Yasmine Abou Mansour
Project Officer, Public Diplomacy
NATO Headquarters
After working in Lebanon with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the Ministry of Information, and local NGOs, Yasmine now builds bridges between the transatlantic community and the Middle East on peace and security issues through her work at NATO Headquarters.

Gamila Dahri
Business Development Manager
Lagora Invest
Gamila Dahri is the Coordinator of Présence Musulmane in Belgium, a global network focused on engaging discourses around Muslim issues in French-speaking countries. She is co-founder of the “Women from Minorities & the Media” project at the European Youth Council in Budapest. The American Society for the Muslim Advancement has chosen Gamila as one of the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.

Sam Schatteman
E-commerce Campaign Designer
eBay International AG
Sam is SAP CRM process designer for the e-commerce platform eBay AG in Germany. He is a scholar in the EU programme “Future Capital” with his book about the Polish migration in Berlin, and as president of the European Convention of Young Citizens Berlinheld, held debates about the European Constitution. Last year, he founded the network EiE Expansion in Europe with other young international economists specialising in cross border trade.

Mirza Redžić
Twinning Specialist
Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mirza Redžić was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and studied Law and Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo. Presently, he is pursuing a career in the European Union Delegation to B&H. Prior to his current position, Mirza worked for the Office of Secretary of House of Representatives of Parliamentary Assembly of B&H. He is one of the founders of the Council of Montenegrin National Minority in B&H and an active member of several other not-for-profit organisations. He lives in Sarajevo, with frequent engagements in Kanazawa, Japan.

Lyndsey Corrigan
Engineer for Climate and Environment Impact Assessment
Statoil ASA
Born in Canada to Scottish parents, Lyndsey has always had one foot on either side of the Atlantic. Graduating from York University in Toronto with a Master’s in Environmental Studies, she now works for an international energy company, Statoil ASA, headquartered in Norway. She works with HSE advising new energy projects on environmental solutions, as well as on climate change policy. Prior to her current position, she worked with several environmental not for profit organisations and the Council of the European Union Environment Unit. She lives in Stavanger, Norway.

Charmian Love
Chief Operating Officer
Volans Ventures
Charmian serves as chief operating officer of an organisation that helps corporations and social enterprises develop and scale market-based solutions to social and environmental challenges.     

Maggie MacDonald
Communications Manager
World Wildlife Fund - Canada
Originally from the industrial city of Cornwall, Ontario, Maggie MacDonald is a politically active author and musician. Her novel Kill the Robot was published in 2005, and her musical The Rat King, was staged in Toronto and New York in 2006 and 2007. A former candidate and election planner for the New Democratic Party, Maggie recently participated in the development of The Good Life; an online community WWF-Canada (World Wildlife Fund for Nature) designed to help Canadians reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Maggie is currently a graduate fellow in Social and Political Thought at York University in Toronto, and performs internationally as a musician with The Hidden Cameras (Rough Trade Records).

Peter MacLeod
Principal
MASS LBP
Peter is principal of MASS LBP, an innovative firm based in Toronto which works with visionary governments and corporations to deepen and improve public consultation and engagement. Peter writes and speaks frequently about citizenship, democracy and design. He is a visiting lecturer at the Kaospilots School of Business Design and Social Innovation in Denmark, works regularly with the British think tank Demos, and is completing his doctorate in political sociology at the London School of Economics.

Cheryl Matthew
Senior Policy Analyst
Office of the Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-status Indians
A senior policy analyst with Canada’s federal government, Cheryl previously founded the Centre for Native Policy and Research and started a consulting company for Aboriginal research, policy analysis, facilitation and project management.

David Noble
Founder and Principal
2degreesC
David Noble is the founder and principal of 2degreesC, a Canada-based consultancy dedicated to advancing collective action and transformational change in response to the climate crisis. He authored and contributed to nearly two dozen publications related to climate change and cities, health and security, and is a frequent speaker to diverse audiences. He has worked in 20 countries on six continents.

Paolo Pietropaolo
Self-employed
Broadcasting & Journalism
Paolo Pietropaolo is a documentary producer, broadcaster and writer based in Vancouver, Canada.  His radio productions have been broadcast across Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia and have received the highest accolades in broadcasting, including a Peabody Award and the Prix Italia.  Paolo has been a regular on CBC Radio, Canada’s national public broadcaster, since 2001. Prior to his radio career, Paolo completed a degree in music from the University of Toronto and toured extensively with a taiko drumming ensemble.

Sheila Sampath
Principal & Creative Director
The Public Studio, Inc
Sheila Sampath has worked as a counselor, organizer, educator and advocate in the anti-violence movement and has chaired the Board of Directors at the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multi-cultural Women Against Rape. Currently, she combines her background in grassroots, anti-oppression activism with her passion for creative idea-making as Principal and Creative Director at The Public, a Toronto-based studio specializing in creative communications. She is also the Editorial and Art Director of Shameless magazine, Canada’s feminist voice for teenage girls. Sheila has a diploma in graphic design and an Honours B.Sc. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Toronto.

Mualla Cirakli
Brussels Representative
Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce
Mualla Cirakli is a Turkish Cypriot educated on international and European studies in the US and Belgium. She was involved in UN negotiations for the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem between 2003-2004. Mualla founded the Brussels office of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce in 2005 and still serves as its EU Representative. Mualla participates in several EU-level professional networks and chaired the JCI-The Heart of Europe, which focuses on socially responsible entrepreneurship and leadership.

Romina Laouri
Global Youth Fellowship Manager
Ashoka
Romina grew up in Germany and Cyprus. She co-founded a youth group bringing together young Greek and Turkish Cypriots, allowing them to express their views regarding the Cyprus conflict and design strategies for re-unification. She completed her undergraduate work at Macalester College, and has an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago. Today, she lives in Washington, DC, works for Ashoka and is striving to catalyze a global movement of young change makers.

Kyösti Hagert
Freelance Journalist
Kyösti Hagert is studying Speech Communication in Finland but specializing currently in EU-journalism in Brussels doing research on female politicians' positions in media. A specialist supporting international youth and federalist organisations, Kyösti has served several NGOs, the Green League of Finland and the media.

Laetitia Adhémar
Public Affairs Officer
Renault S.A.S Headquarters
Laetitia Adhémar is a French lobbyist from Colombian origins. She is a graduate from Science-Po Paris, Institute of Political Science, and holds an Msc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics. After working for a public affairs consultancy firm, she entered Renault in-house lobbying team in Brussels and then worked at Paris headquarters. She likes politics but also enjoys going to the office riding her bike, nice food and contemporary painting exhibits. Laetitia is married and has a 17-month old son.

Karim Amellal
Academic Director
Master of Public Affairs at Sciences Po
Karim Amellal, 31, is a French writer and teacher. He was born in Paris and spent several years in Algeria. He is currently a lecturer at Sciences Po and heads a Masters programme. He has also published three books: an essay called Discriminate Me! Investigation about inequalities (Flammarion, 2005), a first novel titled Summoned to Appear (Stock, 2006) and short stories with other writers titled Chronicles of a Society Foretold (Stock, 2007). Karim is very involved with many public debates about art and literature and social issues concerning minorities.

Emmanuelle Ganne
Advisor to the Director-General
World Trade Organization
Emmanuelle Ganne is advisor to the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Europe, the United States, Canada, and Turkey, and issues related to services, intellectual property, and global governance.  Prior to joining the Office of the Director-General, she was responsible for handling the WTO accession processes of countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Lebanon, and Russia. She also played a key role in the accessions of Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, and was awarded Vietnam's medal of friendship in 2007.  Before joining the WTO in 2002, she worked at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, putting in place the Stability Pact Anti-Corruption Initiative, which assisted South Eastern European states in curbing corruption.

Rabah Ghezali
Attorney
After reading law and economics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in France and at the University of Oxford, Rabah studied international relations at the University of Cambridge where he was Entente Cordiale and Knox scholar. He chose a legal career as an attorney, focusing on international arbitration and business law. In addition to transatlantic relations, Rabah remains very interested in international issues, especially economics, migration, security and the Anglo-French relationship.

