Faculty and Collaborators
Meet the Experts Behind Our Academy
Fernando Lopez-Alves
Director
Fernando Lopez-Alves is also a Full Professor of Sociology, Global and International Studies at the University of California. He holds a PhD and a Masters in Political Science from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as well as a Masters in Philosophy. For five years he directed the University of California Washington Center in Washington D.C. and over the last fifteen he has founded and directed Research Centers and Think Tanks in different countries.
Iván Llamazares
Academic Committee Member
Iván Llamazares is a professor of Political Science at the Universidad de Salamanca. His main research interests lie in the party-political articulation of sociopolitical divisions and conflicts in Europe and Latin America.
Jesica Lindgren
General Counsel at Blue Star Strategies
Jesica Dobbins Lindgren (formerly Seacor) is the General Counsel at Blue Star Strategies, LLC, where she works on a variety of client issues.
Joanna Kozlowski
Career Development Advisor
Joanna Kozlowski is a teacher, trainer, coach, and consultant based in Washington DC. Through her practice (Resolute Consulting LLC), she brings together her first career in teaching and training and her second in marketing and business development.
Zoran Jolevski
Ambassador Jolevski
Ambassador Zoran Jolevski has 30 years of academic, diplomatic, managerial and consulting experience in the field of diplomacy, international trade, international development, national security, public-private dialogue and private sector development.
Miguel Carrera Troyano
Ph.D. Director
Miguel Carrera Troyano holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid. He is tenure track professor and researcher in Economics at the Applied Economics Department at the University of Salamanca.
John Kiriakou
Former Intelligence Officer, Faculty
John Kiriakou is a journalist, former CIA counter-terrorism officer, former senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and former counter-terrorism consultant for ABC News. In 2007, Kiriakou blew the whistle on the CIA’s torture program, telling ABC News that the CIA tortured prisoners, that torture was official U.S. government policy. He became the sixth whistleblower indicted by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act — a law designed to punish spies. He served 23 months in prison as a result of the revelation.
Claudia de Windt
International lawyer and expert in political sciences.
Adjunct Associate Professor at American University, Washington College of Law (Human Rights and the Environment. Member of the Steering Committee of the World Commission on Environmental Law of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), of the group of experts of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Sergio D. Jalil
Executive Director CELIBAL – Latin American Center for Lebanese Studies
Holds B.A. degrees in Political Science and International Relations from the Catholic University of Cordoba, and a M.A. degree in Arab Studies from the Center of Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He is a member of the Argentine National Academy of the Arts and Sciences of Communications and actively linked to several study and academic groups focusing on the Middle East.
George Benaroya
George Benaroya, Adjunct Instructor, New York University.
George Benaroya is a Global Financial Executive who managed operations at Procter & Gamble, Tetra Pak, Beiersdorf/Nivea and currently a Private Equity firm. His executive positions include Vice President Finance, Global Controller & CFO. During his career, he has served as Member of the Global Marketing Committee and led 26 M&As. S
Dr. Miriam Borham-Puyal
Coordinator of Evaluation and Education Courses
Dr. Miriam Borham-Puyal is a senior lecturer at the Department of English, and specializes in eighteenth and nineteenth-century literature, popular culture as socio-ideological construct, and women’s studies.She has also studied the systems of censure and control in the digital sphere, with publications such as “Strategies of (In)Visibility and Resilience: Women Writers in a Digital Era”
C. Dionisio Pérez-Blanco
Associate Professor at the University of Salamanca and Research Associate at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change.
Principal Investigator of the TRANSCEND (Horizon Europe), TALANOA-WATER (H2020, EUR 2 700 000) and IRENE (Spanish R&D Plan, EUR 300 000) projects. Awardee of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie, the AXA Research Fund and Ikerbasque fellowships
Salma Yusuf
Senior International Expert and Specialist Consultant on Peace and Conflict, Transitional Justice, Human Rights,
With an extensive track record encompassing diverse sectors nationally, regionally and internationally, she has served and continues to serve the United Nations, Commonwealth, international and national private and corporate sectors, national and foreign governments, civil society, academia, media and journalism, and international institutions.
Nathalia Berkowitz
International Lawyer & Legal Reform Expert.
As an experienced lawyer, law reform and strategic management professional Nathalia has worked in many countries and legal systems working with governments, international organisations and NGOs.
Nathalia has worked in legal and legislative reform in post conflict and transitional countries across four continents.
José Ignacio Sanchez-Macias
University of Chicago and University of Salamanca
Professor of Applied Economics, MA-ABD (U. Chicago), Ph.D., MBA, LL.M. (U. Salamanca).
Chairman of the Department of Applied Economics and Director of Master of Taxation Program in the University of Salamanca, where he has served as Vice-Rector for Economics and Management.
