Mariam Tokhadze is the Director of the Georgian Center for Strategy and Development (GCSD) – a Tbilisi based non-governmental, non-profit and non—partisan organisation. She first joined the team as the Director of the Terrorism Research Center (TRC) – the first non-governmental entity fully dedicated to researching topics related to terrorism and violent extremism, implementing preventive projects and accumulating thematic knowledge and expertise in the country. In 2017 she was awarded 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, the State Security Service of Georgia and 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 such as Georgia’s first National Counter Terrorism Strategy. In her current capacity Ms. Tokhadze prioritises projects that support Georgia’s democratic reforms, she strives to help strengthen Georgia’s democratic institutions and aims to help build Georgia’s capacity in understanding, preventing, and countering violent extremism. She aspires to create education and development opportunities for the youth of Georgia and hopes to be a positive contributor to bringing their tremendous potential to the forefront. With her team she works towards the goal of making Georgia safer, more secure and a place where potential becomes reality and drives progress. Above all else she believes in accessibility of education as the foundation of strong institutions and a prosperous society.