Katherine Spencer is a program assistant at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, she interned at the American Enterprise Institute, where she focused on domestic developments in Russia and Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Spencer holds a BA in political science and Russian studies from Davidson College, where she graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received honors in Russian studies for her thesis exploring Russia’s motivations for aggression against Ukraine and Georgia. During her time at Davidson College, Spencer completed a Russian language intensive at Middlebury College and studied abroad in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan for Russian language and area studies. She also worked as a teaching assistant in the political science department, specializing in quantitative methods for social science research. Additionally, Spencer served as a research assistant at Davidson College, where she analyzed large survey datasets from Ukraine’s civil service.