Judith Baroody, Hassan Mneimneh, and Constanze Picking join roster of scholars and experts working on transatlantic and foreign relations.

 WASHINGTON (Oct. 21, 2011) – Three distinguished international experts have joined the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) as fellows. Senior U.S. Foreign Service Officer Judith Baroody, former Daimler director Constanze Picking, and Middle East analyst Hassan Mneimneh will add to the GMF’s range of analysis on global issues through their work.

Judith Baroody, a Minister Counselor at the U.S. State Department, joins GMF’s Washington office on a year-long loan as a resident Senior Fellow. Her work will focus on the use of public diplomacy in conflict resolution. Baroody most recently served as Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, responsible for media relations and cultural affairs for the Embassy. She concurrently served as chairman of the U.S.-France Fulbright Board. Previously, she was Senior Advisor in the Office of Rule of Law at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, working to rebuild Iraq’s legal system. Prior postings include Syria, Israel, Morocco, Cyprus, and Chile.

Constanze Picking comes to GMF’s Brussels office after 12 years at Daimler. Her work as a non-resident Fellow will focus on international trade issues and the role of Asia in the global market. Picking most recently served as director and chief EU lobbyist for Daimler’s EU Representative Office in Brussels. Previously, she was general manager of government affairs for Daimler’s Northeast Asia office in Beijing, and senior manager for trade, e-business, and transatlantic issues for DaimlerChrysler in Brussels. She also has experience in the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London, and has held academic posts at the College of Europe, as acting director of the Polish branch, and at Central European University in Prague.

Hassan Mneimneh joins GMF’s Washington office as a Senior Transatlantic Fellow for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the Islamic World. He was most recently a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, where he led a multi-year project focused on strengthening civil society resistance to radicalization in the Muslim world. Prior to joining Hudson, Mneimneh was a Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he researched the evolution of radical Islamist formations and their prospects worldwide. Prior to AEI, Mneimneh served as Director of the Iraq Memory Foundation, an organization dedicated to documenting Iraq’s recent past and the promotion of political responsibility, social order, and transitional justice. Mneimneh regularly contributes to the London-based Arabic newspaper al-Hayat and has written extensively, in English, Arabic, and French on political, cultural, historical, and intellectual developments in the Muslim world.

"We are thrilled to have three such distinguished and knowledgeable individuals join GMF's network of fellows," said GMF President Craig Kennedy. "Their experience in Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean region will build on GMF’s expanding work in new and emerging areas and on the most pressing issues facing the transatlantic partnership."

The German Marshall Fund of the United States is a nonpartisan American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation and understanding between the United States and Europe. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working on transatlantic issues, by convening leaders to discuss the most pressing transatlantic themes, and by examining ways in which transatlantic cooperation can address a variety of global policy challenges. In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 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 seven offices in Europe: Berlin, Bratislava, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, and Bucharest.

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