Participants

Aaron Erlich is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University, where he is a member of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship and an Associate Member of the Centre on Population Dynamics. He is also a faculty research affiliate with NYU's Center for Social Media, AI, and Politics. Much of Aaron’s research addresses information's role in developing democratic societies. His work also advances quantitative methods to measure the effect of information. aaron.erlich@mcgill.ca

Regina Faranda is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence & Research. A career member of the Senior Executive Service, Faranda previously served as Director of INR’s Office of Opinion Research, Chief of the Europe and Eurasia Division, and social research analyst for Russia and Ukraine. Throughout her tenure in government, Faranda was dedicated to informing U.S. policy through quantitative social research and to giving people around the world a seat at the U.S. policy table. gina.faranda123@gmail.com

Jordan Gans-Morse is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Northwestern University. His research focuses on corruption, the rule of law, property rights, and political and economic transitions. He is the author of Property Rights in Post-Soviet Russia: Violence, Corruption, and Demand for Law (Cambridge). His articles have appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, the American Political Science Review, and World Development, and he has published commentaries in the Chicago Tribune, The Hill, The Moscow Times, US News & World Report, and The Washington Post. jordan.gans-morse@northwestern.edu

Kimberly O'Haver is a program manager at the Open Society Foundation, where she coordinates of a group of international drug policy experts working toward progressive drug policy reform for Ukraine's EU Accession process. Her work on drug policy focuses on veterans and affected civilian populations experiencing severe, war-induced trauma and regularly engages veterans and veterans’ groups to understand substance use trends both post-deployment and on the frontlines. ohaverkm@gmail.com

Bryn Rosenfeld is an Associate Professor of Government at Cornell University and a co-Principal Investigator of the Russian Election Study. Her research interests focus on public opinion and voter behavior in nondemocratic systems, development and democratization, protest, post-communist politics, and survey methodology. Her research has been supported by the NSF and the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, among other sources. She is a former editor of The Washington Post Monkey Cage Blog. brr59@cornell.edu

Charles Whitehead is the Myron C. Taylor Alumni Professor of Business Law at Cornell Law School and the Founding Director of the Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship Program at Cornell Tech. He specializes in the law relating to corporations and other business associations, securities regulation, mergers and acquisitions, and financial regulation. His current scholarship focuses on securities and financial regulation and corporate governance. ckw26@cornell.edu

Workshop Schedule

9:00am. Coffee

9:15am. Opening Remarks

Bryn Rosenfeld (Cornell)

9:30am-11:15am. Panel: Research for Impact

Cristina Florea (Cornell), Moderator

Presentations:

Charles Whitehead (Cornell Law), “Corporate Governance Reform in Ukraine: Between State Design and Market Discipline”

Aaron Erlich (McGill), “The Past, Present, and Future of Public Opinion Survey Research in Ukraine: From Pen and Paper to Agentic AI (2015-2026)”

Jordan Gans-Morse (Northwestern), “Countering Authoritarian Censorship via Grassroots Communication Campaigns: Evidence from an Experimental Mega-Study in Wartime Russia”

Bryn Rosenfeld (Cornell), “Russian Public Opinion Spanning the Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine: Evidence for Policy and Public Diplomacy”

11:30am-12:30pm. Catered Lunch

1:00pm-2:45pm. Roundtable. Connecting Research to Policy Advocacy and Activism: Challenges and Opportunities

Sophie Pinkham (Cornell), Moderator

Participants:

Regina Faranda (former Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. State Department, INR)

Kimberly O’Haver (Open Society Foundation)

Aaron Erlich (McGill)

Jordan Gans-Morse (Northwestern)

Bryn Rosenfeld (Cornell)