Caspian Policy Center Welcomes Four New Members to Board of Advisers

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — October 23, 2026 — The Caspian Policy Center (CPC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark W. Menezes, Nicholas R. Berliner, Jonathan Katz, and Dr. Theresa Sabonis-Helf to its Board of Advisers.

The four distinguished new advisers bring extensive experience spanning U.S. government, energy and infrastructure, international development, diplomacy, national security, governance, and the political and economic affairs of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Their addition continues to expand the breadth of CPC expertise as the region is experiencing a period of rapid economic, geopolitical, and strategic transformation.

“The Caspian region is undergoing changes that would have been difficult to imagine even a few years ago,” said Efgan Nifti, President and CEO of the Caspian Policy Center. “The addition of these four outstanding leaders strengthens CPC’s ability to understand those changes and to bring together the expertise, experience, and relationships necessary to help policymakers, business leaders, and the broader public understand the opportunities and challenges emerging across Central Asia and the South Caucasus.”

Mark W. Menezes brings extensive experience in U.S. energy policy, energy infrastructure, technology, regulation, and the private sector. He served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy and previously as Under Secretary of Energy during the first Trump administration. At the Department of Energy, he held senior responsibility for the department’s broad energy portfolio and worked across issues involving energy policy, technology, infrastructure, and national energy priorities. Prior to government service, Menezes was an executive at Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a partner at Hunton & Williams, and Chief Counsel for Energy and Environment at the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Menezes currently leads Global Sustainable Energy Advisors, providing strategic advice on energy, technology, and defense issues, and serves as President and CEO of the United States Energy Association. His combination of senior government experience and private-sector energy expertise will strengthen CPC’s work on energy security, infrastructure, investment, and the evolving role of the Caspian region in global energy markets.

Nicholas R. Berliner brings extensive senior diplomatic experience in Russia, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Europe, and U.S. foreign policy. He most recently served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia and Central Asia at the National Security Council during the Biden administration. Earlier, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and held senior diplomatic assignments in Belgium, Georgia, and Russia.

Berliner previously served as Director for Central Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, and Political-Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent. His diplomatic career has given him unusually broad first-hand experience with the political, economic, and security dynamics of the region and with the development and implementation of U.S. policy toward Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

His extensive regional experience and understanding of U.S. foreign policy will contribute directly to CPC’s efforts to assess the changing strategic environment surrounding the Caspian region and the growing importance of Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Jonathan Katz brings extensive experience in international development, democracy and governance, anti-corruption, national security, and U.S. policy toward Europe, Eurasia, the South Caucasus, and Türkiye. He is a Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and is recognized for his work on anti-corruption, democracy, international development, and security.

Katz previously served as Deputy Assistant Administrator in USAID’s Europe and Eurasia Bureau, where he managed U.S. development policy and programs involving economic growth, energy security, democracy, governance, and anti-corruption. He also served at the U.S. Department of State and held senior positions in the U.S. Congress. At the German Marshall Fund, he was Senior Fellow and Director of Democracy Initiatives, with work encompassing the South Caucasus, Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe, civil society, governance, and transatlantic relations.

Katz’s experience working across government, Congress, international development, and the think-tank community will add an important governance and institutional dimension to CPC’s work and further strengthen its connections with U.S. and international policy communities.

Dr. Theresa Sabonis-Helf brings more than two decades of expertise in Central Asian and South Caucasus affairs, energy security, international political economy, and national security. She is a Professor of the Practice at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she serves as the inaugural chair of the Science, Technology and International Affairs concentration. She previously spent 18 years as a Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College.

Sabonis-Helf has lived and worked in seven countries of the former Soviet Union and has assisted two countries in developing their first national security strategies. She has written extensively on Caucasus regional energy issues and co-edited volumes on Central Asia’s political and economic transition. Her work has also focused on energy security, climate policy, critical infrastructure resilience, energy transition, and the politics of electricity. She is a frequent adviser to NATO and the U.S. government.

Her deep regional experience and expertise at the intersection of energy, technology, infrastructure, and national security will be particularly valuable to CPC as it expands its research and programming across Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Strengthening CPC’s Regional Focus

Founded in 2016, the Caspian Policy Center is an independent, nonprofit research think tank based in Washington, D.C. Its work focuses on the political, economic, energy, security, and international affairs of the broader Caspian region. CPC provides policymakers, experts, business leaders, and the public with research and analysis, publications, conferences, regional programs, and other forums designed to promote a deeper understanding of the region and its growing importance.

In recent years, CPC has expanded its focus on Central Asia and the South Caucasus, the Middle Corridor and Trans-Caspian connectivity, strategic minerals, energy and water security, regional economic development, and the changing relationships among the United States, Europe, Russia, China, Türkiye, and the countries of the region. CPC has also increased its regional travel, international conferences, policy dialogues, and engagement with government, business, academic, and diplomatic communities. Its recent programming has examined the emergence of the C6 framework, expanding regional connectivity, critical minerals, energy security, and the implications of the changing geopolitical environment.

The addition of Menezes, Berliner, Katz, and Sabonis-Helf to the Board of Advisers further strengthens CPC’s capacity to provide independent analysis and convene informed discussion at a time when Central Asia and the South Caucasus are assuming a larger role in global trade, energy, investment, security, and geopolitical affairs.  CPC maintains intellectual and editorial independence and does not advocate institutional policy positions.

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