Gabriella Kessler
Documentary Filmmaker
Gabriella is a French-American documentary filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. She has made films for etsy, BurdaStyle, Video Volunteers, and Dowser; and worked on documentaries for Pennebaker-Hegedus Films, ARTE, France 5, Link TV, and the Sundance Channel, among others.

Olivier Laboulle
Education Programme Specialist
UNESCO
Olivier Laboulle is a French citizen who has worked and studied in several European countries, e.g. Germany, Spain, Italy and Holland. He holds a German degree in Social and Political Sciences as well as a Masters Degree in Human Rights. In line with his Masters thesis topic about the social responsibility of consumers, he works today at UNESCO in Paris, where he coordinates several projects in the field of Education for Sustainable Development. He is also the founder of the initiative "Battery Solidarity" that encourages people to give used batteries to places with recycling facilities.

Camille Solal
Independent Performing Arts Professional
Camille is an actress, art-therapist and communication adviser. She spent the past year acting in Festivals, on tour and on a Parisian stage. She was also very much involved in TEDX PARIS, coaching the speakers, staging and presenting the whole show. She regularly leads art-therapy workshops in which she uses the clown character. She also coaches high profile managers and CEOS while giving lectures about the art and pleasure to speak in public and to express one's true potential.

Michael Anthony
Senior Advisor (issues of climate change and strategic CSR)
Allianz SE
Michael Anthony is responsible for the microinsurance business of Allianz SE, the world’s largest insurer. He was instrumental in growing the company’s business in Asia and Africa, with a view to providing social protection for people living around the poverty line while making microinsurance a profitable business. He also served as an advisor to the Executive Board on climate change issues. Prior to joining Allianz Michael worked as a journalist in Berlin and Jerusalem. He studied International Relations and European Studies in Jerusalem, Canterbury, Bath and Paris.

Hamze Bytyci
Self-employed Social Worker
Hamze Bytyci was born in Kosovo but grew up as a refugee in Germany. He finished the Freiburg Acting School and worked as a theatre and film actor in Switzerland and Germany. For the last four years he been a freelance theatre pedagogue and social worker in different schools and NGOs in Berlin. He is the founder of the national Roma youth organisation Amaro Drom e.V., which strengthens the empowerment and mobilisation of Roma youth in Germany.

Min-ku Chung
Communications Manager
Vattenfall
Min-ku Chung was born in Bochum, Germany and educated in Korea, England, the Netherlands and Germany. He holds a masters degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and a diploma in political science from the University of Potsdam. He is Communications Manager for Vattenfall, one of the biggest energy supply companies in Europe, and manages a team of communication officers who are working on renewable energies and power plant developments.  Min-ku facilitates political workshops and seminars for teenagers and students within the Association for the Promotion of Political Action.

Herbert Grieshop
Deputy Director
Center for International Cooperation at Freie Universitat Berlin
After working for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and Berliner Festspiele, the city’s largest cultural festival, the British Council’s Challenge Europe Programme, Herbert now works for the Center for International Cooperation at Freie Universitat Berlin.

Boris Moshkovits
Founder & CEO
PostNovum
Boris Moshkovits is the founder of Postnovum, a political social online network , and co-founder of the Form of Immigrant Leaders in Europe (FILE). Prior to this, he was the project director of the Russian Jewish Museum in Moscow, while publishing the international culture magazine "Berliner. “. As a member of the “Roundtable for Jewish-Turkish dialogue” of the American Jewish Committee, he actively contributes to the mutual understanding of minorities in Germany. He has worked as an editor and publisher in Milan, Moscow and New York. Currently Boris is living between Moscow and Berlin.

Victoria B. Robinson
Founding Member
Black European Women’s Council
A writer, poet, and activist who initiated the multigenerational Black German women's group "ISD SiSTARS" and is a founding member of the Black European Women's Council, Victoria conducts talks, lectures and seminars about the representation of Black people in German media and writes books and poems about the Afro-German experience. Victoria has an MA in American Studies and Public Law. She has published three books and performs explosive poetry. Her goal and main focus is to create and strengthen structures for networking and empowerment.

Arn Sauer
Research Assistant
GenderKompetenzZentrum Berlin
An activist and artist in the Berlin and Montreal transgender and queer communities, Arn also serves as a research associate for a Montreal university, with current research comparing gender equality policy tools in Canada and Europe and exploring the potential for diversity analysis as part of gender impact assessment in (post)modern policy analysis.

Dr. Michael Arvanitis
Director of the Greek Section
Euroscience Greece
Michael is a science communicator, innovation policy maker and entrepreneur, the general director of the Greek section of Euroscience and visiting professor at the Ionio University. Born in Athens, Greece, he holds a Bsc in Applied Mathematics, a PgD in Risk and Technology Management and a PhD in applied geophysics (University of Patras). He has worked as researcher at the National Observatory of Athens, University of Thessaloniki and the University of Athens. He has published more than thirty papers in international journals and conferences, and is the author of two books published in Greek.

Ioanna Fratzeskaki
Public Affairs Consultant
Interel
In addition to ongoing public affairs consulting at Interel, Ioanna helped to develop the Halki International Conferences, a policy network for the promotion of political dialogue and stability in the Mediterranean region.  

Evi Papatheodorou
Head of the Research & Development Department
Association for the Social Support of Youth
In addition to developing media training methodologies, Evi works for an NGO where she has managed national and transnational projects for non-privileged people, including migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and those affected by child trafficking.

Catherine Cosgrave
Human Rights Lawyer
Immigrant Council of Ireland Independent Law Centre
Catherine Cosgrave is a human rights lawyer and currently works as Senior Solicitor with the Immigrant Council of Ireland Independent Law Centre in Dublin. She is a graduate of University College Dublin, the University of Edinburgh and Honourable Society of the Kings Inns. Catherine lectured in European Law at the University of Limerick and she currently co-teaches the Refugee, Immigration and Citizenship Law course at the Dublin Institute of Technology. She is a member of the Board of Women’s Aid and the Public Interest Law Alliance Advisory Board.  She is the author of Family Matters: Experiences of Family Reunification in Ireland (2006, ICI).

Kensika Monshengwo
Trainer & Resource Office
National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism
Kensika Monshengwo was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has lived in Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland, and the USA. Je now works in Ireland with the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI).In this role, Kensika has had extensive experience in raising anti-racism awareness in Ireland. He uses a training methodology that includes drama and role-plays – a skill borrowed from his other interest: acting. Kensika holds a postgraduate degree from the Sorbonne in Paris.

Conor O’Brien
Freelance architect and urban designer
Conor O’Brien is an Irish architect and urban strategist. He studied Architecture at University College Dublin. Previous work experience includes working for Dublin City on a major community regeneration project and Gerry Cahill Architects. He is currently working independently in ecological architecture and urbanism and is actively involved with the promotion of urban cycling culture. Conor is part of British Council’s ‘Climate Leaders’ programme and has been actively involved with the Asia Europe Foundation, contributing to the culture|futures seminar in Copenhagen during COP15.

Regina O'Connor
Political and Legal Advisor
European Parliament
Regina is Irish and author of "The Reasons Why" a guide for world citizens as to the workings of the EU. She is a Solicitor formerly with Ireland´s top law firm A&L Goodbody, graduate of a Masters from the prestigious College of Europe in Bruges, has worked in the three political arms of the European Union, and has worked as a lawyer in Australia and the USA. Currently she is legal and political advisor to the Liberal Political Group in the European Parliament and recently advised the Director of Ireland for Europe Campaign, central player to success of the Lisbon II Treaty, Ireland.

Maire O’Neill (nee McLoone)
Lead – Cryptography Research Group
Queen’s University Belfast
The 2007 British Female Inventor of the Year and a recent recipient of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Leadership Fellowship, Maire leads the cryptography research group at the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) at Queen’s University, Belfast.

Selene Biffi
Founder and Executive Director
Youth Action for Change
Selene Biffi comes from Italy and is the Founder and Executive Director of Youth Action for Change (YAC), a global, youth-led organization empowering young people in over 130 countries worldwide.  In the past, she served with the UN and Amnesty International. She has been a trainer and speaker for the UN, Council of Europe, Oxfam, OSCE, Columbia University and Microsoft. She holds a Bachelor in International Economics and Management from Università L. Bocconi (Italy) and a NOHA Master in International Humanitarian Action (Ireland and Spain), along with diplomas from Harvard (US) and INSEAD (France).  As of 2009, she is a ‘Young Global Leader’ at the World Economic Forum.

