The German Marshall Fund of the United States

Yascha Mounk is one of the world's leading experts on the crisis of liberal democracy and the rise of populism. He is the author of three books that have been translated into ten languages, he is an associate professor of the practice of international affairs at Johns Hopkins University, and a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund. He writes regularly for The New Yorker, The New York Times and The Atlantic. 

Ambassador James Franklin Jeffrey currently serves as the Secretary’s Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. He is a senior American diplomat with experience in political, security, and energy issues in the Middle East, Turkey, Germany, and the Balkans. He has held senior assignments in Washington, DC, and abroad, including as Deputy National Security Advisor (2007–2008); United States Ambassador to Iraq (2010–2012); United States Ambassador to Turkey

Tarik M. Yousef is senior fellow in global economy and development at Brookings and director of the Brookings Doha Center. His professional career has spanned the academic world at Georgetown University and the Harvard Kennedy School and the public policy arena at the IMF, the World Bank, and the UN. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and his research has focused on the political economy of policy reform and development economics in the Middle East and North Africa.

At present, Dr. Sabine Weyand is director-general for trade at the European Commission. She was deputy chief negotiator of the Commission Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 of the TEU from October 2016 to May 2019. Weyand joined the European Commission in 1994 where she worked on industry and trade issues before serving in the cabinets of trade commissioner Pascal Lamy and Commission President Barroso and heading the private office of development commissioner Louis Michel.

Dennis Shea serves as Deputy United States Trade Representative and Chief of Mission, Geneva, where he represents the United States as ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Samira Rafaela was recently elected to the European Parliament to represent the Netherlands for a 5-year term. She also advises the Dutch Police on Safety and Inclusion. Previously, Rafaela has served as a strategic adviser, board advisor, policy-maker, international trainer and speaker, social entrepreneur in Africa, and diversity ambassador for the Dutch D66 party. She is an expert on the causes of radicalization with a main focus on human rights and diversity and inclusion. In 2016, she participated in GMF’s Transatlantic Inclusion Leadership Network.  

Margaret Carlson is a political insider and a widely read political columnist for The Daily Beast Bloomberg News. In 1988, Carlson joined TIME magazine and served as White House correspondent and deputy Washington bureau chief. From 1994-2005, she wrote the “Public Eye” column for TIME magazine, becoming the first female columnist in the magazine′s history. At CNN, Carlson served as a weekly panelist on The Capital Gang for 15 years while making further appearances on fellow network programs The Insider and Crossfire.

Kenneth R. Weinstein is president and chief executive officer of Hudson Institute, the Washington-based policy organization dedicated to promoting a secure, free and prosperous future through U.S. global leadership and international engagement. Weinstein serves as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and on the United States trade representative’s advisory committee for trade policy and negotiations. He speaks has been decorated with a knighthood in arts and letters by the government of France. He is a native of New York City. 

Ambassador Philip T. Reeker is the Acting Assistant Secretary of European and Eurasian Affairs since March 18. Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Reeker assumed his duties as the USEUCOM Civilian Deputy and POLAD November 2017 and will continue to serve in this position until May 31, 2019. From July 2011-2013, Ambassador Reeker served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs focused on the Balkans, Central Europe, and Holocaust Issues. He was U.S.

Ivan Krastev is a Bulgarian political scientist. He is chairman of the Center for Liberal Strategies, Sofia and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna (IWM).