John DiPirro joined AFPC in June 2025 as Senior Fellow in Eurasia, as well as a Senior Fellow with the AFPC Central-Asia Caucasus Institute. A foreign policy expert with over 15 years of experience leading international development programs, with a focus on democracy, human rights, and governance across the Eurasia region, he served from 2018 to 2025 as the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Resident Program Director in Georgia, following a similar role in the Kyrgyz Republic. In both positions, he directed high-impact initiatives in political party development, public policy, strategic communications, public opinion research, youth civic engagement, coalition-building, and conflict mitigation. Prior to his work with IRI, John was Operations Manager for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Central Asia, where he led regional programming to promote transparent elections and strengthen youth civic participation.