Sara Callegari
Gender and Development Consultant
A former Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and UN Department of Social Affairs Fellow, Sara is specialized in gender and development, with a specific focus on socio-economic inclusion. She has worked in North Africa, Latin America and the Balkans. She co-founded Pari o Dispare, an advocacy organization that promotes equality of opportunities between women and men in Italy, where she coordinates the working group on employment and welfare. Sara is also a member of RENA,  an independent association which creates synergies between public and private stakeholders to support innovation in Italy.

Elena Donnari
Freelance consultant
Elena currently divides her time between Italy and Brussels, serving as consultant on EU funding and programmes for economic, social, educational and employment development. She is part of different initiatives and networks bringing together young leaders from EU and non EU countries. Prior to this, Elena was based in Warsaw and worked on different transnational and cross-border projects. Elena was educated in Rome, London, Oslo and Warsaw and she continues to pursue her initial research activity, writing and publishing – among others – for the Italian Military Centre for Strategic Studies.

Alessandro Fusacchia
President
Rete per l'Eccellenza Nazionale
The ghost co-writer of Italian Prime Minster Romano Prodi’s book on his tenure as the European Commission president, Alessandro is now a member of the G8 Sherpa Office working on the Italian Presidency of the G8 in 2009 and was previously a member of cabinet of Emma Bonino, former Italian Minister for European Affairs and International Trade.

Francesco Galtieri
Manager of the Coordination Practice Network
UN Development Operations Coordination Office
Francesco Galtieri works for the UN Development Operations Coordination Office in New York, managing a global e-network on UN Reform and coordinating the implementation of the UN Reform in Africa. Before joining the UN, he was Attaché to the Diplomatic Advisor of the Minister of Defense. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Napoli “L’Orientale” and Teaching Assistant at University of Trieste. He is the author of several articles and published a book on chemical and biological disarmament in the Mediterranean region. Francesco is Fellow of the UK Royal Society of Arts and Founding Member of the Italian Rete per l’Eccellenza Nazionale (RENA).

Emiliano Tornese
Law Clerk
DavisPolk London
Emiliano currently works at the European Commission in the Financial Services. He previously worked as an associate of a leading Wall Street law firm and he clerked for a judge at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. He also worked in the Cabinet of the President of the European Commission.

Bernardo Altamirano Rodriquez
Chief of the Federal Network for Service to Citizens
Office of the Mexican President
Bernardo has worked extensively on the relationship between government and civil society, in addition to serving at the office of Mexican Representation to the EU, the Chamber of Deputies and currently leading the Federal Network of Citizen Services at the Mexican President’s office.

Cristina Ballí
Self-employed
Arts & Cultural Tourism Consultant
Cristina Ballí is a bilingual social and cultural manager with 15 years of experience in Texas-Mexican border culture and services to Mexican-American migrant communities.  As Director of the Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center in San Benito she produced numerous public programs and led the efforts to develop a cultural tourism program based on San Benito’s unique Tex-Mex music history.  Ballí has also worked for KMBH/KHID,covering the arts beat and producing radio documentaries.  Ballí received a Bachelor of Social Work from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.

Fernando de la Mora Salcedo
Albuquerque Consul
Mexican Foreign Service
Fernando is a career diplomat in the Mexican Foreign Service, currently commissioned at the UNM School of Law as part of a program on legal research in Mexico-US cooperation.  His most recent post was as Consul for Protection Policies and Security at the Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso, Texas. He holds a degree in International Relations from the University of British Columbia (UBC).  He is currently enrolled in the Professional Certification in Humanitarian Law and Conflict Resolution Program at Harvard University and is an Associate of the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI). He has published on human security and "new diplomacy".

Juan Esteban Gutiérrez
General Coordinator
Cadena Ciudadana
Juan Esteban Gutiérrez has volunteered and worked with various NGOs and studied Political Science and Public Administration. He decided to get involved in a few political campaigns and has collaborated with the President of the Republic Office. Juan is currently establishing public relations companies to support his continued work with government NGOs. His life plan is to continue contributing to his country and the world to ensure a more just, democratic and equal society.

Raúl Ramírez Riba
Communication and Film Direction Student
Universidad Iberomericana, Mexico City
Raul Ramirez Riba is a Mexican Communication and Film Direction senior student at Universidad Iberoamericana Campus Ciudad de Mexico and a self taught music player and song writer. He has directed 4 short films, one of which was selected for the International Film Festival of Huatulco, and is right now on preproduction for his thesis short film project. He is also the chief editor of the new Mexican emagazine HartoDel.Com. He is also actively involved in camping and works every summer at Camp Wenonah, in Ontario, Canada.

Samir Bantal
Associate Professor of Design and Politics
University of Technology in Delft
Samir Bantal is an independent architect/designer currently based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Samir previously worked as an architect and researcher for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture of renowned architect Rem Koolhaas. Samir now teaches at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Technology in Delft as associate professor in Design and Politics. He also serves as editor of the Dutch Annual Architecture Yearbook by Nai Publishers and as an independent creative consultant. 

Marietje Schaake
Member of European Parliament (D66 Party)
With a specialization in diversity, integration and Islam in the West, Marietje has worked in the Netherlands with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights designing and organising meetings, conferences, and programmes, as well as advising on long-term strategies. A newly-elected Member of the European Parliament, Marietje represents the D-66 party.  

David van Veenendaal
Student
Utrecht University
After serving in the Royal Dutch Navy, David studied law and later interned in Washington, DC, where he conducted research on (de-)radicalization in the West.  His recent studies focus on international security.

Alexander Vinnikov
Senior Political Officer
OSCE field mission in Kyrgyzstan
Seconded by the Dutch Foreign Ministry, Alexander heads the 15-strong Politico-Military section of the OSCE field mission, overseeing all political reporting, managing a sizeable budget, and maintaining a dialogue with key political, civil society and media figures.  Formerly at NATO Headquarters, Alexander enhanced co-operation with Central Asian states bordering Afghanistan and oversees efforts to fight terrorism.

Marianne Vorthoren
Senior Policy and Communication Officer
SPIOR
Marianne Vorthoren studied public administration at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the city where she still lives and works. She is a senior policy and communication officer for SPIOR, the local Muslim umbrella organisation.  One of the major projects she led was ‘Joining Hands against Forced Marriages’ and the European Campaign against Forced Marriages. As a volunteer, she is involved in interfaith work, like ‘Multicoloured Religions Rotterdam’, an initiative from different faith traditions to organise visits to the rich diversity of houses of worship in Rotterdam.

Nora Wellhausen
Fashion and Materiality Student
Utrecht University
Nora Wellhausen was born in Germany and studied film and media studies at the Bauhaus University Weimar, Université Lyon II and Utrecht University. She is particularly interested in fashion on which she focuses her current research. An internship at the Rio de Janeiro based NGO Davida raised her awareness for issues related to prostitution rights and women’s rights and started her passion for Brazilian culture. She currently lives in Utrecht, the Netherlands, where she works on her master thesis on fashion and materiality, craftsmanship and creativity.

Susana Frazao Pinheiro
Independent Consultant
I-TECH Project in Mozambique
Susana Frazao Pinheiro is a Portuguese scientist. She holds a degree in Microbiology from the Catholic University in Portugal, a PhD in Clinical Medicine and an MBA both from the University of Oxford. She has worked in a clinical trial for an HIV vaccine at Oxford, and has since 2000 been developing projects in West Africa. Susana has worked at the UN and now lives in Lisbon where she has been working with the Ministry of Health. Susana also coordinates and teaches Business Sustainability in the MBA Catolica/Nova.

Zakir Karim
Marketing Deodorants Category Leader
Unilever Portugal
Zakir Karim – Marketing Manager in Unilever Portugal, for the Hair & Deos categories. Zakir is also the co-founder of two initiatives that promote dialogue between Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Hindus and others, He sits on the Lisbon Islamic Community’s board, serves as Head of the Islamic Youth and is a member of “Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.”

