English

Hannah Abdullah is a senior fellow with the GMF Cities program, leading its work on sustainable urban development and local climate resilience. She heads GMF’s Transatlantic Forum for Nature and Environment (TAFNE) and the Ukraine Cities Partnership for Sustainable Local Recovery (UCP), initiatives that foster cooperation among local leaders, communities, businesses, and experts across Europe and North America.

Before joining GMF, she was a senior research fellow for the Global Cities Program of CIDOB–Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, where she led the program’s research and other activities on urban climate action in close collaboration with Barcelona City Council. She also served as a program officer for the New York office of the Goethe-Institut, Germany’s cultural agency.

Hannah Abdullah holds a master's degree and a PhD in sociology from the London School of Economics (LSE). She has held research, teaching, and lecturing positions at LSE and at the University of Dresden, the University of Leipzig, and Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.

Parker L. Nash is GMF’s government relations specialist. He manages the organization’s security and defense policy engagement with the US Congress on Capitol Hill and spearheads GMF's state-level work with US policymakers outside Washington, DC, engaging with local officials nationwide through transatlantic study tours, public diplomacy initiatives, and policy work, including the Across America initiative.

Nash previously served as a senior program coordinator for Transatlantic Security, helping to manage programs focused on geostrategic issues facing Northern Europe, the Baltic States, and the Arctic. He also contributed to the workstream’s research portfolio. His policy and research interests include transatlantic defense cooperation, NATO’s role in the Nordic-Baltic region, and US-German relations.

Nash holds a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, a master’s degree in international affairs from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Findlay.

Simone Mangili is a visiting fellow in GMF’s Cities program. As executive director of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA), Mangili leads CNCA’s strategic development and initiatives aimed at supporting member cities in driving innovation and setting the course for climate-neutral cities worldwide. Mangili has over 20 years of experience across local government, nonprofits, and the private sector, having worked widely in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East on a broad range of initiatives aimed at securing just and climate-positive futures. He works with cities, stakeholders, and communities at the nexus of climate change and sustainability with an emphasis on social equity and regenerative approaches.

Prior to joining CNCA, Mangili served as aide to the mayor of Torino, Italy, and aide to the deputy mayor for environment and sustainability. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing strategic planning projects requiring cross-sector collaboration and for developing policy and delivering projects to realize an ambitious sustainability agenda for the 21st century. Prior to joining the mayor’s team, Mangili was head of projects and operations at Torino Internazionale, where he managed metropolitan strategic planning processes including the development of the metropolitan area’s strategic plan, Torino Metropoli 2025. His international experience ranges from real estate consulting and development management to designing public engagement processes to building private-public partnerships for the development of green infrastructure. In addition to his professional experience, Mangili has served as traveling faculty in World Learning’s Cities in the 21st Century study abroad program and developed World Learning’s Rethinking Food Security program. He is an external lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Turin in territorial and environmental planning. Mangili holds a bachelor's degree in community, regional and environmental studies from Bard College and a master's degree in regional planning from Cornell University.

Jessica is a guest writer for GMFUS. 

Sonet Schutte is an operations assistant based in GMF's Berlin office.

Henri-Paul Normandin is a Canadian diplomat who served as Ambassador to Haiti and as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He has engaged in diplomacy and international development for nearly 40 years, with pioneering work in democracy, human rights, and governance. He worked for several years in China and has managed a portfolio of programs in Africa, the Americas, and Southeast Asia across a wide range of areas from peacekeeping to the environment. More recently, he spearheaded the advancement of urban diplomacy at the City of Montréal. Normandin is currently a Fellow at the Institut d’études internationales de Montréal and a Visiting Fellow at Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from McGill University and served as a legal aid lawyer in Québec. He also holds a Master’s degree in political science (international relations) from University of Ottawa.