OUR TEAM
Meet the CGS staff, whose energy, expertise, and collaborative spirit bring our mission to life! From program development to advocacy and outreach, our team is committed to doing the daily work necessary to build a more unified, peaceful, and just world.
James May is a programme and project development specialist. He has lived in Serbia since 2005, and prior to joining Citizens for Global Solutions, worked across the Western Balkans on a broad range of issues including human, minority and child rights, accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Holocaust commemoration, democratic participation, social justice and economic empowerment, and environmental restoration.
James began working in the Western Balkans on issues related to accountability for human rights violations, first for the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, a coalition of NGOs active in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, as the network’s development coordinator, then the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, leading a research project documenting the nomenclatural of the Milosevic Regime, and then the Federation of Jewish Communities in Serbia, running a Holocaust research and education project.
James then transitioned from accountability to efforts to protect and fulfil the rights of marginalised communities. For a decade James worked for the Centre for Youth Integration, an NGO that provides specialized services for children and youth in street situations in Belgrade, where he began as a volunteer before taking up a permanent role, while concurrently volunteering for community mental health organizations, as well as consultancy work for a number of local and international organizations, and most recently branched out to apply his experience to the environmental sector, focussing on social impact assessments and community-oriented nature-based solutions projects.
James has a degree in Archaeology from University College London. He was born and grew up in Great Britain. He is an avid cyclist.
Drea Bergman is a program strategist and instructional design expert dedicated to building inclusive, evidence-based solutions. With dual master’s degrees from the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and United Nations University MERIT (Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology), Drea has spearheaded strategic planning, end-to-end development, and global rollout of youth education initiatives on UN Systems, aligning program objectives with stakeholder priorities, crafting evidence-based curricula, and training facilitators to ensure high-impact delivery across diverse contexts.
An expert in mixed-methods research, Drea builds robust monitoring & evaluation frameworks to measure and refine program effectiveness. She’s conducted field studies synthesizing quantitative and qualitative policy analysis to drive continuous improvement with thematic focus areas including education, housing, and health.
Keshet Benschikovski is a Program Associate at Citizens for Global Solutions, where she supports the development, implementation, and coordination of CGS program activities. She brings a diverse background in international development, humanitarian assistance, and conflict resolution, with experience spanning project assistance, policy research, and business development.
Prior to joining Citizens for Global Solutions, Keshet served as a Project Assistant with the International Organization for Migration, where she played a key role in case management for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. She previously worked at Social Impact, where she led knowledge management initiatives and contributed to the development of multimillion-dollar proposals for international development activities promoting democracy, human rights, and governance. Her experience also includes research, advocacy, and reporting assistance for EcoPeace Middle East, where she supported environmental cooperation initiatives in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.
Keshet holds an M.A. in Conflict Resolution and Mediation from Tel Aviv University and a B.A. in International Studies from American University. She holds certificates in Mediation from Tel Aviv University and Results-Based Management from UNICEF.
Jon brings over 17 years of experience in development and fundraising in both the public and private sectors. He started his career in politics working in the Ohio Statehouse and later in the office of U.S. Congressman Steven LaTourette, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. After leaving Capitol Hill, Jon pursued his passion of helping nonprofits secure the resources they needed to best serve their constituents. This passion led to his founding of Jon Thomas Consulting, a boutique nonprofit management and development firm serving organizations across the United States and throughout the world in streamlining their processes and maximizing their revenue growth through grant writing, government affairs, donor stewardship, and major event planning.
Prior to his fundraising career, Jon proudly served his community as a firefighter and water rescue diver. In his personal time, Jon is a champion competitive sailor and a bit of a thrill-seeker, having skydived and bungee jumped on 6 continents.
Cinthya Calderon-Hernandez is the Program and Outreach Associate based in Washington, D.C., bringing experience in advocacy, youth organizing, nonprofit programming, and strategic communications. She recently graduated from Trinity Washington University with a double major in Political Science and Global Affairs and a minor in Communications.
During her time at Trinity, Cinthya participated in the Global Governance Fellowship, where she explored issues of international cooperation and later worked as the Fellowship Coordinator, supporting program organization, fellow engagement, and communications. As a fellow, she also served as a keynote speaker at a parallel side event to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Her experience involves advocacy and organizing, including work with United We Dream, a youth-led immigrant network, as well as policy-focused research through the Center for Strategic and International Studies fellowship, where she engaged with national security experts to analyze challenges facing the United States. Cinthya also brings a strong background in digital communications and content creation, developing graphics and social media content.
Her work is grounded in a commitment to advocacy, youth engagement, and creating opportunities for communities to participate in conversations that shape the policies affecting them. Outside of work, Cinthya loves arts and crafts and reading books.
Samara Husain is a senior nursing student at Trinity Washington University. She is a proud alumna of the Trinity Global Governance Fellowship and is excited to serve as this year's Fellowship Coordinator.
She has worked as a Student Nurse Extern in the Surgical Oncology Unit at MedStar Washington Hospital Center since December 2025 where she has developed a strong commitment to patient-centered care. She has strong commitment to and growing passion for leadership in global health, and equity in healthcare. Her advocacy focuses on advancing equitable access to healthcare and addressing the barriers that disproportionately affect underserved communities.With a background in both nursing and policy, she aspires to promote health equity through healthcare, advocacy, and policy change at the local and global levels.
Eston McKeague is a Berlin-based communications and design consultant. Originally from Seattle, he has spent years building the Young World Federalists into a youth-led movement for global democracy. He holds a BA in Global Affairs, with minors in Economics and Religion and Culture, from Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Washington University, and an MSc in Political Science, Public Policy and Governance from the University of Amsterdam.
Before going independent, Eston worked on the communications team at the Renewables Grid Initiative, producing video and design that turned dense energy and infrastructure topics into work a general audience could actually follow. On his own now, he offers the full range, mostly to nonprofits, helping them with strategy, storytelling, and design across brand identity, web, and video. Outside of work he shoots film photography and lives in Berlin's Wedding neighborhood with his wife and their young child.
Alex Andrei is a digital learning and UX professional based in Toronto, specializing in the design of accessible, user-centred learning experiences. With more than 10 years of experience across higher education, nonprofits, and technology-enabled initiatives, Alex brings together instructional design, learning platforms, automation, and agile project delivery to create scalable digital solutions.
His work spans e-learning development, applications design, workflow automation, and digital transformation. He has supported organizations including the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, helping teams improve learner engagement, streamline operations, and adopt future-ready tools.
Alex holds a background in computer science, UX/UI, project management, and multimedia storytelling, along with multiple Scrum and Agile certifications. His approach blends pedagogy, accessibility, data-informed decision-making, and emerging technologies to transform ideas into effective digital experiences.