Mr. Vazha Salamadze is founding director of CSI. He has 28 year experience in public sector, from which 25 years he dedicated to development of civil society and promoting enabling environment for CSOs. Mr. Salamadze has sound experience in policy analysis, crafting policy papers, drafting laws and lobbing at national and international levels. He also teaches policy analysis at several universities of Georgia.

Mr. Salamadze works internationally. He served as a Co-Chair of Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness from 2010 to 2012. Than he was member of Global Council of CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness. Prior establishing CSI, Mr. Salamadze worked for Government of Georgia at various administrative positions. He holds a Master in Public Policy Administration from the University of Missouri Saint Louis, USA, a Diploma in Law from the Institute of Economics and Law, Tbilisi, Georgia and Diploma with distinction in Economics from Tbilisi State University.

Lia Mirtskhulava is a board member of the Civil Society Institute since 2017. She has a long experience in working at television and theater as a director. After graduation from the Shota Rustaveli Theater and Film Institute she directed a lot of plays performed at Telavi, Gori, Poti, Tskhinvali and Akhmeteli theaters, some of which plays are kept at the golden fund of radio. With her directives there have been created such TV programs in a television space as Constitution of Georgia, Twentieth Century Golden Fund, Accents, Notabene. She was a director of TV projects Eco-Digest and Cultural Heritage of Georgia, created through the support of the World Bank. Currently Lia Mirtskhulava is a director of TV show “Ferma” (farm) at the channel1

Osiko (Ochi) Kontselidze has been a member of the board of the Institute of Civil Society since 2023. In 2018, he graduated with honors from the master’s program in sociology of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, and in the same year became a PhD student in the doctoral program of sociology at TSU. He has many years of experience in the civil sector. Since 2015, he has been a project manager and researcher of one of the leading sociological research organizations in Georgia – “The Institute of Social Studies and Analysis”. At the same time, he is an evaluation and monitoring consultant of the project “Civil Society Action for Promoting Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Georgia” funded by the European Union. During his professional career, Osiko has participated in dozens of research projects and is a co-author of several studies. The topic of research projects is diverse: social protection and needs assessment of vulnerable social groups, participation in public-political life and ethnicity, etc. Since 2019, he has been actively cooperating with the media platform “Batumelebi” and is the host of the video-blog “Free Topic with Ochi”, where interviews with people from various professions are periodically published.

Nikoloz Devidze, a founder of the Civil Society Institute, was a member of the Board of the Institute within 1996-2003 years. From 2017 to present Nikoloz Devidze is again a member of the Board of the Civil Society Institute. Along with the activity in public sphere, he has a long work experience in business sector. After graduation from the Polytechnic Institute he worked at Tbilgazi as an engineer, later as a head of Maintenance Service. Currently he works at “Audit-Center” LLC as an Evaluation Expert.

Nino Chkhaidze has been a member of the board of the Civil Society Institute since 2023. She has a master’s degree in Cultural Management. She has many years of experience working in CSOs – in the direction of civil activism, protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and creation of a healthy inclusive environment through art. Since 2017, Nino Chkhaidze has been the head of the social enterprise “Free Space” and is also a co-founder. Through social entrepreneurship, it promotes informal education of persons with disabilities and their participation in public life. It should be noted that persons with disabilities and their family members have been employed in the social enterprise since its establishment. Within the framework of the mentioned enterprise, the “Alternative School of Sign Language” is managed, where sign language is being studied as a way of active communication with deaf people. Nino Chkhaidze is the author/co-author of many projects and festivals, the “Batumi Open Theater Festival” is especially noteworthy – it is the first fully adapted and inclusive festival in the Georgian theater space. Also, Nino Chkhaidze is a member of the OGP Council under the Supreme Council of Adjara. She is a trainer in the field of civil activism, social entrepreneurship and issues of persons with disabilities.