WASHINGTON (April 16, 2013) — The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) announces the appointments of João Marques de Almeida, Jamie Shea, Temuri Yakobashvili, and Olga Gerasimova as fellows.

“João, Jamie, Temuri, and Olga bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to GMF,”said GMF President Craig Kennedy. “Their additions strengthen our work on foreign policy, security and urban issues.”

João Marques de Almeida will serve as a fellow with GMF’s Foreign & Security Policy Program where he will work in close collaboration with GMF’s Senior Director Ian Lesser and Senior Transatlantic Fellow Thomas Klein-Brockhoff on the Wider Atlantic Program and the EuroFuture Project. Prior to his GMF appointment, João Marques de Almeida served as the political advisor to the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. As political advisor, Almeida focused on institutional issues within the EU, including negotiations for the Treaty of Lisbon; relations between the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament; and the political debates and developments within the EU member states.

In addition to his service as political advisor to the president of the European Commission, Almeida led a unit on foreign policy at the Bureau of European Policy Advisers and worked for the strategic planning office of the president of the European Commission. In these roles, Almeida was responsible for strengthening transatlantic relationships with strategic partners of the EU as well as relations with Turkey, the Middle East, Africa and South America. His service also includes director of the National Defence Institute in Lisbon. 

Jamie Shea joins GMF as a non-resident fellow in the Foreign & Security Policy Program. He currently is the deputy assistant secretary general for emerging security challenges at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels. Shea has contributed to several progressive advancements within NATO, including non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber defence, counterterrorism, and energy security while also overseeing strategic analysis and forecasting.

Shea began working for NATO in the fall of 1982. He has continued to assume new roles and responsibilities within the organization throughout his more than 30-year career there.

Former Ambassador of Georgia to the United States Temuri Yakobashvili will serve as a senior transatlantic fellow on the Foreign & Security Policy Program. Prior to his appointment in Washington, D.C., Yakobashvili was the deputy prime minister and state minister for reintegration for the government of Georgia. He is considered the architect of an engagement strategy devised to enhance relations between Georgia and the Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Yakobashvili has had an extensive career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1991, he has held several senior positions including the director of the Department for the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Yakobashvili is the co-founder and executive vice president of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies. He also co-founded the Atlantic Council of Georgia and the Council of Foreign Relations of Georgia. Yakobashvili will work on foreign and security policy issues at GMF.   

Olga Gerasimova, researcher for the strategic and spatial planning department of the Leontief Center in St. Petersburg, Russia, will serve as a visiting fellow for GMF’s Urban & Regional Policy Program. Gerasimova will use her expertise in regional economic development policy in Europe and civic engagement while working on the Dialogues for Change Initiative. Her research project on the impact of different levels of policy authority and planning responsibilities on economic development planning in Memphis and Washington, D.C., coincides with GMF’s Urban & Regional Policy Program, which has active programs in all three cities. Her interest in European urban issues and European policy has led Gerasimova to conduct research on the interaction of civil society, local and regional authorities and public engagement to develop urban strategies.

Gerasimova has written several publications including Formation of the personality of parents of the orphaned children (2010), Subjects of Charity in the UK and Russia (2011), and Participation of NPOs and business in the strategic planning in the North- West region of Russia (example of St. Petersburg) (2011). Her latest publication is The elaboration process of the Hamburg Vision “Growing City” (2012).

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The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) strengthens transatlantic cooperation on regional, national, and global challenges and opportunities in the spirit of the Marshall Plan.

GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship.

In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 as a non-partisan, non-profit organization through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has offices in Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, Bucharest, Warsaw, and Tunis. GMF also has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm.