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Brussels Forum Session: Democracy on the Line: A Response

Steven Erlanger is the chief diplomatic correspondent for Europe for The New York Times, based in Berlin. Erlanger was previously the bureau chief in Brussels, London, Paris, Jerusalem, Berlin, Prague, Belgrade, Moscow, and Bangkok. He also served as the newspaper’s editor of cultural news from 2002 to 2004 and as the chief diplomatic correspondent in Washington, from 1996 to 1999. Before coming to The Times, he worked for The Boston Globe for 11 years as European correspondent based in London from 1983-87. Erlanger shared the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for a series on Russia and shared another for Explanatory Reporting for a series on Al Qaeda awarded in 2002. He won ASNE's 2001 Jesse Laventhol prize for deadline reporting for his work in the former Yugoslavia and the German Marshall Fund's Peter Weitz Prize in 2000. Erlanger was awarded the 2005 Eliav-Sartawi Award for Middle East journalism. In 2013, France made him a chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur. Erlanger graduated from Harvard College in 1974 and studied Russian at St. Antony's College, Oxford. 

Brussels Forum Session: A New Global Order—Part I & II

Henry Foy is the Brussels bureau chief for the Financial Times (FT), overseeing coverage of EU affairs and managing a team of correspondents reporting on European politics and policy. He is also the lead writer for Europe Express, the FT’s weekday newsletter on European affairs. With over a decade of experience, Foy served previously as the Moscow Bureau Chief. In that role,  he interviewed President Vladimir Putin and analyzed his regime's descent into repression. Before that, he was the European diplomatic correspondent and the Central Europe correspondent based in Warsaw, covering Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, and the wider CEE region. Foy began his career as a reporter for Reuters in New Delhi and Mumbai. His expertise in the political, economic, and business sectors allows him to offer a global perspective on Europe's rapidly evolving landscape. 

Subigya Basnet is GMF’s senior multimedia manager. Specializing in video production, podcast development, and innovative storytelling, he has more than a decade of experience creating impactful multimedia content. He has led projects to their successful completion by leveraging generative AI technologies and using engaging content to explain complex ideas to a wide range of audiences.

Prior to joining GMF, Basnet created multimedia content for variety of companies in the online education, technology, and nonprofit sectors in India, Nepal, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Basnet is one of the creators of the award-winning short film “Rendezvous with Mars”. He holds a master’s degree in Integrated Digital Media from New York University.

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.

Brussels Forum Session: NATO at 75: Past, Present, Future – Part II

Lord (George) Robertson of Port Ellen was NATO's tenth secretary general from 1999 to 2003 and UK secretary of state for defence from 1997 to 1999. During his time at NATO, he announced the invoking of Article 5, the self-defense guarantee, for the first time in the alliance’s history.

Robertson was a member of the British House of Commons for 21 years and a member of the UK shadow cabinet from 1993 to 1997. He was named joint parliamentarian of the year in 1992 and appointed to the House of Lords in 1999. He was chief opposition spokesman on Europe for nine years.

Robertson is now chancellor of the University of Dundee; a senior counsellor with the Washington, DC-based consultancy, The Cohen Group; vice patron of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo; and a senior adviser with BP and 5654 & Company, a consultancy. He is also a special adviser to Chatham House and is on the boards of the Centre for European Reform, Trinity House, and the British Forces Foundation. He serves on the Atlantic Council’s international advisory board and is co-chair of the Responsible Energy Forum.

Robertson’s previous positions include deputy chairman of Cable and Wireless and, in Russia, TNK-BP. He was also chairman of Western Ferries and the FIA Foundation. He has held non-executive directorships with the Weir Group, Smiths Group, and Monaco Telecom.  

 Robertson’s international honors include being one of the 16 Knights of the Order of the Thistle and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. He is among the few non-Americans to have received the highest US civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

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

US Representative Chrissy Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, engineer, entrepreneur, and educator who is now the first woman to represent Pennsylvania's 6th District in Congress. She is a former member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee 

Houlahan has helped lead several thriving southeastern Pennsylvania companies including AND1, a basketball apparel company, and B Lab, the organization that launched the B Corporation movement. She went on to serve in Teach for America as a chemistry teacher in North Philadelphia and then led a nonprofit helping thousands of underserved students across the United States build literacy skills.  

While serving in Congress, Houlahan has been awarded the Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award, presented by the US Chamber of Commerce to honor lawmakers for their work supporting a free enterprise system, and three Congressional Management Foundation Democracy awards for outstanding achievement in transparency and accountability, constituent services, and workplace environment. She is the first member of Congress to win in two categories in a single congressional term.  

Houlahan holds an engineering degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree in technology and policy from MIT.

Brussels Forum Session: The Economic Counteroffensive: Rebuilding Ukraine

Valentyna Shulimborska is COO at Ro3kvit, a coalition of more than 100 professionals from Ukraine and other countries who create knowledge and methodologies for the rebuilding of Ukraine’s urban and rural landscapes and infrastructure.  

Shulimborska is a program and project manager with extensive experience in leading large-scale transformational projects in manufacturing and supply chains. Her background includes managing geographically dispersed stakeholders of various cultures and seniority.