Tamar Khidasheli is a Director of the Democracy Research Institute. She is a human rights specialist and has a long experience of working at non-governmental and international organizations in Georgia. In 2015-2016 she has been a member of the Parliament of Georgia. In 2008-2010 she has served as a chairperson of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association. In 2011-2015 Tamar Khidasheli coordinated UNDP Programme and has been a team leader of the EU funded projects. At different times she has acted as OSCE, Open Society Georgia Foundation and UNDP expert on human rights and democratization issues. Tamar Khidasheli has been one of the founders and the first national coordinator of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum's National Platform and member of the Pardon Commission of the President of Georgia (2013-2015).

Tamar Khidasheli is one of the founders of the Democracy Research Institute and served as a Deputy Director of the organization in 2020-2021.

Ucha Nanuashvili is a founder of the DRI. In 2018-2022, Ucha Nanuashvili was the Director of the Democracy Research Institute. He is a specialist of international law, political science and human rights. He is a founder of the Human Rights Center (HRC) and works there as a consultant. He is a member of the Security Sector Reform (SSR) Advisory Network to the United Nations. In 2019-2020 he worked as a consultant at the Trust Fund for Victims, International Criminal Court (ICC). In 2012-2017 he served as a Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia. He was a member of the board of the Global Initiative for Psychiatry, Chairman of the Board of Tbilisi Human Rights House, member of the Pardon Commission at the Administration of President of Georgia, member of the State Constitutional Commission, Coordinator of the Tbilisi Initiative Group of Amnesty International and a member of the steering committee of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum. In 2000 he was appointed as Vice-President of the Georgia Political Science Association and in 2000-2004 has worked as a lecturer. He is the author of more than 60 publications on human rights and peacebuilding issues.

Natia Katsitadze is the DRI board member. She is an International Law and Human Rights specialist. Since 2013 she was working at the Public Defender’s Office and in 2015-2017 she was the First Deputy Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia and head of the office. In 2007-2013 she was a human rights strategic litigation lawyer and project coordinator at GYLA and at the Article 42 of the Constitution. In 2010-2012 she was a member of Georgian National Preventive Mechanism. She represented applicants, including 2008 Russian-Georgian conflict-affected communities, in dozens of cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In 2009-2010 she had an academic experience at Caucasus School of Law. Since 2008, she is actively involved in different peacebuilding and conflict transformation/resolution initiatives and formats with Abkhaz and South Ossetian counterparts.