Organization and Leadership
The Transcaucasian Trail Association, Inc. (TCTA) is a non-profit corporation registered in Washington, D.C.
The TCTA currently supports two locally registered NGOs in the Caucasus, the Transcaucasian Trail NGO of Georgia and the Transcaucasian Trail Tourism Support NGO of Armenia, as well as an early-stage team in Azerbaijan that is currently working to establish an organization. These local organizations are coordinating the development of the trail in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan respectively. They are independent from the TCTA, but share the same vision.
In addition to financial support, the TCTA works to coordinate activities between the local NGOs and enable joint planning for the development of the trail, helping to ensure unity and consistency in the trail network and the experience for hikers. Want to learn more about our work? You can read our annual reports here.
Transcaucasian Trail Association Board of Directors
Laura Santos-Bishop
Board Chair
Laura is an Associate at Quinn Emanuel. Previously, she worked in Armenia and Georgia for several years as a Fulbright Fellow and school administrator. She has worked on trail crews in the U.S. and holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Lizzie Schneider
Board Member
Lizzie is head of strategy and product operations at Google. Before joining Google in 2007, she was a Peace Corps volunteer in Georgia. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Ayka Agayeva
Board Member
Ayka Agayeva is the IT Operations & Programs Lead at Google. Ayka spent her childhood summers hiking through the mountains of Azerbaijan and shares the passion of TCTA for sharing the unique beauty of Caucasus Mountains with the world. She holds a B.S. in Information Systems from the University of Texas in Arlington.
Matt Stephens
Board Member
Matt is the co-founder of Impact Nano. He has an MBA from INSEAD and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. He first traveled to the Caucasus in 1989 and has been interested in the region ever since.
Laura Linderman
Board Member
Laura is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a DC-based think tank. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Georgia and has an M.A. in cultural anthropology from Indiana University.
Interested in getting involved in the TCT and making a difference with your time, talents, and resources?
We’re seeking new board members! Learn more and apply here.
Transcaucasian Trail Association Staff & Advisors
Meagan Neal
Executive Director
Meagan has led the TCTA’s strategy, development, and communications in its mission to build and maintain the Transcaucasian Trail since 2020. She first joined the TCT as a 2018 volunteer and 2019 trail crew leader. Previously, she worked in development economics research at MIT’s Poverty Action Lab. She studied economics and Russian at Middlebury College.
Paul Stephens
Founder & Advisor
Paul founded the TCTA in 2016 and the TCT NGO of Georgia in 2017. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Georgia from 2005-2007. A graduate of Columbia Journalism School, he has written extensively on international affairs and global development.
Elizabeth Yancey
Communications Coordinator
Elizabeth joined the TCT team in 2023 to manage our international outreach efforts. She taught English in Georgia from 2011–2013, returned to Georgia as a TCT volunteer in 2022, and then coordinated the TCT international volunteer program in Svaneti in summer 2023. She holds a B.A. in Geography and History and an MSc in Education.
Tom Allen
TCT Founder & Advisor
Tom co-founded the TCT project and stewarded the trail’s development in Armenia between 2016–2023. Now Expeditions & Fieldwork Manager at the UK’s Royal Geographical Society, he advises the team on development strategy and trail resource management.
Transcaucasian Trail Armenia Leadership
Ashot Davtyan
Director & Vice-President
Ashot first joined the TCT as the local volunteer coordinator for the Dilijan National Park trail building project in 2017. A former mountain guide and adventure tour organizer, he is now involved in trail development and educational projects with TCT’s partner organization Trails For Change. He holds a masters’ degree in finance management.
Gohar Karapetyan
2024 CCC Trainer
Gohar has been working on the trails in Armenia for the past three years with Trails for Change and was thrilled to host her Georgian counterparts in Armenia this season. Gohar is no stranger to Georgia—she spent time there as an Erasmus exchange student when she was younger—and looks forward to spending more time there on the trails!
Meri Grigoryan
Project Coordinator
Meri joined TCT Armenia in 2022. She works with the TCT & partner organization Trails For Change to coordinate Youth for Change trail building camps in several regions of Armenia. Before that, she worked at People in Need Armenia and helped develop the Legends Trail in Syunik, a 150km section of the TCT.
Artur Karapetyan
2024 CCC Trainer
Artur is one of our longest-term trail crew members, and has been involved with the TCT and our partner Trails for Change since 2017. One of the major positive effects of his seven years working on the trails is his ability to fall asleep almost anywhere. (So if you’re having trouble sleeping at night, come out and join a trail crew!)
Transcaucasian Trail Georgia Leadership
Giorgi Jmukhadze
Technical Manager
Giorgi leads field project management and curriculum development for the TCT NGO of Georgia. He was an Earth Corps crew member in Seattle, Washington in 2018. Previously, he volunteered on TCT trail crews and for an ecological organization in Romania. He holds a B.A. in Food Technology.
Ninia Asatiani
2024 CCC Trainer
Ninia embodies the “whistle while you work” lifestyle, and can often be found singing as she expertly handles a pulaski or spade. She first brought her sunny personality and musical talents to the TCT as a volunteer in Zeskho in 2022, and graduated from the CCC program in 2023. This year she returned as a CCC trainer to train the new cohorts. If you’re lucky enough to work with Ninia, be prepared for song- and work-filled days under the sun!
Ia Iakobashvili
Partnerships Manager
Ia leads partnership development and outreach for the TCT NGO of Georgia. She joined the TCT in 2019, which sparked her interest in a career in environmental conservation. She is currently serving as an EarthCorps international crew member and pursuing her MSc in nature protection and forestry at Ilia State University.
Papuna Gozalishvili
2024 CCC Trainer
Papuna graduated from the Caucasus Conservation Corps crew leader training program in 2022. He led crews that summer and returned in 2023 as a trainer for the new CCC cohort. He had so much fun training last year’s crew leaders (or maybe it was all the gorgeous views during lunch breaks!) that he just couldn’t stay away. In 2024, he returned to us for a second season of crew leader training and third year overall of working with the TCT.
Rima Beridze
Grants Manager
Rima joined the TCT team in 2022 as a Grants Manager. She also works at American Councils for International Education as Open World Program Assistant and at NGO Step Toward Success as a Director, where she promotes non-formal education for youth living in regional parts of Georgia. Rima has a Master’s degree in Law.
Transcaucasian Trail Azerbaijan Leadership
Nazrin Garibova
Regional Trail Manager
Nazrin joined the project as it commenced in Azerbaijan in 2021, and now focuses on the trail’s expansion and assessment. She holds a B.A. from the College of William & Mary and an M.A. in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES) from Stanford University. Outside of TCT, she finds other ways to be crushed by Caucasian slopes as a member of the Azerbaijani ski-mountaineering team.
Abuzar Aghazada
Program Manager
Abuzar joined the TCT team in 2022 and now leads the Caucasus Conservation Corps program in Azerbaijan. He is also a mountain guide, co-founder and director of an outdoor gear shop in Baku, and developing a dehydrated food startup in Azerbaijan. He holds a bachelors’ degree in environmental engineering.
Gunay Murshudova
Outreach Coordinator
Gunay joined the TCT team in 2023 to plan and manage our Caucasus Conservation Corps program in Azerbaijan. Her background includes an associate degree in finance, several years of HR management within the Mountain Resort Industry and the retail sector, and over seven years of expertise as a mountain guide in Azerbaijan.
Want to be part of the TCT? Find out how to hike the trail, join us as a volunteer, or become a member.
