Russian and East European Institute

Paul Andersen grew up in Idaho, but spent several years of his childhood in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He also lived for two years in Novosibiirsk, Siberia, on his LDS mission. Paul graduated from Brigham Young University in December 2005 with a degree in Russian and Political Science. Paul is interested in Russia's relations with Central Asia, including the politics and history of the region.
username: panderse

Amy Bedford is originally from Chicago.  She studied Religion and Russian at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating in 2006, she traveled throughout Eurasia including Russia and Kazakhstan.
username: ambedfor

Laura Belden is originally from Beverly Hills, Michigan and graduated from Boston College in 2005 with a degree in history.  Laura is interested in the history and politics of the cold war.
username: lbelden

Leigh Bernstein is originally from Colorado and graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2000 with a degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies. She worked as a Peace Corps volunteer near Vladivostok, Russia, and has spent time studying at the Moscow Institute for Advanced Studies. Leigh is interested in national security issues between Russia and the countries of Central Asia.
username: lebernst

Brant Beyer grew up in Montana and graduated from Carleton College in 2002 with a degree in International Relations. He spent the past two years working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Romania. Brant is interested in international and interethnic relations of Southeastern Europe, and in particular between Hungary and Romania.
username: bbeyer

Erin Biebuyck graduated from Michigan State University in 2007 with a dual major in History and Social Relations and Policy.  She is interested in modern Romanian history and the history of gender, sexuality, and collective memory in a comparative context.  After completing her MA, Erin plans to pursue a Ph.D. in History at Indiana University.
username: ebiebuyc

Justin Blair is originally from Milton, Kentucky and graduated, Cum Laude, from the University of Florida in 2003 with a B.A. in History.  He worked on an archaeological dig in Satu Mare, Romania in 2003 and returned to Transylvania twice in 2005 and 2006 to collect folklore stories for the documentary, “Across the Forest”.  Justin is interested in studying crime in Romania during the communist period, folklore of Transylvania, and archaeology.
username: jublair

Josh Bloom is originally from New Jersey. He graduated from Swarthmore College in 2000, completing Swarthmore's Honors program with a Major in English and Minor in Philosophy. After college, he served two years in the U.S. Peace Corps in the Russian Far East, teaching English as a second language. After Peace Corps, he worked in Washington, DC as a paralegal at a civil rights law firm and also taught English at an international college. In the future, he hopes to become an academic, possibly via a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures. He is currently pursuing an MA with REEI.
username: jsbloom

Patrick Burlingame is originally from Philadelphia and comes to IU after working in Washington DC for two years in the international department of a major U.S. trade association. He graduated from Colby College in Maine in 2000 with a B.A. in International Studies. Patrick worked at the Soros Open Society Foundation (as a small business development Peace Corps volunteer) in Romania for two years. Followed by a 2002-2003 Fulbright Scholarship at the University of Szeged in Hungary. He is studying for the dual MBA degree with the Kelley School of Business and is interested in pursuing international business and trade in both Hungary and the region.
username: pgburlin

Sal Capizzi graduated from Union College in 2007 with a degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies and a minor in History.  He is originally from New York and is interested in Soviet history and relations between Russia and the United States.  After completion of his MA he plans on pursuing a PhD and teaching at a university level.
username: scapizzi

Christopher Collins received his bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri in Russian studies with a minor in history. After completing his degree he decided to improve his knowledge by living in Russia, where he taught English in St. Petersburg. He is now focusing on contemporary Russia and citizenship problems in the Baltics.
username: chricoll

Nicole Degli Esposti, who is originally from Oregon, received her B.A. in Comparative Literature and French in 2001 from the University of Southern California. She has worked in Romania as an English editor and as research assistant at the University of Oregon's English department. Most recently, she was editor of an international children's magazine and an English teacher to Korean children. Currently, she is in the REEI/SPEA dual-degree program. In particular, she is interested in the role of young people in Romania/Southeastern Europe, education issues and the creation of goodwill between this region and the USA.
username: ndeglies

