Sarah E. Mendelson

Mendelson also earned a certificate from the Harriman Institute, the first academic center in the United States devoted to the interdisciplinary study of Russia and the Soviet Union.

Her research covers topics on civil society, historical memory, public opinion and politics in Russia, and issues surrounding Human trafficking.

After completing her graduate studies, she served in Moscow as a program officer with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs from 1994 to 1995, working with political activists.

From 2001 to 2010 she served as senior adviser and first director of the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an influential American think tank based in Washington, D.C.

When President Obama tapped her to become ambassador, she was the Senior Adviser and Director of the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., a position she had held since 2014.