Brussels Forum Session: Opening Dinner: A Shared Cause, A Meal Shared—Voices from the Region

Daria Chekalova is deputy head of Divchata-NGO Girls and has worked in the sphere of women’s, girls’, and children’s rights for four years. Her previous experience includes managing campaigns to raise awareness of key issues and supporting projects that aim to improve children’s digital literacy and prevent sexual abuse online. 

At NGO Girls, Chekalova leads several humanitarian response projects and is responsible for grantwriting, business development, and partnership communications. She is passionate about developing the NGO's capacity and visibility, along with that of other local grassroots organizations, and advocating for women and children. 

Chekalova obtained a bachelor's degree in linguistics from the Kyiv National Linguistics University and a master's degree in international communications from the Kyiv Shevchenko National University.

Louis Savoia is a program coordinator for the Alliance for Securing Democracy at GMF, where he serves as the lead author of the program's weekly newsletter, the Securing Democracy Dispatch.

Savoia holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from American University’s School of International Service. His studies focused on the EU and NATO, US foreign policy, and democratic governance. His capstone project investigated patterns of hostage-taking by US adversaries, and he was among a team that presented their research to the White House special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. He spent a semester studying European affairs in Brussels.