Colin Dietch grew up in Reidsville, North Carolina and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005, with a B.A. in French and Russian & East European Studies.  Before beginning his graduate studies at REEI, Colin spent a year working at the HEC School of Management, near Paris, France.  He has traveled in the Balkans and Central Europe, and is particularly fond of Bulgaria.  He is interested in Russian policy towards conflict zones within the CIS.
username: cdietch

Dan Tam Do is from Chicago and graduated from Amherst College in 2001 with a degree in music. She has spent time teaching English and studying in various Czech cities and is currently pursuing a dual degree with REEI and SLIS. Her interests include folk music; Czech film, literature, and classical music; and nationalism and minority issues in Central Europe.
username: dtdo

Jennifer Evans grew up in Houston, Texas and graduated from Rice University in 2006 with a degree in Political Science. She is interested in press freedom in Russia and Eastern Europe as well as relations between Russia and the United States. After receiving her degree at IU, she plans to enter the Foreign Service.
username: evansja

Thomas Fiske received his B.A. at Purdue University in sociology with a minor in psychology and a certificate of proficiency in Russian language. He has taught second-year Russian at the University of Maryland, where he was also the in-house Resident Coordinator for the "Russian Cluster" of the university's foreign language dormitory. He was the Resident Director for Arizona Russia Abroad (ARA) in 2001 in Moscow, a University of Arizona program. He is interested in contemporary Russian life, education in Russia, culture, politics, and economics. He plans to pursue a PhD after his MA work.
username: tfiske

Sarah Fogleman grew up in Park Rapids, Minnesota and attended college at Hamline University in St. Paul. She studied Russian language and literature there, spending one academic year in St. Petersburg, Russia. From 1998-2000 she taught English in a small town in Latvia with the Peace Corps. After that she moved to New York to work at the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. ("Claims Conference"), an organization that negotiates for and distributes monetary compensation to Jewish Holocaust survivors. As a master's degree student at REEI, she is interested in looking at rural communities in the FSU, specifically the Baltic states, and how their daily lives are changing in the face of the EU and modernization in areas such as farming, working, raising and educating children, and doing traditional/cultural work (handcrafts, gardening).
username: slspangl

Andrew Hall is originally from Long Valley, New Jersey, and graduated from Drew University in 2004 with a degree in History.  After graduation he worked, learned Russian at Rutgers University, and took part in several volunteer projects, including two trips to New Orleans to help with hurricane relief.  At IU, he is in the Dual MA/MPA program with SPEA, where he wants to concentrate on policy analysis.  Andrew is interested in Russia and the Former Republics of Yugoslavia, democratization of the former USSR, political philosophy, and Eastern European history.
username: hall46

Andrew Hinnant is originally from England. He received a B.S. in Business Administration and minors in Economics and French from California Polytechnical State University, San Luis Obispo. He is a dual degree student in REEI and SPEA and is interested in economic development in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland. After completing his studies at IU, he plans to pursue a career in the Foreign Service.
username: ahinnant

Brett Homkes is originally from Michigan and graduated from Grand Valley State University with a BA in History and Russian Studies. He was a member of the Russian Honors Society and Phi Alpha Theta Historical Honors Society while at GVSU. Brett is interested in early Soviet history and is considering continuing on to a PhD program following completion of his MA degree.
username: bhomkes

Joel Kleehammer, originally from Dayton, Ohio, earned his BA from Central State University in Ohio is in Psychology.  has served 14 years in the US Army, both enlisted and as an officer.  He was commissioned as a Field Artillery Officer and served during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute and worked as a Russian translator/interceptor in Germany and the US.  He studied Ukrainian at the Defense Language Institute in Washington, DC, and studied at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany and at the L’viv National University of Ivan Franko. He served internships at the US Embassies in Kyiv, Ukraine and Dushanbe, Tajikistan.  His research is focused on anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe and how it has become an accepted institution.  He is married and has seven children.
username: jpkleeha

Ryan Kilgore is originally from Rochester, New York.  He graduated from Indiana University in 2006 with a major in Slavic Languages and Literatures and a minor in Chemistry.  Ryan is currently pursuing an MA through REEI and is interested in ethnic and religious minority issues in Russia and Eastern Europe.  Ryan plans to continue his studies and earn a PhD in Russian Sociology or History.
username: rpkilgor

