Dr. Agnia Grigas is an energy and political risk expert, specializing in Russia, Eastern Europe, and the post-Soviet space. She has more than a decade of experience as a business development and political risk advisor to corporations and government agencies. She is an author of three books: [i]Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire[/i] (Yale University Press, 2016), [i]The Politics of Energy and Memory Between the Baltic States and Russia[/i] (Ashgate 2013), and [i]The New Geopolitics of Gas[/i] (forthcoming Harvard University Press, 2017). As a researcher, she collaborates with prominent American and European institutions. Currently, she is a nonresident Senior Fellow at the [i]Atlantic Council[/i] in Washington DC and a nonresident Senior Fellow at the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs at [i]Occidental College[/i] in Los Angeles. Previously she has published studies for [i]The Royal Institute of International Affairs[/i] (Chatham House), [i]Oxford Institute for Energy Studies[/i], [i]Johns Hopkins APL[/i], and [i]Notre Europe Jacques Delors Institute[/i]. In the private sector, Dr. Grigas has advised multinationals in the energy, technology, and finance sectors since 2009. Her clients have included the likes of [i]Barclays Bank[/i], where she led its international growth initiatives including opening a global strategic engineering center in Vilnius, Lithuania. Previously, Dr. Grigas worked as an associate with leading global consultancy [i]Eurasia Group[/i], where she advised on emerging markets for its multinational clients. Grigas began her career as a financial analyst at [i]JP Morgan[/i], where she worked on Eurobond issuance for corporations and governments in emerging markets. Her professional experience goes beyond the boardroom or the classroom, taking her into public service as well. Serving as an advisor on energy security and economy to the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (2009), she specialized in regional gas diversification solutions and worked on concluding one of the nation’s largest foreign investment projects in the technology sector. Grigas had also completed a fellowship in the Georgian President’s Office in 2001. An experienced communicator on screen, in print, and in person she frequently writes and comments in the media including [i]CNN[/i], [i]Forbes[/i], [i]Reuters[/i], and [i]Bloomberg[/i]. Dr. Grigas graduated cum laude with a BA in politics and economics from Columbia University and earned her Master’s and Doctorate in international relations from the University of Oxford. An avid traveller, Agnia has visited more than 50 countries and has worked and studied in the US, UK, France, Lithuania, Russia, and Georgia. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two children. http://www.grigas.net/