About us
George Zarubin serves as the first and founding President of the Eurasia Partnership Foundation in the South Caucasus, and since February 2009, George has also taken on the role of Chair of the Eurasia Foundation Network Steering Committee, the group comprised of the Presidents of each of the Eurasia Foundation Network that seeks to guide the Eurasia Network and improve collaboration between the five Foundations. Currently, George also represents Eurasia as a member of the International Committee of the Council on Foundations, the largest association of philanthropic foundations.
George Zarubin has worked with Eurasia since 2000. He first served as the Regional Director for the Foundation’s 'start-up' South Caucasus Cooperation Program from 2000-2002. During his five years with Eurasia Foundation in Washington, D.C., George served as Executive Director, Acting Vice President for the South Caucasus, Acting Vice President for Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, as well as Vice President of Program Development, during which time he coordinated a process of internal change at Eurasia from a grant-making institution to a foundation that also operates programs. During this period George oversaw improvement in Eurasia's evaluation practices and capacity mapping for the new Foundations. He also oversaw all of the Foundation’s fundraising activities throughout Eurasia, significantly increasing Eurasia donor pool, and managed several special, new program initiatives in Iran, the Middle East and North Africa.
From 1995 to 1999, George worked as the Executive Director of Soros Foundation Kazakhstan. Prior to working in philanthropy, George practiced law for six years in California and three years in Russia, where he worked as a legal advisor to the Novorossiysk Shipping Company. George holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, studied at the American University in Cairo, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and received his JD from McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific in California. He also holds an LL.M. in Admiralty Law from Tulane University Law School.