Ivana Smoleňová is Fellow and Program Manager at the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI). Ms. Smoleňová joined PSSI in September, 2012, and is the initiator and now head of PSSI’s initiative to counter Russian influence activities in the region, pro-Russian disinformation campaigns in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as well as is responsible for PSSI’s projects in Ukraine. Ms. Smoleňová’s academic work has focused on business economics, the geopolitics Russia and Moscow’s use of soft power projection. In 2011, she spent three months in Nepal, where she engaged in teaching and development activities at a local primary school. Prior to joining PSSI, she worked for the Forum 2000 Foundation and with RWR Advisory Group, in Washinton, D.C. Ms. Smoleňová holds a Bachelor’s in Corporate Economics and a Master’s in Corporate Economics and Development Studies from the University of Economics in Prague.