Virech Maugi
Superior Technician of the Department of Information
Sports Institute of Portugal
Virech Maugi is currently working on a master’s degree in international relations at Lusíada University in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2004, Virech began work in the International Relations Office of the Sport Institute of Portugal, where he worked on multilateral cooperation within the EU and Portuguese-speaking countries. Virech co-founded the Hindu Youth Association of Portugal, an organization to advocate and empower the Hindu youth. He also co-founded “Youth for Intercultural Dialogue,” a group of young people which discusses and implements activities for intercultural dialogue. Virech is Portuguese with Indian origin, born in Mozambique, and deeply values his imperial roots.

Paulo Mendes
Columnist
Açoriano Oriental
Paulo is a Sociologist, Post-graduate in Social Sciences currently preparing a Master's dissertation on "Modes of Incorporation of Immigrants in the Azores”.  He is a weekly columnist in the newspapers "Açoriano Oriental" and "Terra Nostra" and regular collaborator to the Cape Verde press. In 2007, he published “Atlantic Insular Bridge” a book about the Cape Verdean community in the Azores. Paulo is also a researcher in the Social Studies Centre of the Azores University, and founder and President of AIPA - Association of Immigrants in the Azores, as well as founder and Coordinator of the PERCIP - Representative Structures of Immigrant Communities in Portugal.  In 2008 he was honoured as the "Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year” by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. He currently directs the Azorean Delegation of COMPETIR (Training & Services).

João Meneses
Director of the Social Innovation Program
TESE
João Meneses is Director of Social Affairs, Education, Youth and Sports at the Municipality of Lisbon, President of the NGO TESE and Professor of management at ISCTE-IUL. Born in Lisbon, he studied management at the Portuguese Catholic University. While working on the financial markets, he enrolled in a master’s degree in development and conducted research on the microcredit industry in East Timor. On returning to Portugal, he established TESE and also became a regular columnist in the financial daily newspaper – Diário Económico. Social innovation is his mission.

Razvan Crisan
Founder
ORICUM
Working with the creative industries of architecture, advertising, cinema, design, music and educational software, Razvan and his organization (the ORICUM Association) aim to establish Romania as the regional centre for creativity and innovation within Eastern Europe. The projects he is developing include: shortsUP - Romanian's nr 1 short film experience; Mentorship - an online mentoring tool; One World Film Clubs - a nation wide network of high-school ran film clubs on the subject of human rights; and AIC – A first of its kind, investment fund for startups in creative industries.

Dragos Pislaru
General Manager
GEA Strategy & Consulting SA
Dragos Pislaru is the General Manager of GEA Strategy & Consulting, a niche consultancy in the field of strategic development. The company aims to help companies and local authorities make good use of the extraordinary development opportunities available after Turkey's accession into the EU. From 1998 to 2007 Dragos taught at the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, where he also got his BA in International Economics and Advanced Studies in European Integration. He earned an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics as a Chevening Scholar and is currently a PhD candidate at the Institute of Economic Forecasting within the Romanian Academy of Sciences.

Smaranda Sandalescu
Adviser on European Affairs
Romanian Ministry of Development
Smaranda has previously worked for an NGO consulting on children’s rights and working on development and educational projects. Smaranda is keenly interested in Lebanon and peace in the Middle East and is currently researching electoral law in Lebanon. She is passionate about photography.

Janina Trotea
Communication Specialist
Coca-Cola HBC Romania
A founding member of the International Advertising Association for Young Professionals in Romania and a former vice president of Students’ International Forum, Janina is now managing the employer branding and internal communication strategy for Coca-Cola HBC Romania and Moldova. She is involved in running educational and career orientation programmes for Romanian youth. Janina graduated from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations studying International Business and Economics.

Raquel Alvarez
Foreign Affairs Advisor
Spanish Prime Minister’s Office
Raquel C. Alvarez is a political analyst and international development expert. She is currently foreign affairs advisor at the Spanish Prime Minister´s office. Prior to this, Raquel worked for the European Commission in Brussels and West Africa, at the UK-based think tank Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), and advised former Minister for Europe, Labour MP Denis MacShane. She has an MSc from the London School of Economics and a first-class BS the University of Manchester. She has widely published opinion pieces in the national and international media. Raquel´s most recent publication is “Budget Support: a False Panacea”.

Elena Blanque
International Tax Consultant
Deloitte Tax LLP
An International Tax Consultant for Deloitte Tax LLP in Denver, Colorado, Elena moved to the United States in 2003.  She studied Law at the Universidad Autonoma in Madrid, and then after being exposed to a new tax system, decided to get her LL.M in Taxation at the University of Denver, where she was elected Denver University International Ambassador for Leadership.

Oscár Hernandez
Physicist
Robert Bosch España
Oscar Hernandez is a Physicist from Madrid, Spain. He has lived in Munich, Germany, for three years working at the Siemens research and development department for Solar Energy. Apart from his current Job at Robert Bosch in Madrid developing new processes for microelectronic devices, he is the director, scriptwriter and host of Parallel Universe, a weekly radio program that aims to spread knowledge of science. The radio where he is working since 2009, Radio Circulo, belongs to a free cultural organisation of the city of Madrid which hosts conferences, movies, theatre pieces, exhibitions, concerts…and now Science.

Victoria Martín
Press Officer
Socialist and Democrats Group in the European Parliament
Victoria Martín is a Spanish journalist who has worked as a reporter at the weekly magazine Tiempo for over a decade. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1998 and she got an MS degree at Columbia University School of Journalism (New York). At the College of Europe (Bruges) she specialized in EU Foreign Policy and currently works as a press officer for the Socialists & Democrats Group in the European Parliament. She is the author of the book "Viaje a la ciudad de Belén. Cuna del amor, semilla de intifada" (A trip to Bethlehem, cradle of love, seed of intifada) published in November 2008.

Angela Perez Brunete
Program Officer
Madrid City Council
Angela Perez Brunete is the Department Manager for International Strategy of the Madrid City Council. She became a civil servant in January of 2006 and since then has worked as legal advisor for the Unemployment State Institute, the Transportation and Connectivity Regional Minister of the Madrid Government, and for the Madrid City Council. She combines her career with her role as a Law teacher. Angela received her B.A. in Law and Business Administration and Management at the Carlos II University of Madrid. She also studied English at Trinity College in Dublin and attended a German course at the University of Vienna.

Álvaro Vermoet Hidalgo
Law & Business Student
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Alvaro is in the fifth of six years in the Business Management and Law joint master’s degree program at the Autonomous University of Madrid, and is currently an exchange student at the K.U. Leuven in Belgium. Alvaro was recently elected International Officer of the "Mises Youth Club" think-tank, in Brussels and regularly cooperates with the FAES Foundation, a think-tank led by the former Spanish Prime Minister.

Laurent Haug
Founder & CEO
Lift Conference
Laurent Haug is an entrepreneur, event designer and researcher passionate about understanding how technological innovation is reshaping society and culture. He is the founder and CEO of the Lift Conference (three day events in Europe and Asia to discuss the social implications of technologies), the co-founder and CEO of Lift Lab (a boutique consulting practice doing research projects), also a blogger, start-up adviser, and speaker or moderator of conferences around the globe. After growing up in France and graduating from the University of Lausanne, Laurent spent most of his early career developing and implementing technological solutions to solve business problems, first in a start-up, then at Arthur Andersen and Pictet. He maintains a disclosure page where you will find all the activities he is involved in.

Rebecca Stirnemann
Ecologist
An ecologist specializing in species interactions and ecosystem dynamics, Rebecca was born in New Zealand and raised in Tanzania. Her University studies have taken her from New Zealand to Montana, USA to South Africa and finally to Ireland. She is currently doing her PhD in Ireland on how climate change has and is altering bird migration patterns and changing interactions across trophic levels. She has also worked on a number of conservation and scientific projects, ranging from heading biodiversity surveys in Afromontane forest in Mpumalanga, South Africa, to setting up conservation education programs, research into optimal habitat restoration of mine sites and spatial use of large carnivores.

Yesim Akcollu
Senior Energy Expert
Turkish Competition Authority
A senior energy specialist actively involved in the liberalisation and shaping of Turkey’s new energy policies and laws, Yesim has represented Turkey on energy and competition issues at the EU, WTO, OECD and UN Conference on Trade and Development. She previously worked at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and OIES in Oxford, England. She has various publications, and gives seminars to trade associations, energy experts and professional groups such as engineers and lawyers.

