PSSI staff
Roger W. Robinson, Jr.
Chairman and Co-Founder
rrobinson@pssiwashington.org
Roger W. Robinson, Jr. is Chairman and Co-Founder of the Prague Security Studies Institute in the Czech Republic and Executive Director of PSSI Washington Inc. He was formerly Senior Director of International Economic Affairs at the Reagan National Security Council, where he was the architect of the secret economic and financial strategy for the take-down of the Soviet Union. He later served as Chairman of the Congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission for the bulk of 2001-2006. Prior to his government service, Mr. Robinson was a Vice President in the International Department of the Chase Manhattan Bank with responsibility for Chase’s loan portfolios in the USSR, Central/Eastern Europe and Yugoslavia. He also served as a personal staff assistant to then-Chase Chairman David Rockefeller for some three years. Mr. Robinson was President & CEO of RWR Advisory Group, a data services, research and risk management firm that specializes in assessing Chinese and Russian risk factors, particularly with regard to their presence in the U.S. capital markets.
Jana Robinson
Managing Director
jrobinson@pssi.cz
Dr. Jana Robinson became Managing Director of the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI) in April 2020. She also serves as PSSI’s Space Security Program Director, a post she assumed in 2015. She previously held the position of a Space Policy Officer at the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels as well as a Space Security Advisor to the Czech Foreign Ministry.
Boris Kaliský
Director of Operations
kalisky@pssi.cz
Boris Kaliský has served as PSSI’s Director of Operations since April 2020. He is an alumnus of PSSI´s Robinson-Martin Security Scholars Program and has previously worked with PSSI on various projects and events as a communications and logistics coordinator and a researcher. During this period, he also worked as an editor and journalist focusing on maritime affairs. He also undertook an unconventional career detour as a bosun and ship’s officer on the tall ship La Grace, as well as authored a book on the cryptocurrencies.
Oldřich Černý
In memoriam - Executive director
It has been truly difficult for each of us to cope with the profound sadness of the passing of our friend and leader, Oldřich Černý. Olda, as his friends and colleagues knew him, had an inviting smile, infectious energy, and a steely determination towards advancing the cause of human freedom. We all loved and admired him.
Anna Švidroňová
Communications Manager
svidronova@pssi.cz
Anna Švidroňová is a Communications Manager at PSSI. She holds a master's degree in Editorial Work and Publishing from Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. Ms. Švidroňová has previously worked as an editor for Teraz.sk and as an English to Slovak translator in publishing.
Kristína Šefčíková
Project Manager
sefcikova@pssi.cz
Kristína Šefčíková joined PSSI in April 2021 and works as a Project Manager and analyst for the Regional Security Program. She specializes in disinformation, strategic communication, and foreign malign influence. Her current topics of interest within the disinformation portfolio are disinformation as a business, elections-related disinformation and effective strategies of resilience building. Her research includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia and cooperation with partners from the wider CEE region. Ms. Šefčíková is a sought-after speaker in media, podcasts, conferences, and expert panels. Prior to joining PSSI, she gained experience in an MEPs office and conducting research in various Czech and Slovak think-tanks with a focus on information security and cognitive warfare.
Alexandra Ilková
Project Manager
ilkova@pssi.cz
Kristína Sikoraiová
Project Coordinator
sikoraiova@pssi.cz
Kristína Sikoraiová joined the Prague Security Studies Institute in February 2020, where she has contributed her expertise to the Space Security Program. She holds a Master's Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy, with a minor in Managerial Psychology and Sociology, earned at the Prague University of Economics and Business. Kristína enriched her academic experience with a semester abroad at Özyegin University in Istanbul, Turkey, focusing on Business Administration. Her Master's thesis explored the field of cybersecurity in space, with a specific emphasis on the EU-US cooperation.
František Avrat
Project Coordinator
avrat@pssi.cz
Frantisek Avrat is a Project Coordinator supporting the Space Security Program. Mr Avrat holds a bachelor’s degree in China Studies from Masaryk University and a master’s degree in Asia Pacific Studies from National ChengChi University in Taiwan, with a focus on the Chinese Sharp Power in Czech-Sino Relations. He also holds the Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree in Intelligence, Security, and Strategic Studies. His main area of interest is space security, the role and tactics of the People’s Republic of China in the international system, and emerging disruptive technologies.
Petr Jan Vinš
Project Coordinator
vins@pssi.cz
Petr Jan Vinš is PSSI’s Project Coordinator in the Regional Security Program. His areas of expertise are monitoring and countering disinformation, information security, strategic communication and hybrid warfare. He joined PSSI in April 2022 after spending several years in a senior position in the NGO sector. He holds Master's degree in Religious Studies and Doctorate in Theology from the Charles University in Prague and Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Near Eastern Studies from the University of Bern, Switzerland.
Elias Sköld
Project Manager
skold@pssi.cz
Elias Sköld is a Project Manager for the Economic and Financial Statecraft Program, focusing on China. He holds a Master's Degree in Security, Intelligence, and Strategic Studies, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Chinese Studies, having written his thesis on how recent breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence influenced the Chinese government's policy practices. Elias' research interests focus on high level political decision-making, disruptive technologies, and climate change and its geopolitical consequences.
