Alumni Relations
GMF’s Alumni Relations offers a number of opportunities for our alumni to stay engaged with our networks and continue efforts to strengthen transatlantic cooperation.The GMF’s Alumni Relations team and Alumni network offer a dynamic array of events and resources for its 4,000+ global leaders spanning 40 countries and various sectors. We provide a space for alumni to connect, learn, and engage with GMF experts and their peers. Alumni can access a wealth of knowledge through webinars, conferences, and workshops, and collaborate with experts on pressing global issues. Our network also fosters ongoing connections among alumni, creating a powerful community for knowledge-sharing and meaningful dialogue.
To learn more about GMF's Leadership Programs, please click on the link.
Alumni Leadership Council
Expand AllLetter from Sarah Jones, Managing Director, GMF Leadership Programs
Dear GMF Alumni and Partners,
At a time of rapid change in the transatlantic sphere, the importance of connection, collaboration, and shared leadership has never been clearer. GMF’s 4,000-strong alumni community stands as a testament to the power of networks in strengthening democratic values, advancing cohesion across borders, and driving innovation at the local, national, and international levels.
We are pleased to invite you to join the relaunch of GMF’s Alumni Leadership Council (ALC), a platform designed to connect alumni across sectors, generations, and borders to engage in timely conversations, exchange ideas, and collaborate on solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the transatlantic relationship. Through this membership, you will gain exclusive opportunities to stay connected to GMF’s work, access insights from leading experts, and participate in virtual and in-person convenings that foster dialogue, learning, and action.
The ALC builds on a proud tradition of alumni giving back to the fellowship programs that shaped their leadership journeys. All funds collected through ALC will support current fellowship programs and expansion of alumni engagement efforts. GMF is working toward expanding alumni-led initiatives, such as grants and projects, but this relaunch focuses on reconnecting the network through meaningful engagement, virtually and in person.
My Leadership Program colleagues and I invite you to participate in this next chapter of alumni engagement. Together, we can strengthen the transatlantic relationship, champion democratic values, and inspire the next generation of leaders.
I hope you will join us in this effort today.
In partnership,
Sarah Jones
Managing Director, GMF Leadership Programs
Staying Engaged
Expand AllUpdate Your Personal Information
Your professional or personal information has changed? Please fill out the form below if you would like to update your information with us.
Financial Support
Are you interested in supporting an alumni activity? Contribute directly via the donate button on the GMF website. Ensure you select our program as your place of designation.
Other Support
Are you an alumnus/a of the GMF programs? Are you interested in giving back in other ways?
We encourage alumni to remain engaged with us and our current cohorts, whether as a city coordinator, hosting a reception or offering your time in any other way.
For all inquiries, please direct them to [email protected].
Alumni Event Updates
Expand AllRecent and Upcoming Alumni Events
March 31, 2025: Book Talk at GMF with Carl Strikwerda, GMF Research Fellow '95-'96: "The Origins of the Contemporary Global Order"
April 15, 2025: John Boerstler, MMF '09 and GMF Visiting Senior Fellow hosts panel discussion at GMF, "A World Divided: Global Perspective and path to peace in Ukraine"
May 14, 2025: The Fourth Annual Philon Lecture: A Conversation with US Senator Ruben Gallego (TILN 2014)
October 9-11, 2025: 2025 Marshall Seminar, Detroit, USA
November 3, 2025: GMF Alumni Focus Group in London, United Kingdom.
November 4, 2025: GMF Alumni Focus Group in Paris, France.
January 21-22, 2026: FutureScape: Empowering Europe through Bold Leadership in Copenhagen, Denmark.
January 22, 2026: Copenhagen Alumni Reception in Copenhagen, Denmark.
March 23-25, 2026: EU-US Young Leaders Seminar in Brussels, Belgium.