Paul D. Escott
Wake Forest University
Paul D. Escott is the Reynolds Professor of History at Wake Forest University and a specialist in the history of the American Civil War. He has published nine books exploring the causes, effects, and aftermath of that civil war and has edited and contributed to eight additional volumes.
Emily Carty
Global and International Studies Graduate School, University of Salamanca.
Emily Carty is currently a member of the faculty in the Center for Global and International Studies at the University of Salamanca. She holds a PhD in Political Science at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where she also obtained a Certificate in Survey Methodology from the Odum Institute.
Isabel Inguanzo Ortiz
University of Loyola-Andalucía
Dr Isabel Inguanzo is an associate professor of the Political Science Area at Universidad de Salamanca. She holds a BA in Sociology and a MA in Political Science from the University of Salamanca. She got a PFU Grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education (2009-2013) and a PhD in contemporary political processes from the University of Salamanca.
Alfredo Langa-Herrero
Lecturer, researcher and consultant. D
Alfredo Langa-Herrero is an economist (International PhD) and has a master degree in International Co-operation. He is a lecturer at the Alice Salomon University in Berlin and researcher at the Institute of Studies on Conflict and Humanitarian Action (IECAH). He also lectures at several universities in Europe and Latin America
Adam D.M. Svendsen
PhD (Warwick, UK)
An international intelligence and defence strategist, educator, researcher, analyst and consultant. Amongst many roles, he co-runs the Bridgehead Institute (Research & Consulting), is an affiliated scientist and visiting guest at the Collective Intelligence Group at the IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) – https://ci.itu.dk/ – as well as an Associate Consultant at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS/IFF), Denmark.
Polly Ruth Polak
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Dr Polly Ruth Polak is Assistant Professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the University of Salamanca. She teaches EU Law, Public International Law, International Relations, Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, and Human Rights Law. Her academic research is focused mainly on European Union Law. More specifically, her areas of interest cover Brexit, EU values, EU citizenship and Human Rights in Europe.
Jonathan Rosenberg
Full professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Social Sciences
At the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, USA. He holds a PhD and Masters of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Before joining the IIT faculty he spent 20 years in Department of Political Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he served multiple terms as department chair.
Guido Schmidt
Fresh Thoughts Consulting GmbH, Faculty
Guido Schmidt works as a senior expert at Fresh Thoughts Consulting GmbH. He is a German PhD with more than 30 years of experience as a key expert, team leader, project/portfolio manager and evaluator in water, climate adaptation and environmental policy, planning and implementation. His areas of competence include Water, Climate change adaptation and resilience, Nexus, Innovation, Ecosystems, Monitoring & Evaluation, Communications and Knowledge Management, etc.
Susana Lagüela
University of Salamanca.
Dr. Susana Lagüela holds a Degree in Mining and Energy Engineering, a MA in Environmental Technology and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Vigo. During her predoctoral studies, she was a visiting researcher in the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), in University of California – Berkeley (USA) and in ITC-CNR sede di Padova (Italy). After her PhD, she was a postdoctoral invited researcher in ETH Zurich and in Delft University of Technology.
Alejandro Amigo Tossi
Professor at the United States Army War College
Former peacekeeper in the United Nations Forces in Cyprus, where he led the first Chilean Army regular troops into a UN Mission. After graduating as Suma Cum Laude in the Chilean War College in 2010, he got a scholarship to study the Security Studies Program of the “Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service”, ranked by Foreign Policy Magazine as number one among the International Relations Master programs in the US. During his studies in Washington, he also studied a Certificate in Humanitarian Emergencies in the Institute for the Study of International Migration of the same School.
Zulima Sánchez Sánchez
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Zulima Sánchez is an associate Professor in the Department of Administrative Law at the University of Salamanca. She received her PhD in Administrative Law by the same university. She works in Salamanca University since 2002. She worked as a Substitute Judge for 11 years. Doctor Sánchez has been a visiting scholar among others at the University of Columbia, University of Malta, Newberry Library in Chicago, and Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public law in Heidelberg, Germany.
Mar Martínez Rosón
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Professor at the University of Salamanca’s Political Science and Public Administration Department.
She holds a BA in Political Science and Public Administration, a MA in Latin American Studies and a PhD in Political Science from University of Salamanca. Before, she was a professor at the University of Burgos (2014-2016) and postdoctoral fellow at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2012-2014) and also at Tulane University (2009-2010).
