Vassili SOKOLOV is the LEAD CIS Academic Coordinator and Core Faculty Member since the inception of the LEAD CIS Program. He graduated from Moscow State University with a Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from the Russian Academy of Sciences. He has been a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Environmental Research Group at the Institute of USA and Canada Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, and has served as a consultant on environmental issues to the Russian Council of Ministers, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of natural Resources and other governmental bodies. He has also participated as a local expert in UNEP and GEF activities. V. Sokolov is the author of more than one hundred publications in both Russian and international circles. He is also the recipient of research support from MacArthur Foundation and received the Russian Federation's Presidential Award for Outstanding National Scientists.