Mustafa Akyol
Columnist & Opinion Editor
Turkish Daily News
Mustafa Akyol is a Turkish journalist who has written extensively on Islam and the modern world. He has degrees in political science and history from Istanbul's Bosphorus University. He is currently the opinion editor and a columnist for Turkish Daily News, Turkey's oldest English-language daily. He also writes a regular column for the Turkish national daily, Star. Akyol's opinion pieces have also appeared in publications such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Der Spiegel, The American Interest, First Things, The Weekly Standard, and others. He is also the author of a Turkish-language book titled "Rethinking the Kurdish Question: What Went Wrong? What Next?" (2006).

Suat Seyitoğlu
Deputy Governor
Diyarbaır Turkey
Suat Seyitoglu is a deputy governor in Diyarbakır, Turkey. He was born in Van and was educated in Turkey graduating from Gazil University Facility Economic and Administrative Sciences in 1997. He holds a masters degree from Ankara University in Political Science gained in 1988. In 2000 he graduated from the War Academy. In 2001 he graduated from Sheffield University Management School in England. His interests include political science.

Samata Angel
CEO
Samata’s Muse
Samata Angel is a British-born Ghanaian award-winning fashion entrepreneur as well as an author and designer. Samata's Muse clothing label specialises in womenswear. She first came under the public eye when she became the first black British female to show during the Nolcha Fashion Week in New York. Samata, an ambassador for a national campaign, Enterprise Insight, recently published a guide book series assisting fashion designers in business startup, and is an ambassador for Global Enterprise Week - Ghana.

Sophia Bokhari
Research Fellow
Institute of Local Government Studies
Sophia Bokhari is Research Fellow at INLOGOV, School of Government and Society, University of Birmingham. Her areas of interest are child poverty, cultural identity and socialisation processes of new communities. Sophia actively supports using creative approaches when undertaking research, such as video narratives to stimulate debate in focus groups. Her PhD research focuses on the educational success of British Pakistani children in the UK and covers issues around religion, race and culture.

Stuart Brady
Senior Policy Adviser for Trade and Investment
Confederation of British Industry
After serving as an international trade policy expert and working in the European Parliament and in the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Stuart now helps the Confederation of British Industry encourage international businesses to act on climate change.  

Rajeeb Dey
Founder & CEO
Enternships.com
Rajeeb graduated in 2008 with First Class Honours in Economics & Management from the University of Oxford and is the Founder/CEO of Enternships.com – a portal for entrepreneurial work placements, for which he was named the “02 X Young Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2009.   At 17, Rajeeb founded the English Secondary Students' Association (ESSA) – a national organisation giving students a voice in their education.  Rajeeb is a Trustee of UnLtd – the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, and Advisory Board Member of Channel 4 (Education) and UK-India Business Council.

Alexander Evans
Senior Advisor to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke
US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Alexander Evans is a British diplomat currently at the US Department of State as a senior advisor to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is also a Gwilym Gibbon Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford and was previously on sabbatical at Yale as a World Fellow.  He has worked in at the British High Commissions in Islamabad and New Delhi and as a member of the Policy Planning Staff, London. Before joining the Foreign Office he was research director at Policy Exchange and an associate fellow at Chatham House.

Simon Fell
Self-employed
Public Affairs Consultant
Simon established a public affairs company and co-founded a London-focused think tank, both of which focus on cross-party solutions to issues such as good governance, transportation and community cohesion.

Blair Glencorse
Associate
Institute for State Effectiveness
Blair Glencorse is an Associate at the Institute for State Effectiveness (ISE). In this role he provides practical policy advice to national leaders and the international community on institutional reform, economic development, coordination and program implementation issues in contexts such as Afghanistan, Nepal, Southern Sudan, Kosovo and Sierra Leone. Previously, Blair worked for the Fragile States Team at the World Bank. He has a MA with honors from Johns Hopkins (SAIS) in international relations and economics, where he now co-teaches a course on post-conflict reconstruction. He graduated with 1st degree honors in Modern History from the University of Edinburgh.

Ben Hammersley
CEO
Dangerous Precedent, Ltd
Ben Hammersley is a British journalist and technologist. Based in London, he is founder of Dangerous Precedent Ltd, a digital-media design practice, and Editor at Large of WIRED magazine. Previously he has been a broadcaster and journalist for the BBC, the Guardian, and The Times, reporting from Afghanistan, Iran, Beirut and many other places. He has written five books on web technologies, and is credited with the creation of the word "Podcast" by the Oxford English Dictionary. He has lived previously in China, Sweden, and Italy, and likes to box in his spare time.

Sarah-Jane King
Director
North East England Office in Brussels
Representing her home region to the EU institutions, Sarah-Jane re-launched the NEEO in 2007 with new strategic focus on renewable energy, transport, social inclusion, culture and innovation policies, and a broad membership including local authorities, the regional development agency, universities, businesses and trade unions. One year later, she and her team were shortlisted for Best Regional Representation in Brussels. Sarah-Jane read law at Oxford where she gained a double first and topped the university in European law. She has also worked in the non-profit sector as an employment law caseworker, and has contributed to several publications on European and employment issues. Sarah-Jane is currently on maternity leave following the birth of her first son in 2009.

Andrew Kneale
Cultural Relations Project Manager
British Council USA
Andrew Kneale manages external relations and evaluation at the British Council in Washington, DC.  He represents the British Council's global portfolio to US stakeholders in government, NGOs and academia.  Andrew has held previous posts with the British Council in education, and in governance and society - coordinating the TN2020 project in North America.  Originally from the UK, Andrew moved to the US with his family when he was a teenager. He holds a BA in Political Science and Psychology.

Annabel Knight
Project Officer
Gulbenkian Foundation
Annabel Knight was born in the UK and currently lives in London. She leads on transnational and national initiatives at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, including an extensive European programme on Ageing. While working in Lisbon, Annabel has accompanied the launch of the first Social Stock Exchange in Europe. Having lived and worked in England, Spain, Portugal and Chile, Annabel graduated from the University of Sheffield with a first class BA in Philosophy and Hispanic Studies and has recently pioneered a colleague exchange programme between the UK and Portugal and will lead on its expansion.

Errol Lawson
Operations Manager and Youth Pastor
Mount Zion Community Church
Errol is Operations Manager and Youth Pastor at a pioneering and thriving Inner City Church in Birmingham, England. His areas of study are Leadership, Management and Christian theology. By launching the “World Changers” Youth Ministry, Errol has engaged in his passion for developing and equipping the next generation of leaders. He also speaks in local schools, sits on various local committees, and in 2010 he will be publishing his first book entitled “Do Something! Success tips for Teens”.

Anjula Singh
Operations Manager, Eurasia
BBC World Service
Anjula enjoys her strategic role within the World Service of the BBC setting the vision, making change and taking people through it. She works across a broad agenda including the launch of a TV channel for Iran, transforming the radio production process, moving production overseas and away from the UK, and restructuring a group of 130 staff. Anjula joined the BBC as a Studio Manager, and has since been promoted to Regional Production Manager, Asia & the Pacific region.

Ushrat Sultana
Executive Director
Silent Impact, Ltd
Ushrat Sultana is a Law graduate and lives in Luton, England.  She is Executive Director of Silent Impact Ltd, a Social Enterprise committed to Social Justice.  She works on a wide range of issues including Honour Based Violence, Extremism, Human Rights and Disability.  Prior to this, Ushrat worked as a Strategic Manager for a Member of Parliament, and also in Community Development for a Local Authority.  In 2004, Ushrat was appointed the youngest serving Magistrate in Bedfordshire. She has also been the recipient of numerous awards for her work including a Parliamentary Researcher of the Year Award and an Asian Women of Achievement Award.

Terry Canning
Owner
FarmWizard
Founder of an award-winning online herd management service, FarmWizard.com, Terry has also developed and led information technology projects for global businesses such as Nortel Networks and BT.  

