree in both Russian and German and a minor concentration in French. Adam received a Kicklighter Travel Grant and the inaugural American Association of the Teachers of German Study Abroad Scholarship to study in Erlangen, Germany. He is also a member of the Dobro Slovo National Russian Honors Society.

Adam is currently concentrating on the underground economy of the illegal drug trade in Central and Eastern Europe. Through this study, Adam will be learning about the negative impact on youth, the cost on society, and international implications of this issue. For the Center, Adam will concentrate on this issue as well as develop and provide material for the website. Aside from academics and research, Adam hosts his weekly radio show "Across the Pond", bikes the streets of D.C., and supports the German National Soccer team and the University of Georgia Bulldawgs.

Alex Mikulsky was born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania. He is currently a third year student at American University's School of International Service in Washington DC. Alex is focusing on Eastern European economics and United States Foreign Policy. He is also in the American University Honors College and has received various academic honors during his first three years.

Outside of school, Alex is very involved on campus. He is the Academic Chairmen of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, Theta Epsilon Chapter at American University. He is also an Orientation Leader for the Discover DC program and involved in many intramural sports. After graduation, Alex plans to enter graduate school to major in International Business or United States Foreign Policy.

In the spring, Alex will be studying abroad at The Jagellonian University in Krakow, Poland. In Poland he will receive hands-on experience in European economics and intensive Polish language training. Alex's long term plans are to work for the United States Department of State and represent his country abroad.

Aliona Dameron is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus who moved to the United States two years ago. Born in Lithuania, she also lived in the Far East of Russia and the Republic of Georgia. She completed four years of study at Minsk State Linguistic University in Minsk, Belarus and earned her B.A. from Kansas State University in May 2006 in English and Anthropology. While living in Belarus, Aliona worked as an English teacher, translator, and summer camp counselor. She also participated in an American exchange program during the summers of 2002 and 2004 where she worked as a camp counselor in Michigan and Connecticut. While in Kansas, she worked in a local secondary school as a Title I Aide helping to improve the academic achievements of the most challenged children. She also participated and was involved with the KSU International Student Center on campus.

Aliona is currently working on a new program that assists orphanages in her home country of Belarus. The purpose of this project is to help Belarusian orphans who desperately need help from international sponsors. She will be assisting in researching, fundraising, writing, and translating key documents for the project.

Yuliya Iskhakova was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and moved to the United States in 1998. She is currently a fourth year student at American University majoring in International Development and Russian Area Studies. Yuliya is expected to graduate in May, 2007. She has been the President of the Russian Club at American University for two years. She speaks Russian, Spanish, and English.

During her college career, she studied abroad at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, one of the oldest universities in Europe. Studying in the Czech Republic gave her an opportunity to compare the post-communist socio-eco-political environment in Central Europe and Central Asia. While in Prague, she conducted field research on privatization processes that were implemented in 1989, in Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Ukraine, and Slovenia.

In the future Yuliya plans to study at Stern Business School at New York University to complete her MBA. Her career plans are to work as a consultant for companies that had business operations in former Soviet Union Republics.

Alfia Agish is a senior at American University majoring in International Service with a concentration in International Politics. She is originally from Queens, New York. In Fall of 2005, she studied abroad at the International Studies School of American University in Madrid, Spain. During her time in Spain, she traveled throughout Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and the Czech Republic. Her plans are to go back to Spain for cross-cultural studies. Alfia is a linguist who fluently speaks Tatar and commands conversational Turkish and Spanish.

Alfia loves to travel, spend time with family and friends, go on adventures around Washington, DC, and follow her favorite basketball team, the Detroit Pistons. After graduation, she will enter graduate school to major in the study of International Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Caitlin McCann is currently finishing her Bachelors degree from American University in International Relations with a concentration on Western Europe and international communication. She is specializing in linguistics and speaks fluent French, Spanish and elementary Japanese. Her real love of studying other cultures has taken her to live in Belgium, France, and New Zealand. She has also visited such diverse countries as Mexico, Egypt, Spain, Slovenia, Germany, Australia, and Italy. Her most recent cross-cultural studies added the countries of India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Burma (Myanmar), and India to her travel resume.

When not pursuing her passion for international travel or in the library researching cross-cultural issues, the native Pittsburgher can be found in cafes doing crossword puzzles or taking photographs of the world around her. Upon graduation, Caitlin's immediate plans are to earn her Masters of Art degree in linguistics. Her future aspirations are to start her own business in international conference and executive tour planning.

Yelena Viner was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia and relocated to the United States after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. For her undergraduate studies she attended McGill University in Montreal, Quebec where she completed a major concentration in Political Science with dual minors in Economics and Russian Studies. In addition, Yelena has studied French, Italian, and Spanish throughout her academic career. In the Summer of 2004, Yelena completed an Internship at the Nizhny Novgorod Governor's Office where she was an assistant to the Deputy Director of the International Relations Department. During her Internship, Yelena was able to participate in international seminars and observe the negotiation of various collaborative agreements between Russia and the United States.

Yelena is currently at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. She is working on a dual concentration in Conflict and Conflict Resolution and Europe and Eurasia for her Master's degree. Yelena hopes to focus her future career on human rights and democratization issues in Eurasia.

Iman Ng was born in Hong Kong in 1989 where he lived for 13 years. Throughout the course of his primary education, Cantonese and Mandarin were used as mediums of instruction. In 2002 Iman and his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Montgomery County, Maryland. He speaks fluent Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and Spanish; he also understands basic/intermediate Afrikaans. Iman is currently in his senior year at Thomas S. Wootton High School.

During his high school career, Iman was awarded 5 college credits while conducting independent college-level studies at the University of Maryland and American University on International Relations. He also authored several research papers on topics such as "A ‘nuclear reactor' of our mind: Stream of consciousness examined from a Psychological and Literary Perspective", "Asian-Americans as Model Minority - Biased or Fact-based?", and "American engagement with China inside the three-dimensional chessboard".

Iman is a member of his school's Humanities & Arts Signature Program; he is currently working on his Senior Independent Project which explores the three different approaches to American Foreign Policy. In 2006 Iman was selected for the Superintendent's Leadership Program of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), an honors Humanities internship program which selects 14 students from the MCPS. Iman is also a member of the National Honor Roll. In the future, Iman would like to major in International Politics while pursuing Chinese as a minor.

At this time Sergey is a 'Junior' at American University, Washington, D.C. USA majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. He was born in Moscow, Russian and lived there for 14 years. In 2001 Sergey moved to Poughkeepsie, New York to attend high school. After his graduation he moved to Washington, D.C. to work on his Bachelors degree. He is a member of the Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity. During the past two summers Sergey traveled to Germany, Poland, and China to study the essentials of international business through visits to local companies and interviews of the managers and workers.

Last summer he interned as an organizer of the energy-efficiency tender at the International Finance Corporation, a part of the World Bank. Sergey's sports are tennis and soccer, along with spending time with his friends. Sergey loves traveling with his family, having visited over 30 countries. After graduation he wishes to work for an investment bank and apply his international experience to worldwide development projects.