Meet Dmitry Medlev, Regional Director of the South Caucasus Program

When we set out to find a dynamic, innovative leader to head up our new civilian protection program in the South Caucasus, we had high hopes. We were looking for someone who combined outstanding management expertise, broad technical competence in civilian protection, and a nuanced understanding of the dynamics in the region.

We’re thrilled to introduce Dmitry Medlev, who exceeded our expectations, as the Regional Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce’s South Caucasus program. Dmitry, a Russian national raised in Georgia, built his career in the former Soviet Union, serving a number of roles at peacebuilding and humanitarian agencies, largely in the former Soviet Union.

Prior to joining Nonviolent Peaceforce, he was Senior Advisor to International Alert in Kyrgyzstan, where he played a vital role in advancing the National Dialogue, a high-level process engaging a wide range of stakeholders. The process contributes to a creative and peaceful resolution of conflict issues in the country.

Dmitry has also served as Emergency Manager for the Danish Refugee Council in its response to the June 2010 inter-communal violence in Kyrgyzstan, and with the same organization in positions including Country Director in Azerbaijan, Program Manager in Abkhazia, Emergency Assistance Program Manager in Sudan, and Head of the Liaison Office in Moscow. He worked as Regional Director for CIS of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, and with the UN World Food Program and World Vision International.

“I am delighted to join NP,” Dmitry says, “because I will be in charge of a challenging task: to pioneer the methodology of unarmed civilian peacekeeping in the South Caucasus—in a region to which I feel a strong attachment through my previous personal and professional engagements. I feel that with NP I will be able to add value to the transformation of conflicts and help ordinary people affected by hostilities to feel more secure and safe.”

Dmitry launched our South Caucasus program in October 2011. The initial goals of the program are to increase the safety and capacity of civil society actors addressing human security threats, improve the day-to-day safety and security of communities affected by contentious boundaries, and strengthen early response and preventive action mechanisms.

His main focus in the next month is recruitment of international civilian protection staff and local support personnel. Dmitry is in the process of opening NP’s administrative office in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and will lead establishment of field offices in the coming months. Please join us in welcoming Dmitry.