Michelle Gallen
E-Learning Consultant
Michelle Gallen was born and raised in Northern Ireland. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, she also holds an Mphil in Publishing Studies. Following an early career in publishing, Michelle has worked in the digital learning sector for 10 years which has included stints at the BBC and major commerical e-learning providers. Michelle has worked as a freelance e-learning consultant for the past five years, designing, developing and evaluating creative learning content. She founded www.talkirish.com - an award-winning social network for learners, teachers and speakers of the endangered Irish language.

Ryan Gawn
PR & CR Consultant
Penn, Schoen & Berland
Ryan Gawn is an international public affairs and conflict resolution consultant, currently Director of Penn, Schoen & Berland, a market research and strategic communications consultancy. Previously, he worked in Eastern Afghanistan for economic development INGO Peace Dividend Trust, advising international actors on their engagement with the local private sector. A former journalist and editor of Chile’s largest English language newspaper, he has written for a variety of publications and spoken in academic conferences on conflict, peacebuilding and foreign affairs. He is a Council member of Chatham House and former Treasurer of the United Nations Association Westminster.

Christopher Johnston
Account Director
MCE Public Relations
Chris Johnston is an Account Director with public relations firm MCE Public Relations. He is involved in a number of initiatives to promote leadership and social inclusion amongst young people in Northern Ireland, including co-founding the children’s charity, the Youth Empowerment Scheme, and founding Civic Leader, an accredited leadership development programme for students which was adopted by a higher education college in Belfast. He is currently working on the establishment of a Kennedy Memorial in Northern Ireland. He has participated in scholarships for short periods of study at Montana State University, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Jennifer Neff
Program Manager
Business in the Community
Jennifer challenges companies to improve their impact on society and the environment. She supports female entrepreneurs in working with Women in Enterprise and oversees the youth development efforts of twenty-six credit unions.

Mark Pollock
Adventurer and Motivational Speaker
Having become blind in a two week period, Mark rapidly learned how to adapt to changing circumstances. Now, he delivers lectures, pursues research into resilience, creativity and innovation and competes in extreme sports events.

Neil Simms
Director of Finance
Clarendon Fund Managers, Ltd.
Neil oversees investments and represents the funds under management’s interests on the boards of four portfolio companies.

Anita Clark
Head of Dance
Scottish Arts Council
With almost twenty years of dance development experience gathered while working in Scotland and England, Anita now develops and delivers a strategy for dance in Scotland.   

Steven Kidd
Corporate Affairs Manager
Scottish Youth Parliament Ltd
Steven Kidd is currently responsible for communications and policy at the Scottish Youth Parliament, which he has helped establish as the premier route to engagement with young people in Scotland. Steven has written pieces for a variety of publications, facilitated at events from Nigeria to Bangladesh and has been involved in several important policy groups. Steven also has a passion for Scottish amateur football and is Secretary of his local club. Steven is a former Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament and Vice-Chair of the UK Youth Parliament.

Laura McCrum
Development Officer
Saheliya
Laura spent her formative years in both Kenya and in Scotland. Growing, living and learning as a mixed race girl in Scotland in the 1980’s has formed her passion for justice, equality and fairness and also developed her strength and desire to succeed. The dedication of Laura's family to change race relations inspired her to build her early career in broadcasting. Following working with the BBC, Laura co founded Urbanscot, an organization committed to supporting the Music of Black Origin scene in Scotland. After working with disadvantaged youth on a music development programme, Laura furthered her training in Mental Health and Music and now works as Development Officer for a BME women’s organization called Saheliya.

Emma Megaughin
Projects Manager
Hansard Society Scotland
Emma Megaughin is the Projects Manager for Hansard Society Scotland, the UK’s leading independent, non-partisan political research and education charity. Emma is responsible for managing the production of Hansard Society educational resources for Scottish schools, and runs additional activities and projects that consider issues relating to the Scottish Parliament and their implications and lessons. She also manages the Postgraduate Certificate in Government & Public Policy, in association with the University of Edinburgh.

Simon Watson
Head of Developments
Barnardo’s Scotland
Simon Watson was born in Brighton, England but now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. Simon is the Head of Developments in Scotland for a leading welfare charity. Previously a management consultant and senior advisor, Simon has a specific interest in creative, pragmatic solutions to entrenched social problems. He is a fellow of the Royal Society for Arts and is the Vice Chairman of the Scottish Community Development Centre. Simon also contributes to public policy through various review boards and regularly contributes opinion to mainstream media.

Alison Goldsworthy
Campaigns Manager
Leonard Cheshire Disability
Alison Goldsworthy is Director of Communications and Events for the Kidney Wales Foundation. Additionally, Alison organises several large events including the Cardiff 10k run. Alison has worked in the Houses of Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and for the Liberal Democrats, co-authoring their 2004 European manifesto in Wales. Alison attended schools in England, Wales and Indiana before graduating from Bath University in Business Administration, and gaining a Post Grad in Management from the Open University.

Bethan Jenkins
Member of the Welsh Parliament
Plaid Cymru
Bethan Jenkins was elected as Plaid Cymru regional Assembly Member for South Wales West in May 2007, and is the youngest Assembly Member at the age of 27.  Bethan’s political interests include international affairs, women’s rights, asylum matters, the safeguarding of local services, and eating disorder provision in Wales. She is the founder member and chair of the Cross Party Committee on Eating Disorders at the National Assembly. Outside the political arena she enjoys swimming, going to the gym, watching football and rugby league, music, and playing the viola.

Samer Nawaz
Diversity Initiatives Officer
Valleys Race Equality Council
Anisa is employed as a Race Equality Diversity Officer with VALREC, a Race Equality Organisation based in South Wales. She sits on the GAVO Caerphilly Local Management Committee, Crown Prosecution Service Gwent Community Engagement Group and the External Policing Steering Committee, in addition to lecturing at Cardiff University in the areas of Employment Law and Sharia Law. Born in Cardiff in 1975, Anisa spent her early adult years in Wales save for periods of academic study and work spent in Birmingham, London and abroad. Prior to her current job roles, Anisa worked as a Practice Manager in a city law firm whilst completing her legal research studies.

Federico Podeschi
CEO
LGBT Excellence Centre Wales
Federico Podeschi was born in the Republic of San Marino and moved to the UK in 1997. He is a social entrepreneur, Chief Executive Officer of the LGBT Excellence Centre Wales, and president of LGBT San Marino. His work is focused on developing sustainable models for delivering equality and human rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Federico was nominated Honorary Consul to San Marino in Wales in 2008 and was invited by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown to celebrate LGBT History Month in February 2009.

Wil Stephens
Founder and CEO
Cube Interactive
Wil Stephens is a BAFTA award-winning digital producer who founded interactive production company Cube in 2006, which has developed into one of the leading digital companies in the UK. Wil is Cube’s Chief Executive and heads the company’s new client relationships, R&D, and strategic development.  Prior to Cube, Wil founded FBA Media, a subsidiary company of communications agency FBA Group, which pioneered online e-learning applications. In 2008 he was voted as Broadcast Magazine’s Hotshots. Wil is a Trustee of the Welsh Broadcasting Trust and a Director of industry training company, Skillset.

Amar C. Bakshi
Foreign Affairs Student
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
Amar most recently served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Susan Rice, working on interfaith engagement, global health, and development.  Prior to this position, Amar explored how people around the world view the United States, reporting for The Washington Post and Newsweek from a dozen countries including India, Pakistan, Israel, Turkey, the Philippines and Venezuela.  Amar is currently a student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.

Sentell Freday Barnes
Program Manager
American Bankers Association
Active in politics since 1998, Sentell served a U.S. Governor, U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative, and currently is a policy analyst for the American Bankers Association's Card Policy Council. In addition, he is a leader with Global Impact, an organization that sends short-term teams into developing countries to partner with a local organization or community to assister with various projects. He currently serves as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America whose mission is to help children reach their potential through one-to-one relationships with mentors.

Shane Belvin
Corporate Strategy Manager
Iron Mountain
Shane Belvin was born and raised in the United States and received a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.  While serving as a Captain in the Army, Shane was awarded the Bronze Star for direct fire engagements during Operation Iraqi Freedom and took part in the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003.  Upon leaving the Army, Shane served as an engineer in the aerospace industry, focusing primarily on human space exploration.  More recently, he has worked as an investment banker, corporate strategy manager, and an entrepreneur developing a platform to trade weather derivatives.  

