RESTART
INITIATIVE
Building Connections for Development in
Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus
About Us
Emin Milli is the Founder and Chairman of Restart Initiative and the Co-Founder of Daha Yaxşı, Restart Initiative's media project. He is also the Founder and former Managing Director (2013-2019) of Meydan TV, an independent Azerbaijani media organization based in Berlin.
​
Milli was a public advocate for dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan during and after the Second Karabakh War. He continues to call for peaceful engagement and economic connectivity between the two countries. His co-authored pieces on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh have been published in Newsweek, Al-Jazeera and the International Business Times.
​
From 2002-2004, Milli directed the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Azerbaijan. In 1999-2000, he was the coordinator of the International Republican Institute in Azerbaijan.
​
Milli has worked as an advisor and consultant to the Council of Europe, the European Union, and the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) on legal and administrative reform in Azerbaijan.
​
Milli holds a BA in International Law, cum laude, from Baku State University and an MA from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where he studied State, Society and Development.
Ferdi Huseynvand is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Daha Yaxşı media. He is also a Co-Founder and former producer of Meydan TV. Previously, he directed music videos and YouTube shows as part of the renowned Bulistan Group.
Jeanene Mitchell, PhD is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Restart Initiative. She is an international development and area studies expert in the South Caucasus and Turkey. Her areas of professional focus include water, energy, gender, and sustainable development.
​
Prior to Restart Initiative, Dr. Mitchell directed stakeholder engagement for a UNDP-Global Environment Facility water project in the Kura River Basin of Azerbaijan and Georgia. She has also worked in research at the Columbia University Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy, as well as the Istanbul Bilgi University Marine Law Research Center.
​
She is a published author on topics of energy governance in the South Caucasus, as well as marine environmental law. She has also written on renewable energy and climate change at the urban scale.
​
Dr. Mitchell holds a PhD in Near and Middle Eastern Studies and a Certificate in International Development from the University of Washington; an MA in International Affairs from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs; and a BSFS in International Politics, cum laude, from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Restart Initiative
Restart Initiative is a non-profit organization with the mission of building connections for economic and social development in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus. We use our deep expertise in international development and media to identify opportunities for constructive engagement in the region.
​
Restart Initiative identifies economic and social development opportunities in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus - and then builds targeted, agile projects to respond to them.
Follow Restart Initiative on Facebook and Twitter at the links below.