Karen Kowal graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a B.S. in education and a B.A. in German. Before coming to IU she served 3 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the city of Blagoveshchensk in the Russian Far East. She then spent a summer working as a Public Affairs intern in the U.S. Embassy in Chishinau, Moldova and plans to pursue a career in international development in Russia. At IU, she is pursuing a dual MA/MPA degree, and her research interests include the development of civil society and NGOs in the countries of the former Soviet Union, especially in the Russian Far East.
username: kjkowal

Ian Lanzillotti is from Tampa, Florida and graduated from the University of South Florida in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in History and Russian. He has traveled to Russia several times over the past few years to study Russian at Moscow State University's Center for International Education and take part in an American Councils sponsored Russian language/area studies program at the Saint Petersburg State Pedagogical University (Hertzen.)  Ian has also volunteered at the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers and at the State Museum of the Political History of Russia (formerly the museum of the Great October Socialist Revolution.)  He is interested in Russian/Soviet nationalities policy, the peoples and cultures of the North Caucasus (especially the Cherkess) and the history of the Russian civil war.
username: ilanzill

Michelle Lawrence grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2007, having studied Comparative Literature and Russian.  She is excited to pursue her interests in Ukrainian studies at IU.  She hopes to spend some time in Ukraine in the near future, either working or studying.  Michelle plans on working as a Foreign Service Officer in the State Department after graduation.
username: lawrenml

Manuel Jesus Lopez Hernandez attended San Francisco State University and graduated with a BA in international relations and Russian language in 2000. His area of interest is Russian foreign policy towards the near east, specifically, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. He is also interested in Russian relations with the Central Asian republics.
username: manlopez

Amy Luck grew up in Wheaton, IL and received a degree in English and Secondary Education from Wheaton College in 2002. Following graduation, Amy studied Victorian Media and Culture at the University of London—Royal Holloway and then worked for nearly three years in the editorial department of McGraw-Hill Higher Education—Business/Economics. During the latter, she took leave-of-absences to volunteer in the Transylvanian region of Romania with two separate NGOs working in state and privately-run orphanages/group homes. Amy is interested in child welfare system reform, Romanian (orphan) education, literature and media under communism, and gender issues in contemporary Eastern Europe.
username: aluck

Kristen McIntyre is from Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from Kent State University in 2007 with a degree in International Relations and a minor in Russian Language.  She is interested in post-communist politics and foreign policy in Russia.  Upon graduation she would like to enter the Foreign Service.
username: krmcinty

Yuriy Napelenok was born in Gomel, Belarus, and grew up in Pullman, Washington.  He graduated from Washington State University with a degree in History.  He studied in St. Petersburg, Russia in the fall of 2005.  He is interested in political development, civil society, and democratization in Eastern Europe.
username: ynapelen

Maren Payne-Holmes is from Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  She graduated from Brigham Young University in August 2006 with a major in Political Science and a minor in Russian.  Her current focus is on Poland, which she became interested in while living in Warsaw and Krakow for an 18 month mission trip.  She is also interested in gender relations throughout Eastern Europe.  She plans to pursue a Ph.D and eventually teach at the university level.
username: mepayne

Richard Payne-Holmes was born and raised in Provo, UT and graduated from Brigham Young University (2005) with degrees in History and Russian. Prior to attending university, Rich served a two-year mission for the LDS church in the Baltic States, Belarus, and Russia. Rich also studied in Kyiv, Ukraine at the Taras Shevchenko Institute for International Relations and worked as an intern at the Center for Religious Information and Freedom. In 2006 he returned to Ukraine to study Ukrainian at the Ivan Franko National University in L’viv.  Rich is pursuing a joint MA/MPA with REEI and SPEA and is interested in Soviet nationality policy and contemporary politics and identity in the post-Soviet space, particularly Belarus and Ukraine.
username: riholmes

Mark Pupillo is originally from California and graduated with a BA in Global Studies from California State University at Monterey Bay. He has spent time living in Moscow and teaching English at the Integrated Training Center. Mark is interested in a career in policy analysis with the government of possibly in the private sector.
username: mpupillo