Kelig Chappuis
Project Coordinator
chappuis@pssi.cz
Kelig Chappuis is a Project Coordinator for PSSI's Space Security Program. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science and an International Master in Security, Intelligence, and Strategic Studies. He wrote his Master thesis on intelligence processes in peacekeeping operations, and specializes in OSINT data management and link analysis. He also served as a special forces communications officer in the Swiss Armed Forces.
Anna Dohnalová
Project Assistant
dohnalova@pssi.cz
Anna works as a project assistant for the Regional Security Program, specifically on information resilience, strategic communication, and foreign malign influence projects. She has a degree from Journalism and Liberal Arts at University of Essex in Colchester and is currently finishing her Master’s degree at New York University. During her studies, Anna spent two years in England, before she moved back to Prague where she started her career as a journalist. She works at the foreign section in the leading Czech daily Aktuálně.cz focusing on disinformation and war in Ukraine.
Federica Pizzuto
Project Assistant
pizzuto@pssi.cz
Federica Pizzuto is a Project Assistant for the Space Security Program. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and is currently pursuing the Erasmus Mundus Master’s Degree in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies. Previously, she worked for the Cabinet of the President of the European Parliament as a Communications Trainee. Her main research interests include EU-NATO cooperation, the geopolitical space rivalry between the US, Russia and China, and the EU and its Space Security Strategy, a topic she will further explore for her master’s dissertation.
Nico Mastrangelo
Project Coordinator
mastrangelo@pssi.cz
Nico Mastrangelo is a Project Coordinator for the Economic and Financial Statecraft Program. Currently on the verge of completing his Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Charles University, Nico's academic focus lies at the intersection of Political Philosophy and the economic landscape. He previously worked as an English Teacher and Communications Consultant and has experience as both a Journalist and Researcher in student projects.
Frank Asbeck
Senior Fellow
Frank Asbeck is a Senior Fellow supporting PSSI’s Space Security Program. Mr. Abeck is former Principal Adviser for Space and Security Policy (including cyber) for the European Commission (Directorate General RELEX) and subsequently the European External Action Service, and a member of its Space Task Force (2010 - 2019). He began his professional career at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, dealing with military space and arms control. He then joined the German public service to concentrate on arms control, CBRN proliferation and East-West technology transfer. Following his assignment to the German Embassy in Brussels, in 1992 he became Deputy Director of the Western European Union Satellite Center in Torrejón, Spain. From 2001 onwards, Mr. Asbeck worked at the European Commission as Director of the newly created Security Directorate. In 2005, he moved back to Torrejón as the Director of the EU Satellite Centre. Mr. Asbeck studied physics, law and political science in Germany and war studies in London.
John P. Stopher
Senior Fellow
Dr. John Stopher is a Senior Fellow supporting PSSI’s Space Security Program. He previously served as the Principal Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force for Space and was responsible to the Secretary of the Air Force for establishing a Space Force as well as governance, planning, policy, strategy, development and execution across the defense space portfolio and integration with the National Security Space Enterprise. He was also the lead for international space relations and interdepartmental and interagency matters.
Justin Bernier
Senior Fellow
Mr. Justin Bernier is a Senior Fellow supporting PSSI’s Economic and Financial Statecraft Program. Mr. Bernier is Chief Executive Officer of National Security Index, a fund company he co-founded to help Americans invest in emerging markets without harming U.S. national security and human rights interests. He also co-founded All Source Investment Management, an independent advisor specializing in private equity and other alternative investments. Mr. Bernier previously was an Alternative Investments Director and Portfolio Manager at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
Paul Moore
Senior Fellow
Paul Moore is a Senior Fellow supporting PSSI’s Economic and Financial Statecraft Program. He previously served as Chief Investigative Counsel at the U.S. Department of Education, where he led the Department’s investigations of undisclosed foreign financial involvements at America’s colleges and universities. Mr. Moore served for 12 years at the U.S. Department of Justice, including as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Boston, Massachusetts and Alexandria, Virginia economic crime units. At DOJ, he also served as Senior Counsel in the Office of Legal Policy and as Counsel to the Assistant U.S. Attorney General.
Peter Hays
Senior Fellow
Dr. Peter L. Hays is a Senior Fellow at the Prague Security Studies Institute, bringing extensive experience in space policy and national security.
Following a 25-year career in the U.S. Air Force during which he taught national security and space policy courses at the USAF Academy, School of Advanced Airpower Studies, and National Defense University, Dr. Hays served for almost 20 years as a defense contractor in the Pentagon and at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He has been directly involved in developing and implementing major space policy initiatives since 2004.
Petr Lang
Board Member
Petr Lang is a Board Member of the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI). Mr. Lang served as PSSI's Program Director from 2012 until April 2020. He has been working as PSSI’s Program Coordinator since 2006. His responsibilities include the coordination, planning and implementation of all PSSI’s programs, and he worked closely with Olda Černý, PSSI’s late Executive Director.