Alexandra Karppi is a specialist in the Western Balkans/Southeastern Europe and a co-host of the weekly Talk Eastern Europe podcast. Her written work as been published in Just Security, Balkan Insight, New Eastern Europe, Lossi 36, among others, and she has been featured as an expert commentator on Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Al Jazeera Balkans, N1, and more. A researcher by training, she has held research and editorial roles at Freedom House in New York, the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, the Center for European Neighborhood Studies in Budapest, and the Post-Conflict Research Center in Sarajevo. She also has a background in humanitarian and development assistance. Alexandra holds a master's in Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies from Columbia University’s Harriman Institute and a BA in Political Science and Slavic Studies from Columbia College. She is fluent in Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian and is learning Albanian. As a proud member of the ex-Yugoslav diaspora, she believes in raising up local voices from this region and aims to do so through her freelance writing, podcasting, and content creation.