Brian Mefford

Brian Mefford is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and the Managing Director & Founder of Wooden Horse Strategies LLC. With more than 27 years of experience living and working across Eurasia and South Asia, Mefford has built a reputation as a leading expert in political strategy, governance, and democratic development throughout the region. In addition to his widely recognized influence in Ukraine—where he was named one of the 20 “Most Influential Expats” by the Kyiv Post—Mefford has advised governments, political parties, and civil society organizations in South Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Southeast Asia on political reform, election processes, and civil society strengthening. He is the director and founder of Wooden Horse Strategies, LLC, a governmental relations and strategic communications firm with activities extending across Asia and Eurasia. For his humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, the Association of Charities of Ukraine named him “Philanthropist of the Year” in 2023.

Mefford started his work in Ukraine with the International Republican Institute (IRI) in 1999, as a resident program officer. For over a decade, Mefford trained, advised, and consulted with thousands of political activists and governmental officials in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Caucasus, and Iraq. In 2009, Mefford managed an international consulting team working for Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko. From 2016 to 2019, he worked as a political adviser to Dr. Ulana Suprun, Ukraine's Minister of Health, and successfully implemented a new nationwide healthcare system based on international best practices.

Born in California, he graduated from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Arkansas, with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in finance and political science. Mefford has his Master of Arts in defense and strategic studies from the Harry Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri in Columbia. After university, Mefford worked in banking and local politics, serving as an alderman and school board member. He was appointed as a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented Education in 1997 by Governor Mike Huckabee. Mefford speaks English, Ukrainian, Russian, and Greek.