Olivia Gibson

Olivia Gibson is a Russia Researcher at ISW. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and an Honors Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Utah. During her undergraduate studies, she specialized in foreign relations and security, culminating in a thesis on US counterinsurgency strategies with a case study of Boko Haram.

Olivia furthered her academic journey through the Joint Erasmus Mundus International Master's program in Intelligence, Security, and Strategic Studies. This program allowed her to study across Europe and Central Asia, earning degrees from the University of Glasgow, Dublin City University, and Charles University. Her master’s thesis examined the rise and fall of Yevgeny Prigozhin through the framework of patronal politics.