Jane Sargus, of Washington, D.C. is the Executive Director of the Congressional Office for International Leadership (formerly known as the Open World Leadership Center). Before assuming her duties as Executive Director, Ms. Sargus brings 40 years of federal experience to the Open World program. 

Having served as Open World’s Program Administrator and Budget Officer from 2008 to 2012, Ms. Sargus crafted the congressional budget justification for the Appropriations Committee in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. With her financial management experience and a deep understanding of international programs in the Legislative Branch, Ms. Sargus performed in-depth analysis and research on multiple and complex issues related to budget formulation for a program with both national and international impact. From 2012 to 2017, Ms. Sargus rose to serve as Open World’s Deputy Executive Director to manage day-to-day operations for all aspects of the agency and to coordinate its logistical contract of $7 million annually.

Prior to Open World, Ms. Sargus served in the Library’s Congressional Research Service (CRS) where she provided critical fiscal support for the Frost Special Task Force on the Development of Parliamentary Institutions in Eastern and Central Europe while also serving on the Financial Management Team overseeing CRS’s annual appropriation. Later, as a Budget Analyst in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of the Library of Congress, her work supported the Library’s $400 million budget request for congressional oversight committees. Ms. Sargus spent five years in the Library’s John W. Kluge Center managing all aspects of financial operations for more than 20 funds totaling over $71 million.

Jane Sargus has a B.A. from the Miami University in Oxford, OH and graduate work in Business Administration from The George Washington University.

Maura Shelden is the Deputy Executive Director of the Congressional Office for International Leadership. She manages outreach to Congress and strategic communications, as well as COIL’s public diplomacy archive. She received a B.A. in English from the University of New Mexico and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine (1999-2002.) She is conversant in Russian and Ukrainian.

Lewis Madanick is a Senior Program Manager at the Congressional Office for International Leadership, where he has worked for more than 20 years. He manages the country programs for Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Lewis was responsible for the creation of Open World's rule of law program, and regularly advises senior management about it. He received a Master’s Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and has a Bachelor's Degree in political science and European history. Lewis is fluent in Russian and conversant in Ukrainian.

Matt Tucker is a Senior Program Manager/Team Lead at the Congressional Office for International Leadership, where he directly manages programs for Belarus, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Uzbekistan, the Rumsfeld Foundation, and the Indo-Pacific. Prior to his time at COIL, Matt worked on student exchanges in Russia at the American Institute for Foreign Study. Matt earned an M.A. in Russian and Eurasian studies from the European University in St. Petersburg, Russia and his B.A. in political science at Birmingham-Southern College. He is fluent in Russian.

Alexa King is a Program Manager at the Congressional Office for International Leadership, where she manages programs for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, and Serbia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in classics.

Shelia Parson is the Administrative Officer at the Congressional Office for International Leadership. She is a military spouse who traveled extensively with her family for over 24 years. Shelia served as a Service Coordinator for the American Red Cross in Okinawa Japan for six years. She brings 28 years of legal administrative experience to COIL. Shelia studied at the University of Maryland, Okinawa Division, and received her Paralegal Certification in Northern Virginia.

Nicolai Wolkenhauer is a James H. Billington Fellow at the Congressional Office for International Leadership. Billington Fellows advance knowledge of Congress, the Legislative Branch, and the vision and scope of the Congressional Office for International Leadership through research in the COIL archive. In his role, Nicolai supports a broad range of international programming and executive planning activities, contributing to the organization’s mission of fostering international cooperation. He earned a BS in Economics from the University of Oregon. Nicolai is fluent in Russian and conversant in German.

Chris Radcliffe is a Congressional Relations Specialist at the Congressional Office for International Leadership. He assists executive management with general strategy and serves as the relationship manager between this office and Congress. Chris joined COIL as a Presidential Management Fellow and received his graduate degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Chris has prior experience working as a State Department consultant and think tank researcher.

Jennifer Volfson is the Grants Manager at the Congressional Office for International Leadership. She supports senior leadership by enhancing processes and training, ensuring grant compliance, and managing grant budgets and analytics. Previously, Jennifer directed community-based grants at FHI 360’s Open World Project, which focused on citizen diplomacy. She holds an MA in International Communication from American University and a BA in International Studies with a Minor in Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Jennifer is fluent in Russian and proficient in Spanish.