LaNitra Berger
Director of Leadership and International Programs
NAFEO
LaNitra Berger is the director of leadership and international programs at NAFEO, where she works to promote the internationalization of historically black colleges and universities. LaNitra believes that global citizens are better local citizens, which is why she is passionate about getting more minority students to study abroad. She currently serves as a mentor for AllAbroad.us and on the advisory board for DiversityAbroad.com. LaNitra has studied or lived abroad in France, Germany, and South Africa. She received her B.A. in art history and international relations from Stanford University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in art history from Duke University.

Marisa Catalina Casey
Founder & Executive Director
Starting Artists, Inc
Marisa Catalina Casey directs the Brooklyn-based arts & entrepreneurship center, Starting Artists, Inc. Marisa obtained her BA from Brown University and her MA from Columbia University. Marisa has held positions at the Hearst Foundations, CARE, Alliance for Children, and APERTURE. Board Member of the Americans for the Arts Emerging Leaders Council and Emerging Leaders of New York Arts, Marisa has received scholarships from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and National Endowment for the Arts. A 2008/9 YouthActionNet Global Fellow, Marisa attended the American Express Nonprofit Leadership Institute 2009 and has been chosen to attend the South Africa Lucca Leadership Institute 2010.

Jose Castellanos
Sergeant
Los Angeles Police Department
A 13-year veteran of the police force, Jose aims to build racial tolerance, equality and understanding through gang violence prevention. He is a graduate of the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute and was recently accepted to the West Point Leadership School.

Marcia Chatelain
Professor
University of Oklahoma Honors College
Dr. Marcia Chatelain, a native of Chicago, holds an A.M. and Ph.D. in American Civilization from Brown University, and is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. Chatelain's research focuses on African-American girls in the 20th century. Her manuscript project examines Chicago’s African-American women's groups during the mass movement of African-Americans from the South to the North. Chatelain has presented papers at the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History conference, the Biennial Meeting of the Women and Gender Historians of the Midwest, and the American Culture/Popular Culture Association meeting. Chatelain has participated in the National Women's Studies Association's Women of Color Leadership Project, and the University of Iowa's Center for Ethnic Studies and the Arts Junior Faculty Writing Workshop.

Zadi Diaz
Co-Founder/Executive Producer
Smashface Productions
Zadi Diaz is an award-winning new media producer, director, and host. She is also co-founder of Smashface Productions, a production company focused on developing original programming for the web, bridging new and traditional media, and building and cultivating online communities through new technologies. She also speaks on panels and teaches people around the world about social media and media literacy. Her work has been highlighted in the New York Times, Forbes, CBS Evening News, MTV, The Associated Press, The Guardian, and many other national publications.

Georgeta Dragoiu
Economic and Policy Analyst
Inter-American Development Bank
Georgeta Dragoiu was born in Romania and grew up in Chicago. At the University of Chicago, she developed an interest in international development and applying anthropological methods to development. Georgeta worked as a Junior Professional Associate at the World Bank and is currently an Economic and Policy Analyst at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. She has co-authored, “Crisis in Latin America: Infrastructure Investment, Employment and the Expectations of Stimulus” and is also a published playwright. On a personal note, Georgeta holds a second degree in Theological Studies and is interested in using art as a tool for global development.

Biagio Dull
Senior Electrical Engineer
Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems
Building on his nine years of aerospace and optical telecommunications experience, Biagio, a California native, aims to create opportunities to expand and develop green technology. An Italian-American, he strongly identifies with his Italian heritage, which inspires an appetite for travel, music, language, and culture. As a lover of the outdoors, he has developed a passion for environmentalism.

Steven Feldstein
Professional Staff Member
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Steven Feldstein specializes in foreign policy issues related to foreign aid, development, UN and international organizations and post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding.  He has worked in several different places including the State Department and USAID.  He currently serves as a professional staff member on the senate foreign relations committee.

Gwyn R. Fischer
Executive Director
MPACT Memphis
Gwyn R. Fisher is the Executive Director of MPACT Memphis, a nationally recognized organization for young professionals.  She is a former attorney and served as Law Clerk to a federal judge.  Gwyn received a Bachelor of Arts in French from Scripps College and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis.  She has published in legal journals and is currently a contributing author for Smart City Memphis.  Her research and writing focus is the role of young professionals as catalysts for effective city growth and economic development.  She has received several awards including being named one of Memphis’ Top 40 Under 40.

Rebecca Fletcher
Outreach and Services Coordinator
Equity Trust, Inc.
An activist for economic justice, Rebecca combines the best aspects of public and private ownership in her work at a small, national non-profit, Equity Trust, where she implements models of land use that meet long-term community needs for affordable housing and working farms. Currently organizing for regional access to land for natural burial and serving on the boards of Grow Food Northampton and Holyoke Community Land Trust, Rebecca makes her home in Western Massachusetts.

Matthew Guilford
Program Manager of Digital Excellence and Innovation
City of Chicago
Matthew Guilford manages the City of Chicago’s Digital Excellence Initiative, a partnership that leverages digitally-engaged communities to advance key issues like healthcare, education and sustainability.  He also works to ensure that the needs of cities are represented in state and federal telecommunications and technology policies.  Additionally, Matthew leads the City’s innovation practice, which redesigns public services, strengthens the culture of creativity in government and engages residents in problem solving.  Prior to joining the City, he developed strategies for technology-based economic growth for the State of Rhode Island.  He holds a degree in behavioral neuroscience and in history from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kristopher Harrison
Senior Managing Director
Avascent International
Tofer Harrison is the co-founder of Avascent International, an international strategic advisory company, and RHM Global, a leading provider of macro-economic policy intelligence to hedge funds, investment banks and asset managers. Previously, he was the chief international strategist for the Medley Macro Fund, a private investment management firm.  He is also the founder and Executive Director of the Hamilton Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes entrepreneurship and education in the Middle East.  Tofer served as an official at the State and Defense departments during the George W. Bush Administration. Tofer attended Harvard University and Washington and Lee University.  

Katie Hellerman
Co-founder
New Leaf Regenerative Design
Katie Hellerman is a Co-Founder of New Leaf Regenerative Design, a sustainability education and consulting company. She is also a founding member of the Fox Circle Regenerative Living Project (FCRLP), a collaborative ecovillage research project. Katie’s life question is "What are the universal cultural practices that bring people into a deeper positive relationship with the earth and with each other and what can they teach us?" Katie holds a holds a B.A. in Government and Latin American literature from Smith College, a MEd from Vanderbilt University, and is a graduate of the Regenerative Design Institute of Northern California’s residential program.

Molly Hellerman
Executive Director
SportsChallenge Leadership and Education Alliance
Molly Hellerman currently consults for various NGOs with a focus on start-ups, turn-arounds, strategic planning and curriculum development. She has a professional history of leadership through sport, an undergraduate background in Spanish and economics, and a business degree with a post graduate fellowship in non-profit management. When Molly is not at work, she can be found on the soccer pitch or training for triathlons!

Pauline Herrera
Director of Communications and Marketing
Denver Office of Cultural Affairs
Pauline Herrera is the Communications & Marketing Director at the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs. Prior to that, she was as a consultant to the office managing Mayor Hickenlooper's inaugural One Book, One Denver program. Herrera previously served as the Director of Public Relations & Marketing at the Museo de las Américas (Museum of the Americas). She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, with a major in Psychology, and a master's degree in Nonprofit Management, with honors, from Regis University.

Noel A. Hidalgo
Social Network at On The Luck of Seven
(Self-Employed)
Currently, Noel Hidalgo is working to update the New York State Senate's technology infrastructure and helping the public understand the power of an open, transparent, and efficient legislature though NYSenate.gov. Mr. Hidalgo has spent several years exploring the interaction between innovative technologies, the public's interaction with government, and community building activities. He's traveled the world documenting communities that live off of the Internet via LuckofSeven.com and has used digital media to lifecast the process of becoming a New York City Yellow Cab driver. With Students for a Free Tibet, he helped expose China's broken Olympic promises and was detained and subsequently deported. During 2008, he helped crystalize a political video remix culture at RemixAmerica.org, contributed to an election monitoring system built on Twitter at Twitter Vote Report. In 2005, he helped organize the New York City Drupal community, and in 2006, he helped establish Williamsburg Coworking at The Change You Want to See, an alternative working community in Brooklyn.

