Irina Ghaplanyan is a 2022 Atlantic Council Millennium fellow, participant on the 2024 Executive Leadership Intensive, a political scientist, climate- and environmental-policy expert, and published author. Currently, she is a senior climate change specialist at the World Bank Group. She also teaches at the American University of Armenia. Previously, Ghaplanyan served as deputy minister of environment for the Republic of Armenia between 2018 and 2020. Ghaplanyan has also worked in a number of international organizations and think tanks around the world, including the United Nations Development Programme, Georgetown University, the Eurasia Foundation, and Chatham House. Ghaplanyan has numerous academic and media publications, including her most recent book, Post-Soviet Armenia: The New National Elite and the New National Narrative. Ghaplanyan holds a doctorate degree in political science from the University of Cambridge, a master’s degree in diplomatic studies from the Diplomatic Academy of London, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Malta.