Mariam Tokhadze is the Director at GCSD which she joined in January 2019 as Director of the Terrorism Research Center (TRC). Mariam has a BSc in Politics and International Relations from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and MSc in Security Studies from University College London (UCL). Her professional experience is with various state institutions operating in the field of defence and security. In the past, she has worked at the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Counterterrorism of the State Security Service of Georgia. She was also the Policy Officer within the framework of the technical assistance project of the European Union to the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Refugees and Accommodation. In her previous capacities, she participated in the elaboration of various strategic and national level documents as well as the policy planning process of respective agencies.