Oliver Horn
PhD Student
Georgetown University
An expert in transatlantic affairs and public diplomacy, Oliver’s recent research and publications focus on defence budget and modernization issues, as well as emerging technologies.

Nicholas Hu
Founding Partner, Shareholder & Chief Engineer
De novo Technologies
Trained as a biomedical engineer, Nicholas current directs the research, development, and commercialization efforts at De Novo Technologies, a medical technology startup corporation. His work includes: medical innovation, IP, design engineering, compliance, sourcing & manufacturing, and business development.

Joe Hurd
Senior Director, Export Promotion and Trade Policy
US Department of Commerce
A political appointee with the Obama Administration, Joe works at the U.S. Department of Commerce, helping U.S. businesses export more goods and services abroad. Joe also runs the Katama Group, advising consumer-facing internet and mobile content companies. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

Jeff Johnson
TV Host and Correspondent
Black Entertainment Television
Born in the United Kingdom and currently residing in Washington, D.C., Jeff Johnson has spent the last decade merging the worlds of politics and popular culture in order to provide cutting-edge broad-based consulting to improve urban communities. Johnson is currently Chief New Correspondent for Black Entertainment Television (BET). Johnson created the Jeff Johnson Institute that is currently working to develop young political candidates, and advance African-Americans in the field of environmental justice and green energy. In September of 2009 he released his first book, Everything I'm Not Made Me Everything I Am.  

David Kirby
Executive Director
America’s Future Foundation
David is Senior Director of Academic Programs at the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University, where he manages programs for aspiring academics in the humane and social sciences. He is also an associate policy analyst with the Cato Institute, where he researches libertarian voting preferences. David holds an MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School.

Shawn Renee Lent
Independent Dance Educator and Freelance Choreographer
Shawn Renee Lent is the Arts Integration Program Specialist at Columbia College Chicago. She spent 2001-2003 in London as a youth worker and dance critic, and has been a teacher of dance, theatre, and tumbling for over 19 years. In addition, Shawn was selected for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations International Fellowship Program and the 2009 American Express Nonprofit Leadership Academy. Shawn is the founding Chair of the Associates Board for Links Hall, and a member of the Young Associates Board of Children’s Memorial Hospital. She holds a Master’s degree in Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago, a post-graduate certificate in Youth Arts Development from Goldsmith’s College: University of London, and a BFA degree from Millikin University.

Daryl Niemerow
Director of External Affairs
LA’s BEST
Daryl Niemerow is currently Director of External Affairs at LA’s BEST, an after school enrichment programme in Los Angeles, California. With corporate offices in the Los Angeles Mayor’s office and a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, the programme serves 28,000 children per day in 180 public elementary schools. Daryl facilitates community partnerships in order to bring local and national exposure to the organisation and foster those relationships to ensure their long-term support of the programme.

Arturo Ortega
Assistant Superintendant of Elementary Education
Baldwin Park Unified School District
As an instructional aide, teacher, assistant principal, principal and current assistant superintendent in a California school district, Arturo has worked in the educational field for the last seventeen years.

Zeenat Rahman
Senior Coordinator of Public Affairs
Interfaith Youth Core
Zeenat is the Senior Programme Coordinator for Public Affairs at the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago based international non-profit working to build mutual respect among religiously diverse young people by empowering them to work together. She has done extensive work to promote civic engagement and healthy integration amongst Muslim youth, in partnership with national Muslim organisations. She completed her Master's Degree at the University of Chicago’s Center for Middle East Studies and earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Illinois.

Azita Ranjbar
Program Manager
US Institute of Peace
Azita Ranjbar is a Program Specialist for Afghanistan and Pakistan Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace. This past summer she was a research fellow for the International Research and Exchanges Board, where she conducted research on legal and economic challenges facing families of migrant workers in Tajikistan. As a Rotary scholar in 2009, she also conducted research in Morocco on gender reparation programs through the Equity and Reconciliation Commission.

Maria Repnikova
Rhodes Scholar
Oxford University
Maria is a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, currently working on a PhD in Politics focusing on China and Russia. Her professional and academic interests include journalism, international media cooperation, migration, media assistance, and the study of non-democratic regimes. Maria was previously a Fulbright scholar in Northeast China and the Russian Far East, researching Chinese migration to Russia. She speaks Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and English.

Claire Rice
Interim Director of Education and Audience Development
University Musical Society
Claire Rice is the Interim Director of Education and Audience Development at UMS, a performing arts institution in Ann Arbor, MI. She works to build context around and connection to the arts through educational and community events. Previously, Rice was a management consultant for Accenture in Washington DC. She has managed a Grammy Award-winning concert recording and a month-long residency with the Royal Shakespeare Company.  Rice also serves on various non-profit boards that advance youth and the arts in Southeast Michigan.

Andrew Robertson
Law Student
University of California, Berkeley
Andrew Robertson is completing his law degree at the University of California, Berkeley, with an emphasis on intellectual property, science policy, and global health.  From 2005 to 2007, Andrew was a AAAS S&T Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of the Secretary, where he worked on policies concerning emerging and neglected disease threats.  Prior to joining DHHS, Andrew researched protease inhibitors as a faculty research fellow at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Centre in Cambridge, UK.  Andrew was a Gates Scholar and holds a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Cambridge University. 

Roey Rosenblith
Owner and Director
Village Energy
Roey Rosenblith is based in Kampala, Uganda where he owns and operates Village Energy, a company which imports electronic components, combines them with local recycled materials and makes affordable solar systems. Village Energy also provides consulting and technology sourcing services for those interested in the developing world market.  Other pastimes include exporting Ugandan coffee and a website/mobile app project to help stem government corruption.  Previously he has worked as a Field Organizer in the Obama Campaign, a researcher for Arianna Huffington, an entrepreneur in the biofuels sector, and a project manager with agro-processing projects in Uganda and Guatemala.  He received much media attention for his firsthand account entitled “Over Detroit Skies,” describing his experiences on board NW Flight 253 which was attacked by Al-Qaeda on December 25, 2009.

Reihan Salam
Associate Editor
The Atlantic
Co-author of “Grand New Party” and a fellow at the New America Foundation, Reihan also writes a weekly column for Forbes.com.  He previously worked for NBC News, The New York Times, the Council on Foreign Relations and The New Republic.

David Sasaki
Director of Outreach
Global Voices Online
David Sasaki is the director of outreach for Global Voices Online and the research director of the Technology for Transparency Network. He manages a portfolio of small-scale projects around the developing world that use citizen media to affect social change. Sasaki now also directs a collaborative research mapping that evaluates the impact and effectiveness of technology projects that aim to promote government transparency, political accountability, and civic engagement.

Stephanie Schierholz
Social Media Manager and Public Affairs Specialist
NASA
Stephanie Schierholz is NASA's social media manager and an agency spokesperson. She is a public affairs specialist for the agency's human spaceflight missions on the space shuttle and International Space Station, leads NASA’s social media activities, and is an advocate for incorporating emerging communications technologies into the agency’s public outreach activities. She also is the secretary for Women in Aerospace. She recently earned a Global MBA from Georgetown University after completing international residencies in Beijing and Dubai.

David Travers
Associate
Rustic Canyon Partners
David is an Associate at Rustic Canyon Partners, an early stage venture capital firm based in Southern California. Previously, David worked at the White House as the Executive Assistant to the National Security Advisor, where he was awarded the Secretary of Defence's Award for Outstanding Public Service. David also worked in Category Management at eBay and in Corporate Strategic Planning at The Walt Disney Company. David currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of LA's BEST Friends. David received his BA from Stanford University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Katy.

Tricia Wang
Researcher
University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States
Tricia Wang is an American ethnographer and sociologist whose work generates understanding about the everyday lives of of new and under-served technology users. She is a Fulbright scholar and currently researching in urban China and rural Mexico. Prior to her academic turn, Tricia worked as as technology educator in New York City. Most notably, she started the first national network advocating for the pedagogical uses of hip-hop. Tricia posts fieldnotes and analyses about technology usage on her blogs: Cultural Bytes, Digital Urbanisms, and YouMeiTI. Her website is www.triciawang.com.