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Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board Members
Dr. Anat Lapidot-Firilla
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Anat Lapidot-Firilla
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Anat Lapidot-Firilla is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative.
She is the Executive Director of Fulbright Israel and founding editor of the Journal of Levantine Studies. With a PhD from Durham University, she has taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and served as Academic Director at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. Dr. Lapidot-Firilla also led the Israeli network of the Anna Lindh Foundation.
Arik Segal
Advisory Board Member
Arik Segal
Advisory Board Member
Arik Segal is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative. He is a mediator and educator specializing in innovative dialogue structures. He manages Conntix, a consultancy focused on connecting people through technology. Arik holds degrees from the University of Toronto and Tel Aviv University. He lectures on conflict resolution and digital campaigns and leads projects combating online disinformation.
Tommy Steiner
Advisory Board Member
Tommy Steiner
Advisory Board Member
Tommy Steiner is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative. He is the Policy Director of SIGNAL and an Honorary Fellow at MEI, National University of Singapore. He is also affiliated with the Henry Jackson Society and Cevro Institute’s PCTR. Tommy teaches International Relations and Strategic Studies at IDC Herzliya and has expertise in global politics, international security, and transatlantic relations.
Dr. Ori Goldberg
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Ori Goldberg
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Ori Goldberg is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative. He is an expert on modern Iran and Shi'i revolutionary movements. He has written four books, including two with Cambridge University Press. He frequently publishes opinion columns and is interviewed on regional security. Dr. Goldberg lectures globally and consults for Israel's government and defense establishments, including the Prime Minister's Office and the IDF.
Robert J. Silverman
Advisory Board Member
Robert J. Silverman
Advisory Board Member
Robert J. Silverman is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative. Robert J. He is a lecturer at Shalem College and the Executive Editor of The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune. A former senior U.S. diplomat, he held key State Department positions. He is president of IJMA, which promotes Jewish-Muslim cooperation. Silverman holds degrees from Princeton University and the University of Michigan.
Jonathan Kessler
Advisory Board Member
Jonathan Kessler
Advisory Board Member
Jonathan Kessler is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative. He is an expert in Middle East diplomacy who served on AIPAC’s senior staff for 18 years. He has led the Center for Middle East Peace, edited Middle East Insight magazine, and appeared on major news networks. Jonathan serves on various boards and has met with leaders across the Middle East.
Shai Bazak
Advisory Board Member
Shai Bazak
Advisory Board Member
Shai Bazak is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative.
He is a former Israeli diplomat, is a media, politics, business, and international relations expert. He served as Prime Minister Netanyahu’s adviser and Israel’s Consul General in Miami and Boston. Shai also managed an American investment fund, lectured at Reichman University, and consults on international matters.
Dr. Miłosz J. Cordes
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Miłosz J. Cordes
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Miłosz J. Cordes is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative. He is an Associate Professor at DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia and a Research Fellow at the Danish Foreign Policy Society. With a PhD in Cultural Studies and advanced degrees in East-European Cultural Studies and International Relations, he has also served as an External Consultant at the Danish Institute for International Studies and as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Lund University.Dr. Cordes brings a wealth of experience from his decade-long tenure in the Polish diplomatic service, where he held positions such as Vice-Consul at Poland's Consulate General in Kaliningrad and Second Secretary at Poland's Permanent Representation to the European Union. His research focuses on identity, politics of memory, nationalism, and populism in Central and Eastern Europe.
Lucas Schmitz
Advisory Board Member
Lucas Schmitz
Advisory Board Member
Lucas Schmitz is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative. He is a legal professional and a Member of the Hessian State Parliament for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has previously worked as a Research Assistant at prominent international law firms, including Linklaters LLP and Goodwin Procter LLP in Frankfurt. Alongside his legal career, Lucas actively engages in policy, serving as the spokesperson for Science, Art, Research, and Cultural Policy in the Hessian Parliament, with a focus on integrating legal and political insights to drive innovation and progress.
Dr. Mariya Heletiy
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Mariya Heletiy
Advisory Board Member
Mariya Heletiy is an Advisory Board Member of the International Diplomacy Initiative. She has 20 years of experience in studying conflict resolution and working for international organizations, development projects and public institutions (Ukrainian Parliament and Government). For 10 years she served as a Deputy Chief of Party of USAID civil society projects and worked to ensure civil society development in Ukraine. She also founded and managed the European Information and Research Center of the Verkhovna Rada (currently Research Service of the Parliament), managed political process and elections projects at USAID Ukraine and security projects at Open Ukraine Foundation.Mariya has earned her Master's Degree in International Relations and Ph.D. in Political Sciences in Ukraine, focusing on the post Yugoslavia conflicts and their resolution. She was also engaged in research assignments at Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Syracuse University, New York) and University of California, Berkeley in the United States.