Hemispheric Strategies Group is led by Dr. Puerta Riera and collaborates with a network of independent scholars on engagements where their expertise applies.
Maria Puerta Riera is a political scientist with a PhD. in Social Sciences. Assistant Professor of Political Science at Valencia College and Research Fellow at GAPAC. Former Associate Professor and Chair of Public Administration at Universidad de Carabobo (Venezuela). Chair, LASA Section on Venezuelan Studies. (2022-2024), Latinx Studies (2026-2028). Dr. Puerta Riera has extensive experience in higher education teaching and research, focusing on democracy and governance in Latin America, particularly Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Colombia.
Nevena Trajkov, PhD, is Chair of Political Science at Jacksonville University, where she also serves as an Assistant Professor in the department. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Florida International University, as well as MA degrees in Political Science and Business Administration. Dr. Trajkov also has certifications in numerous areas from the Interuniversity Consortium of Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.
Patty Zakaria is an Associate Professor of Data Analytics at NFUC, with an academic career across Canada, the USA, Europe, and India. Her research focuses on anti-corruption, data-driven governance, and public policy. Dr. Zakaria earned the OECD 2018 Research Edge Award for her work on corruption tolerance. Author and consultant for various organizations on anti-corruption frameworks, research methodology, data analytics, and program evaluation.
Dilara Hekimci is a lecturer at the University of Miami. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Florida International University, with a dissertation on opposition parties’ strategies to counter populism in Turkey and Hungary. Additionally, she earned another Ph.D. from Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul, Turkey, where her dissertation focused on clientelism and democracy in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil. Her research interests include political parties, opposition, populism, and democratic erosion in developing countries. Dr. Hekimci has previously published in Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Democratization, and Democracy and Society.
Armando Chaguaceda, Graduate in Education and in History . Master in Political Science and Doctor in History and Regional Studies (Universidad Veracruzana, 2012). Dr. Chaguaceda is a researcher in Government and Political Analysis. He has been a professor at the Higher Pedagogical Institute and the University of Havana (2001-2008). Since 2009 he has been a teacher at El Colegio de Veracruz, the Universidad Veracruzana, the Universidad Iberoamericana and the University of Guanajuato. He has specialized in the study of democratization and de-democratization processes as well as the state-civil society relationship in Latin America and Russia. He is the compiler and co-author of six books and the author of around thirty academic articles on the aforementioned topics.
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