FPRI Appoints Emily Holland Director of the Eurasia Program

• November 10, 2025

The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) is pleased to welcome Dr. Emily Holland as the Director of its Eurasia Program.
 
Emily Holland comes to FPRI from the Russia Maritime Studies Institute at the United States Naval War College, where she served as the Research Director and an assistant professor between 2020 and 2025.
 
In 2024, she also served as the Deputy Political Advisor for Critical Undersea Infrastructure at NATO Maritime Command (Northwood, UK). Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, and a visiting fellow at the Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia at NYU, the European Council on Foreign Relations (Berlin), and the German Institute for Economic Research (Berlin).
 
Holland’s research focuses on the nexus between international trade and security, including the geopolitics of energy, Russian foreign policy, and European security. Her work has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, The Washington Post, War on the Rocks, Lawfare, the Journal of International Affairs, and The Christian Science Monitor amongst others. Dr. Holland regularly designs and facilitates tabletop exercises, scenario-based discussions, and workshops on security, trade, energy and infrastructure protection for the US Navy, NATO and other audiences. She has been featured on CNN, NPR, Government Matters, The Energy Show, Chain Reaction, and The WarCast, amongst others. She holds a Ph.D., MA, and BA in political science from Columbia University.

“Emily is a wonderful addition to our growing team at FPRI. She brings expertise and excellence to the role and we have big plans for our future work, ranging from a continued focus on our core strengths to doing more work on war gaming and scenario modelling. I can’t wait to get to work,” said Aaron Stein, FPRI President.

Emily shared her excitement about joining the organization. “I am thrilled to be joining FPRI as Director of the Eurasia Program at such a pivotal moment, when understanding the region’s shifting strategic uncertainties demands rigorous and nuanced analysis. I am eager to work with the excellent team to lead and grow the program, leveraging my strengths designing and leading geopolitical scenarios to help advance our understanding of Eurasia’s evolving landscape.”
 

For more information or media inquiries, please contact Leah Pedro at lpedro@fpri.org.