Javier Sierra Pierna
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Javier Sierra Pierna holds a PhD in Economics (University of Salamanca) and a MA in Evaluation of Legal Issues and Public Policies (University of Salamanca). He has also been student at the Università di Roma II Tor Vergata (Italy) and the London School of Economics (United Kingdom). He has been visiting fellow at the Center for European Research in Microfinance (CERMi) at the Université de Mons (Belgium), and has undertaking fieldwork research in Bolivia and Peru
Carolina Plaza Colodro
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Carolina Plaza Colodro is a postdoctoral researcher fellow at the Area of Political Science at the University of Salamanca, Spain. She is Sociologist by the University of Barcelona and holds a PhD in Comparative Politics from the University of Salamanca. She has been a visiting researcher at Università degli Studi di Milano (2016), University of Leicester (2016) and Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2020). Her academic interests are related to party systems and populism, and Euroscepticism, both at the supply and demand side of electoral competition.
Muhamed Almaliky
Harvard University, Academic Consultant
His research focus is post war democratization in Iraq. He also tracks and analyses social and political developments in the Middles East and the Muslim world. He holds Masters in public policy (MPA) and Masters in public health (MPH) from Harvard as well as fellowship certificate in international relations from the same University. Before attending Harvard, he had been a practicing physician in the field of cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where he still does on part-time basis.
Isabel Roldán Gómez
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Isabel Roldán Gómez is a Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Salamanca. She previously served as an Associate Lecturer in the same department (2019-2020) and was part of the Research Academic Staff at the Department of History of Law and Political and Moral Philosophy (2014-2018).
Hugo Marcos Marné
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Hugo Marcos Marné holds a B.A in Law, a B.A. in Political Science, a M.A in Political Science, a M.A in Applied Statistics, and a PhD in Political Science. Before joining the University of Salamanca as an Assistant Professor he worked in Cuzco as a lecturer (International Studies Abroad), and a postdoctoral researcher at SUPSI-Lugano (SNSF project fellow), the University of St.Gallen (International Postdoctoral Fellow), and UNED in Madrid (Talento Junior Fellow).
John R. Sutton
Professor of Sociology at the UCSB
He specializes in historical sociology, the sociology of law, economic sociology, and the sociology of crime and punishment. His recent research has explored how imprisonment is related to a variety of stratification processes in modern Western democracies, including labor markets, educational systems, and social welfare policies.
Robert J. Guttman,
George Mason University, Academic Collaborator
Robert J. Guttman is the Editor-in-Chief of the Mason Monitor and Director of the George Mason University’s School of Policy, Government and International Affairs, Center on Politics & Foreign Relations (CP&FR) where he co-hosts a series of conferences, speeches, and events on politics and foreign policy with the Financial Times newspaper group.
Raúl Moreno Almendral
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Raúl Moreno Almendral is Assistant Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Salamanca, where he earned his BA (Hons) in History, his MA in Advanced Historical Studies and Research, as well as his PhD in Modern History (all of them with extraordinary prizes). He conducts research on comparative nation-building history in the early 19th century Atlantic world, but he has also published on theory of nationalism, global and imperial history and 20th century nationalism.
Arta Musaraj
Editor in Chief of Academicus, Consultant.
Prof. Arta Musaraj holds several graduate degrees and conducted advanced academic research in many prominent universities around the world.
Master of Science in Management (1996), Master of Science in Economy, Business Administration (2001), Doctor of Sciences (PhD) in Economics and Communication Studies (2004) and Professor of Scientific Research in the fields of Business Communication and Entrepreneurial Administration (2012).
Since 1996, Musaraj has been a university professor in the fields of Economics and Communications.
Elena Gil
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Elena Gil Moreno holds the position of Adjunct Professor in Political Science at the University of Salamanca. She completed her PhD in Social Science and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the same institution. Her master’s degree in Territorial Policies and Cross-Border Cooperation was accomplished at the University of Vigo and the University of Minho (Portugal).
Nick Cull
University of S. California, Academic Consultant
He directs the Master’s Program in Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California. Originally from the UK, he is a historian of the media and its impact on international relations. He trained at the University of Leeds (BA, 1986; PhD, 1992) and studied as a Harkness Fellow and visiting lecturer at Princeton University (1988-1992).
Peter Kuznick
American University, Academic Collaborator
Is author of Beyond the Laboratory: Scientists As Political Activists in 1930s America, co-author with Akira Kimura of Rethinking the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Japanese and American Perspectives, co-author with Yuki Tanaka of Nuclear Power and Hiroshima: The Truth Behind the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Power, and co-editor with James Gilbert of Rethinking Cold War Culture
Francesco Sapino
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Dr. Francesco Sapino earned a Bachelor’s degree in Energetic Engineering from the Polytechnic of Turin and a Baster’s degree in Environmental Economics (with honors) from the University of Turin. After a a visiting research period for his master’s thesis at the University of Salamanca (USAL), he joined the research group led by Dionisio Pérez-Blanco at USAL, initiating his Ph.D. in Economics.