Elizabeth Raible graduated from Brown University in Rhode Island with a degree in European History, focusing on Southeastern Europe. She comes most recently from Louisville, Kentucky. Elizabeth is interested in the sociology and development of the Balkan region.
username: eraible

Joshua Ruegsegger was born in Utah and grew up in Washington. He graduated from Eastern Washington University with a degree in International Affairs. He spent two years in Russia on a mission for the Church of Latter-day Saints. Joshua is interested in foreign policy and would like to work for the federal government and do his part to improve US-Russian relations.
username: jruegseg

Jeremy Stewart is originally from New York.  He graduated from Indiana University in 2006 with a major in Political Science and a minor in West European Studies.  Jeremy is currently pursuing an MA through REEI and is interested in post-communist politics in Russia and Central Europe, with a focus on Romania.  He plans to work for the federal government when he completes his degree.
username: jerestew

David J. Stira graduated from The George Washington University in May 2007 with a dual B.A. in International Affairs and History.  His interests include the military of the former USSR/Russian Federation and the geography/demography of Siberia.  After graduating, David plans on working in intelligence or as a civilian employee of the military.
username: dstira

Allison Trapani is originally from Pennsylvania and received her double BA in History and International Studies from The University of Scranton, PA and St. Petersburg State Politechnical University, St. Petersburg, Russia.  Each summer Allison leads groups of high school and university students on an education program in St. Petersburg, Russia through SPBGPU.  She enjoys the finer points of traveling and spends as much time as possible in Russia.  She studies Russian language, culture, history, art, and politics.
username: atrapani

Dmitriy Upart graduated from the University of Illinois with a dual degree in Biochemistry and Russian Language and Literature. Dmitriy is studying for the dual degree with SPEA and is interested in international affairs.
username: dupart

John Venham earned his B.S. in biological science from Ohio University in 1994, and later worked as an associate researcher in molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin (UW). In 1999, John began study of Czech at UW "just for fun" and attended a month-long language course at Charles University in Prague the following summer. He decided to continue his studies of Czech in Prague and ultimately spent two years living in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, investigating his own Czech and Slovak ancestry at archives in both countries. This experience was the catalyst for a career change, and he entered the M.A. program at the UW Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia in 2003. His primary interests focus on the Hungarian minorities residing in Slovakia and Vojvodina and the issue of citizenship presented by the Hungarian Status Law of 2002 and the recent accession of Hungary into the European Union. He is currently studying Hungarian and Serbian/Croatian and recently transferred to IU to take advantage of the opportunities to study both languages more thoroughly. John plans to return to Europe to develop greater proficiency in these languages.
username: jvenham

Ben Vranian graduated from Dickinson College in 2002 with degrees in Russian Languages and Literature and Russian Area Studies.  Commissioned through ROTC as a Chemical officer in the Army, he was stationed in Germany and served a tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad.  His experience in Russia/East Europe includes a semester and summer in Moscow abroad as an undergrad; travel to Estonia, Latvia, and Kazakhstan; and working in an official capacity with an Army mission in 2005. His main area of interest is security considerations in the Caucasus region.
username: rvranian

Ryan Weeks grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and Rexburg, Idaho.  He served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Yekaterinburg, Russia from 2001-2003.  He received his BS in Accounting from Brigham Young University - Idaho in 2007.  Ryan is interested in national security issues between Russia and the United States.
username: ryweeks

James Young was born and raised in Michigan and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in Interdisciplinary Studies. He studied German in Goettingen, Germany, and also spent a year teaching English in Krasnoyarsk and Sochi, Russia. He also worked in the U.S. for a company that manufactured concealable body armor. James is pursuing a dual JD degree with the School of Law and is interested in national security and possibly applying his international law skills in the private sector.
username: jabyoung

Russian and East European Institute | College of Arts and Sciences | Ballantine Hall 565, Bloomington, IN 47405 | Ph: (812) 855-7309 | Fx: (812) 855-6411 | reei@indiana.edu | Copyright 2006 Trustees of Indiana University