2026 Alumni Reception in Copenhagen
GMF alumni from across Europe gathered for a reception on January 22 in the Danish capital. The event brought together multiple generations of leaders from GMF’s flagship programs—including the Marshall Memorial Fellowship (MMF), the Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network (TILN), the Manfred Wörner Seminar, the Asmus Policy Entrepreneurs Fellowship, and the Tremezzo Young Leaders—to reconnect, exchange perspectives, and reaffirm a shared commitment to strengthening the transatlantic partnership. The event also highlighted the continued impact of GMF’s leadership programs in cultivating informed, resilient, and collaborative leaders at a time of profound geopolitical change.
A central feature of the evening was a high-level panel discussion with distinguished alumni and GMF leadership that focused on the evolving challenges facing the transatlantic community and the role of political, security, and private-sector leadership in sustaining democratic resilience. Speakers included former Danish Minister of Defense and Member of Parliament Gitte Lillelund Bech (MMF’03); Stephan Engels (MMF’99), Novo Nordisk board member and former Danske Bank and Commerzbank chief financial officer; and GMF Trustee General (ret.) and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Curtis M. Scaparrotti.
Jesper Packert Pedersen (Asmus ’13), Danske Bank head of EU public affairs, and Sarah Jones, GMF Leadership Programs managing director, delivered opening remarks.
The panel discussion, “Consensus Under Pressure: Leadership and the Transatlantic Alliance in a Fragmenting Global Order”, examined how the transatlantic alliance is responding to one of the most complex strategic environments in decades. Moderated by Sudha David-Wilp, GMF vice president for external relations and senior fellow, the conversation explored the implications of Russia’s war against Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, intensifying systemic competition with China, and rapid technological and economic transformation. It also delved into emerging developments reshaping the geopolitical landscape, including the growing strategic importance of the Arctic and Greenland, Europe’s leadership gaps, and the need for a shared transatlantic long‑term vision for addressing all these challenges.
The event provided an opportunity for alumni to strengthen connections among GMF leadership programs and continue contributing to policy‑relevant dialogue at a time when informed leadership and trusted networks remain essential.
2025 Marshall Seminar, Detroit, USA
At the 2025 Marshall Seminar in Detroit, over 80 GMF Leadership Programs alumni from across the United States and Europe gathered to explore what it will take to strengthen the transatlantic partnership for the next generation.
Through candid dialogue and collaborative problem-solving, the 2025 Marshall Seminar participants identified five core ideas to renew democracy, belonging, and leadership for the 21st century.
At a glance:
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Move Beyond Complacency to Rebuild a Shared Vision
Alumni emphasized that post–Cold War optimism led to a false sense of security about democracy’s endurance. Renewing the partnership requires teaching democratic values, strengthening civic networks, and building a forward-looking strategy to confront today’s geopolitical challenges.
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Treat Migration as a Systemic Opportunity
Rather than viewing migration as a crisis, participants reframed it as a catalyst for redesigning systems around belonging. Speakers underscored that immigrant leadership is essential to democratic renewal and that pragmatic pathways for labor, representation, and civic inclusion are central to resilient societies.
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Learn From the Midwest’s Model of Transformation
Detroit, along with other heartland cities like Cleveland and Chicago, demonstrated how place-based renewal emerges through honest assessment, public-private partnerships, cultural investment, and networked collaboration. These cities offered a blueprint for how local actors can drive democratic resilience and inclusive growth.
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Build a Faster, More Inclusive Transatlantic Economy
To remain competitive, the transatlantic community must make decisions with greater speed and align strategies across markets. Participants stressed the importance of innovation, people-centered investment, and coordinated responses to disinformation, protectionism, and economic fragmentation.
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Activate the GMF Network Through Ground-Up Engagement
Alumni highlighted the power of GMF’s 4,000-strong network to drive change locally. Strengthening ties with cities, community organizations, and civic actors—and turning connections into collective action—will be essential to renewing the transatlantic relationship in an era of democratic stress.
Read the full 2025 Marshall Seminar read out here.
Alumni Opportunities (Currently Being Updated)
If you have any questions, please direct them to [email protected].