The son of parents with international careers, TJ first moved to Eastern Europe in 2000 and then Western Europe in 2009. He often joked with his peers at Baylor University that moving to America was his “study abroad” experience. At Baylor, he double majored in Russian Language and Digital Media Studies. TJ, an SRAS graduate… Read More

A native of St. Petersburg, Elena Nesterova holds a BAs in English Pedagogy and Humanities from St. Petersburg State Pedagogical University. Elena comes to SRAS after many enjoyable years working in the administrative section of the U.S. Consulate General in St. Petersburg. As SRAS’ Administrative Specialist, Elena is responsible for providing overall support to our… Read More

Alex holds a BA in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) and an MA in Translation. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in philology. He came to Moscow from Tolyatti to study at Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2013 and has been in love with the city ever since. For SRAS, Alex assists in… Read More

Yulia holds degrees in International Relations and Tourism from Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service. She speaks English and is learning Korean. She now works in the International and Cultural Affairs Department of International Academic Mobility Office and coordinates SRAS student services in Vladivostok. Her key responsibilities are students’ orientation and adaptation, excursion programs,… Read More

Sergei was born and raised in Siberia. He graduated from the Department of Philology at St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) State University with degrees in English Language and English and American Literature. He worked for a few years as a teacher of English in a secondary school before becoming a licensed tour guide, which has been… Read More

Andrei Nesterov leads our archive research services, performing remote archive research and consultations for researchers around the globe. Andrei graduated from Ural State University (journalism) and Irkutsk State Linguistic University (English). He also studied public policy and journalism at Duke University on a Muskie Fellowship and taught Russian at West Virginia University. As a journalist,… Read More

Molly first went to Russia in 1991, landing in Moscow as Yeltsin was speaking on a tank outside the parliament. Molly graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Slavic and Eurasian Studies. She worked for MIR Corporation in 1994 and 1997, having great adventures riding the Trans-Siberian and searching Tuva… Read More

April first traveled to Russia in 1996 when she was a student at Georgetown University. A few months turned into a few years and several cities in Russia before she returned to the US and and completed her B.S. and M.S. in Communications at Northwestern University. April has worked with several international organizations in both… Read More

Lisa, to the perplexity of her German-rooted North Dakotan family, graduated from Reed College with a BA in Russian Literature. After attending SRAS’s Translation Abroad Program (now part of our Home and Abroad Programs), she worked in Moscow for two years as an in-house translator and as the SRAS Moscow Student Coordinator. Lisa was then… Read More

Josh has lived in Moscow since 2003, when he first arrived to study Russian with SRAS. He holds an M.A. in Theatre and a B.A. in History from Idaho State University, where his masters thesis was written on the political economy of Soviet-era censorship organs affecting the stage. At SRAS, Josh assists in program development… Read More