Free Russia Foundation (FRF) is pleased to announce that Damian Murphy and Maria Longi have been elected to its Board of Directors, strengthening the organization’s leadership at a time when Russia’s internal repression and its war against Ukraine are redefining both the struggle for democratic change and regional security.
Free Russia Foundation is a 501(с)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Europe, whose mission is to support Russia’s pro‑democracy movement in building the conditions for a free, democratic, and peaceful Russia.
Free Russia Foundation (FRF) is pleased to announce that Damian Murphy and Maria Longi have been elected to its Board of Directors, strengthening the organization’s leadership at a time when Russia’s internal repression and its war against Ukraine are redefining both the struggle for democratic change and regional security.
Free Russia Foundation is a 501(с)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Europe, whose mission is to support Russia’s pro‑democracy movement in building the conditions for a free, democratic, and peaceful Russia.
“Free Russia Foundation was created to stand with people whose basic rights have been stripped away for daring to believe in a different future,” said Natalia Arno, Founder and President of Free Russia Foundation. “Today, the fight for human rights inside Russia is inseparable from the war against Ukraine and the broader assault on democratic norms across the region. Damian Murphy and Maria Longi understand that defending democracy requires both moral courage and strategic discipline. Their leadership will strengthen us at a time when both are urgently needed.”
“Free Russia Foundation was created to stand with people whose basic rights have been stripped away for daring to believe in a different future,” said Natalia Arno, Founder and President of Free Russia Foundation. “Today, the fight for human rights inside Russia is inseparable from the war against Ukraine and the broader assault on democratic norms across the region. Damian Murphy and Maria Longi understand that defending democracy requires both moral courage and strategic discipline. Their leadership will strengthen us at a time when both are urgently needed.”
Together, Murphy and Longi bring decades of experience at the intersection of democracy support, national security, and institutional governance—capabilities that align directly with FRF’s evolving role in a more contested global environment.
Together, Murphy and Longi bring decades of experience at the intersection of democracy support, national security, and institutional governance—capabilities that align directly with FRF’s evolving role in a more contested global environment.
Damian Murphy is Senior Vice President for National Security and International Policy at Center for American Progress and a Lecturer in International Affairs at George Washington University. He brings more than 25 years of experience as a chief policy adviser, analyst, and democracy practitioner working across foreign policy, democratic governance, and international security.
Mr. Murphy spent more than 15 years in the U.S. Senate, including as Staff Director and Lead Professional Staff Member for Europe and South and Central Asia on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and as Senior Advisor for foreign policy to Senator Bob Casey (D‑PA).
Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Mr. Murphy worked for more than a decade at the National Democratic Institute, Freedom House, and the Center for Democracy, training democracy activists and civil society leaders across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. He lived in Serbia following the fall of Slobodan Milošević, supporting efforts to rebuild democratic institutions, and in Nepal, where he worked with civil society actors on post‑conflict reintegration after the civil war. Domestically, he served as National Field Director for the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign.
Mr. Murphy holds a bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America and a master’s degree in International Security Studies from Georgetown University.
Damian Murphy is Senior Vice President for National Security and International Policy at Center for American Progress and a Lecturer in International Affairs at George Washington University. He brings more than 25 years of experience as a chief policy adviser, analyst, and democracy practitioner working across foreign policy, democratic governance, and international security.
Mr. Murphy spent more than 15 years in the U.S. Senate, including as Staff Director and Lead Professional Staff Member for Europe and South and Central Asia on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and as Senior Advisor for foreign policy to Senator Bob Casey (D‑PA).
Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Mr. Murphy worked for more than a decade at the National Democratic Institute, Freedom House, and the Center for Democracy, training democracy activists and civil society leaders across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. He lived in Serbia following the fall of Slobodan Milošević, supporting efforts to rebuild democratic institutions, and in Nepal, where he worked with civil society actors on post‑conflict reintegration after the civil war. Domestically, he served as National Field Director for the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign.
Mr. Murphy holds a bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America and a master’s degree in International Security Studies from Georgetown University.
Maria Longi is an accomplished foreign policy practitioner who retired in 2025 as a member of the U.S. Senior Executive Service, most recently serving at the U.S. Department of State as Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia (2022–2025). In this role, she oversaw U.S. government foreign assistance to 20 countries, including significant supplemental support to Ukraine following Russia’s full‑scale invasion in 2022.
Ms. Longi led strategic programming across economic reform; media, civil society, and rule of law; civilian security; and human rights, linking democratic institution‑building directly to regional stability and conflict response. She previously held senior leadership roles at the U.S. Agency for International Development, including Deputy Assistant Administrator for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Chief Operating Officer of the USAID COVID Task Force, and Acting Assistant Administrator for the Middle East Bureau.
From 2018 to 2021, Ms. Longi was Associate Dean and instructor at the National War College. Earlier in her career, she worked at the Millennium Challenge Corporation overseeing anti‑corruption Threshold Programs in ten countries, volunteered with the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative in Armenia, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Poland.
Ms. Longi holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University, a J.D. from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, and a master’s degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College.
Maria Longi is an accomplished foreign policy practitioner who retired in 2025 as a member of the U.S. Senior Executive Service, most recently serving at the U.S. Department of State as Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia (2022–2025). In this role, she oversaw U.S. government foreign assistance to 20 countries, including significant supplemental support to Ukraine following Russia’s full‑scale invasion in 2022.
Ms. Longi led strategic programming across economic reform; media, civil society, and rule of law; civilian security; and human rights, linking democratic institution‑building directly to regional stability and conflict response. She previously held senior leadership roles at the U.S. Agency for International Development, including Deputy Assistant Administrator for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Chief Operating Officer of the USAID COVID Task Force, and Acting Assistant Administrator for the Middle East Bureau.
From 2018 to 2021, Ms. Longi was Associate Dean and instructor at the National War College. Earlier in her career, she worked at the Millennium Challenge Corporation overseeing anti‑corruption Threshold Programs in ten countries, volunteered with the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative in Armenia, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Poland.
Ms. Longi holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University, a J.D. from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, and a master’s degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College.
“Over the past decade, it has become increasingly clear that the prospects for a democratic Russia are inseparable from the fate of its freedom‑seeking neighbors,” said Thomas O. Melia, Chair of the Free Russia Foundation Board. “A central premise of FRF’s strategy is that Russian democrats cannot succeed if Ukraine does not survive as a democratic state. Democracy in Russia will not emerge in isolation; it depends on a regional environment where sovereignty, accountability, and democratic choice are defended.”
“Over the past decade, it has become increasingly clear that the prospects for a democratic Russia are inseparable from the fate of its freedom‑seeking neighbors,” said Thomas O. Melia, Chair of the Free Russia Foundation Board. “A central premise of FRF’s strategy is that Russian democrats cannot succeed if Ukraine does not survive as a democratic state. Democracy in Russia will not emerge in isolation; it depends on a regional environment where sovereignty, accountability, and democratic choice are defended.”
The elections of Mr. Murphy and Ms. Longi underscore Free Russia Foundation’s continuing evolution as an organization that bridges civil society support with policy engagement and strategic analysis—working to ensure that a future democratic Russia contributes to peace, accountability, and regional stability.
The elections of Mr. Murphy and Ms. Longi underscore Free Russia Foundation’s continuing evolution as an organization that bridges civil society support with policy engagement and strategic analysis—working to ensure that a future democratic Russia contributes to peace, accountability, and regional stability.