Paula Arana Barbier
University of Heidelberg, Faculty
Dr Arana Barbier is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Heidelberg with the Volkswagen Foundation Freigeist Project, Invisible Architects: Jews and Muslims and the Construction of Europe. She is a political scientist with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Freiburg (B.A. in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Major in Governance) and a master’s and PhD from the University of Salamanca (M.A in Political Sciences and PhD in Rule of Law and Global Governance specialised in Comparative Politics).
Andrés Trujillo Jiménez
University of Salamanca, Faculty
Is author of Beyond the Laboratory: Scientists As Political Activists in 1930s America, co-author with Akira Kimura of Rethinking the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Japanese and American Perspectives, co-author with Yuki Tanaka of Nuclear Power and Hiroshima: The Truth Behind the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Power, and co-editor with James Gilbert of Rethinking Cold War Culture
Lorena Ruano
Carlos III University, Faculty
Lorena Ruano graduated from El Colegio de México and Oxford University, where she got her M.Phil. (St Antony’s) and D. Phil (Nuffield) in International Relations. She is
Professor of International Relations at CIDE, Mexico City, since 2002, currently on leave.
Her research and teaching focus on European integration and relations between Europe and Latin America.
Ewa Staworzynska
United States Council for International Business.
Ewa Staworzynska is currently the Head of the Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs practice at the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), leading the organization’s work on business and human rights, corporate social responsibility as well as labour policy. Ms. Staworzynska is a member of the US Federal Responsible Business Conduct Advisory Committee, advising the government on their efforts to promote responsible business conduct.
Mikhail Molchanov
Independent international relations analyst
Dr. Mikhail A. Molchanov is an independent international relations analyst with a broad experience in research, university teaching and policy work. He has worked as a senior policy analyst and a professor of political science in Canada, held a visiting professor appointment at the American University of Sharjah, UAE, and several visiting research appointments at the United Nations University, Waseda University and Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, Japan, and at the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) in Brugge, Belgium.
Ángela Suarez Collado
Academic Director
Dr. Ángela Suárez Collado holds a BA in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Granada, a MA in International Mediterranean Studies and a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the Autonomous University of Madrid. Before joining Salamanca University, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg-Centre for Global Cooperation Research (Germany).
Francisco Rodriguez-Jimenez
Universidad de Extremadura, Faculty
Francisco Rodríguez-Jimenez is professor at University of Extremadura, currently working at the Instituto de Ciências Sociais in Lisbon. He was formerly a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University; Fulbrighter Scholar twice: at George Washington University and at American University; and Visiting Scholar at Universitá di Bergamo, Wake Forest University, and Johns Hopkins University–Bologna.
Fulton T. Armstrong
American University, Faculty
Fulton T. Armstrong is a writer, analyst and adjunct professor at American University and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School Program in Washington, DC. He teaches about intelligence, foreign policy, and Latin America. He is also aguest lecturer at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid. He has conducted workshops in intelligence analysis in Latin America as well. He is author of A Guide to Producing Actionable Intelligence: Drivers, Scenarios, and Policy (2023).
Mark L. Asquino
Retired U.S. career diplomat
Ambassador Mark Asquino is a career Foreign Service officer with the rank of Minister Counselor. He retired from the U.S. Department of State in November 2015. Ambassador Asquino’s three decades plus career included postings in Latin America, Europe, Central Asia and Africa. During 2012-2015, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Upon completing his assignment there, the Government of Equatorial Guinea awarded him the country’s highest decoration, “The Grand Cross of the Order of Independence
Lourdes Casanova
Senior Lecturer and Director Emerging Markets Institute, Johnson School of Management, Cornell University
Formerly at INSEAD, specializes in international business with focus on emerging markets multinationals. Faculty Fellow at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. Fulbright Scholar with Masters degree from University of Southern California and a PhD from University of Barcelona. Visiting professor, Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley: Judge Business School, University of Cambridge and at atin American Centre, University of Oxford; University of Zurich, and Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and consultant of Inter-American Development Bank.
Robin L. Raphel
Ambassador
Ambassador Robin Raphel is an expert in political, security and economic development issues in South Asia and the Middle East. As a career foreign service officer, she served nearly 40 years in U.S. foreign affairs agencies, including the Department of State, USAID, and DoD. She was the first Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Ambassador to Tunisia, Vice President of the National Defense University, and Deputy Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
Ignacio Domínguez
Counsel of Latham & Watkins LLP and Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Harvard Club of Spain
Ignacio Domínguez is a counsel of the US law firm Latham & Watkins LLP in the Madrid office. Mr. Domínguez focuses his practice on international M&A, capital markets and corporate restructurings, being continuously involved in international business negotiations. He also heads Latham & Watkins’ pro bono practice in Spain.
