Adrien graduated from McGill University with a Bachelors degree in Political Science and Russian Studies. He worked for two years on youth development in an Azerbaijani-minority village in Georgia, as a Peace Corps volunteer. Most recently, he assisted Georgian and Russian-speaking asylum seekers in a Paris NGO. He speaks Azerbaijani, Russian and Georgian. These experiences sparked a research interest in historical narratives in post-Soviet Georgia and how they impact the integration of national ethnic minorities and nation-building.