Brussels Forum Session: The Economic Counteroffensive: Rebuilding Ukraine

Aleksandra Karolina Wiśniewska is a member of the Polish Sejm (Parliament). She is a member of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committees, and a member of the NATO Subcommittee. She serves as chair of the Polish-American Parliamentary Group and vice chair of the Polish-Ukrainian Parliamentary Group.  

Wiśniewska is a political scientist and humanitarian aid worker who specializes in leading teams to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance in actively hostile and post-conflict settings.

Following Russia’s re-invasion of Ukraine, Wiśniewska led an evacuation of children from Ukrainian orphanages to Poland and served as head of mission for the humanitarian aid organization INTERSOS in Ukraine. She has also served as head of mission for Polish Humanitarian Action in Yemen in response to the cholera epidemic, COVID-19, and the famine in that country. Earlier, she worked for the emergency aid NGO RNVDO Iraq in response to the displacement caused by the battle for Mosul, and at UNDP in Türkiye and Jordan in response to the Syrian civil war. She also volunteered and conducted field research on human rights violations in refugee camps across Europe. Wiśniewska is an alumna of the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford.

Brussels Forum Session: Fresh Off the Campaign Trail: Stories From the 2024 US Primary

Sarah Wheaton is the Brussels-based chief policy correspondent for POLITICO Europe, the author of the weekly EU Influence newsletter, and host of the EU Confidential podcast. She focuses on top policy news, in-depth reporting, and special projects. She was previously a senior policy reporter on POLITICO Europe’s health team.

Before moving to Belgium, Wheaton was a White House correspondent for POLITICO, covering the final two years of the Obama administration, and a health care reporter for POLITICO Pro. She spent the first part of her career at The New York Times, where she covered breaking news, the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, and the White House.

Wheaton holds a bachelor’s degree in political communication from The George Washington University. 

Brussels Forum Session: Euro-Atlantic Security Outside the Box: High Ambitions, Different Formats

Imants Lieģis is diplomatic adviser to Latvia’s defense minister, a position he held in 2009-2010.

Lieģis’ career with the Latvian government began in 1992 and has focused on security, defense, and foreign affairs. As a diplomat, he served as ambassador to NATO, the EU Political and Security Committee, Spain, Hungary, and France. He was a member of Latvia’s parliament (Saeima) between 2010 and 2011.

Lieģis has worked with the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, where he remains an associate researcher. He is a member of the senior network of the European Leadership Network and of the Alphen Group.

Lieģis holds a law degree from Newcastle University. 

Brussels Forum Session: The Economic Counteroffensive: Rebuilding Ukraine

Stuart Smith leads the structural design team at Arup in Germany. He is an expert in innovation and sustainability in structural design, and he established a series of research projects—including prototype development—on open-source design, digital fabrication, and material cycles.

Smith contributed to the design of the Tate Modern in London, the CCTV Tower in Beijing, and the Reforma 509, a 240-meter-tall building in the highly seismic Mexico City. He has worked with prominent artists such as Doris Salcedo for the installation "Shibboleth" at the Tate Modern and Ai Wei Wei for the Serpentine Pavilion 2012.

Smith studied civil engineering at City University and Imperial College in London and went on to work for Arup London for almost 20 years before moving to the company’s Berlin office.