YPS Speakers 2019

Sophie Arts is the program coordinator for security and defense policy (SDP) at The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) in Washington, DC. In that role, she manages GMF’s security and defense programming and Washington-based convening. She also supports SDP’s research and publication portfolio and helps coordinate her team’s external communications. Her research focuses on transatlantic security cooperation within and outside of NATO. Originally from Germany, she holds an M.A. in American Studies with a focus on U.S. foreign policy and political communication from Humboldt University in Berlin, as well as a B.A. in English and modern history from the University of Freiburg. As part of her program, she spent two years studying at the University of Virginia and at Connecticut College. Prior to joining GMF’s Washington office, Arts worked as a research assistant at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, where she helped produce President and CEO Fred Kempe’s Inflection Points, and as a trainee in GMF’s Brussels Office, where she assisted with the organization of GMF’s flagship conference Brussels Forum. She has a background in political journalism, writing for Spiegel Online International, and preparing news briefs for the European Commission as part of her work for the media-monitoring agency Kantar Media.

Ali Aslan is a Berlin-based international TV presenter and journalist with over 20 years experience as a talk show host, news anchor, correspondent and moderator. His journalistic career spans three continents and includes work for CNN in Washington DC, ABC News in New York, Channel News Asia in Istanbul and Deutsche Welle TV in Berlin. An experienced TV anchor, Aslan hosted the international talk show ”Quadriga” on DW which reached 200 countries and 90 million viewers each week. Aslan regularly moderates and emcees high-level international conferences and events around the world and has shared the stage with top world leaders and personalities, among others, Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau, Bill Clinton, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Sergey Lavrov, Christine Lagarde, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Vicente Fox, Madeleine Albright, King Felipe VI of Spain, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, will.i.am, Jane Goodall, and Melinda Gates. Aslan studied international affairs and journalism at Columbia University and international politics at Georgetown University. He is a fellow of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and a member of the Körber Network Foreign Policy and the Global Diplomacy Lab. Aslan has been named a ”young leader” by the BMW Foundation, the American Council on Germany, the Munich Security Conference, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Bertelsmann Foundation, and the Atlantik-Brücke.

Laura Blumenfeld is a best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Senior Fellow at The Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. She previously served in the U.S. State Department as senior policy advisor for the Middle East Peace Process. Blumenfeld spent two decades as a reporter for the Washington Post, covering the Middle East, national security, and presidential politics; she has also been a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund and a public policy fellow at the Wilson Center. She is the author of Revenge: A Story of Hope (2002), a global study of the dynamics of revenge and an account of her search for the Palestinian terrorist who shot her father. Blumenfeld holds a Bachelor's Degree from Harvard University and a master's degree from Columbia University.

Laura Brent has held cyber policy roles in both the public and private sectors. Currently, she is a cyber defense officer on the NATO International Staff, where she helps develop and implement cyber policy on behalf of the Alliance. Previously, as a manager at EY, Brent conducted cybercrime investigations and assessed clients’ cybersecurity programs and maturity. Prior to EY, Laura served at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, working on a broad range of security issues including cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection.

Inge Diels was appointed a member of the Deloitte Belgium Executive Committee in June 2019, as Chief Talent Officer, a role she took on in January 2016. Inge is committed to making Deloitte a simply irresistible organization that makes an impact that matters every day on our clients, our people, and on society. An organization where our diverse network of talented people challenge, strengthen, and inspire each other in a positive and supportive atmosphere. Inge endeavors to create a workplace where everyone feels able to be their authentic self - to have a voice, and be respected, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality or any other characteristic. Deloitte invests in its people’s personal development, their wellbeing, and their professional growth, and provides them with flexibility, autonomy, and opportunities to achieve their full potential. Prior to becoming Chief Talent Officer, Inge held various HR-related roles with Deloitte, both in client service as an internal role. As a Human Capital consultant, she managed complex projects both in the public sector as well as the pharmaceutical sector. She also worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, IBM, and Adecco Interim. Since 2014, Inge teaches ‘Introduction to advanced HR processes’ at University Colleges Leuven-Limburg (UCLL). Inge is MBTI, Business Chemistry and ICF certified. In addition to her native Dutch, Inge is fluent in French and English.

Kimberly Dozier is a CNN global affairs analyst and contributor to The Daily Beast. Dozier covered intelligence for the AP from 2010 to 2014, after 17 years as an award-winning CBS News correspondent.She has covered the Iraq and Afghan wars, conflict and peacemaking from the Middle East to Northern Ireland, and the national security policy of Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. She covered the Iraq war for CBS News from 2003, until being wounded in a car bombing in 2006. She recounts the attack, the loss of her team, and her months-long recovery in a best-selling memoir, Breathing the Fire: Fighting to Survive and Get Back to the Fight. She was also the first journalist and first woman to hold the Gen. Omar Bradley Chair at the U.S. Army War College.

Kimberly Marteau Emerson is a lawyer, advocate and civic leader in the fields of public service, international affairs, and social justice. She has served in the federal government (Presidential appointee), in the entertainment industry, and in leadership positions on multiple boards.  From 2013 - 2017, she lived in Berlin with her husband, U.S. Ambassador to Germany John B. Emerson (ret.), where she worked both with the U.S. Embassy as well as independently to drive projects on multiple platforms, including the promotion of German immigration and integration efforts related to the 2015/2016 refugee crisis; and addressing the issue throughout Germany of bringing women to the economic and political decision-making table. She is currently writing a memoir about her experiences there. Emerson worked in the Clinton Administration as a senior political appointee and spokesperson for the U.S. Information Agency (now housed in the State Department). She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch, the Advisory Board of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy.  She is a founding member of the Transatlantic Advisory Board of United Way in Germany, a member of the Board of Governors of Bard College Berlin, the Advisory Boards of the Thomas Mann House and KCRW-Berlin, and divides her time between LA and Germany. She has been an election observer in Nigeria and worked on relief projects in Lesbos, Greece, during the 2015 refugee crisis, Sri Lanka post-tsunami and New Orleans post-Katrina. Emerson has been deeply active in U.S. Presidential politics and helped many Democratic candidates on the local, state, and federal level. She has also received several awards for her civic engagement. Previously, Emerson practiced law with Tuttle & Taylor and worked in Hollywood as a business and creative executive with Savoy Pictures and Sony Entertainment. She holds degrees from UCLA (B.A.), UC Hastings College of the Law ( J.D.) and l’Université de Droit d’Aix-Marseille (D.E.S.U.).

John Frank, as the Vice President, European Union Government Affairs, Microsoft, is leading the company’s efforts to advance a public policy environment for cloud computing that will allow every European to take advantage of the digital revolution. Previously, he worked as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, leading the Digital Trust and Security group. This encompassed the Law Enforcement and National Security team, the Digital Crimes Unit, the Industry Affairs group, and the Competition Law, Privacy and Government Contract Compliance teams. Frank joined Microsoft in August 1994, starting in the Paris office. His responsibilities included working on competition law matters with the European Commission and national governments, software licensing, copyright law, and regulatory policy for the Internet. Prior to joining Microsoft, he practiced law in San Francisco with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Frank received his A.B. degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and his J.D. from Columbia Law School. He is also active in the international arts community.

Justin Gest is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. He studies immigration and the politics of demographic change. He is the author of four books: Apart: Alienated and Engaged Muslims in the West (Oxford University Press/Hurst 2010); The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality (Oxford University Press 2016); The White Working Class: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press 2018); and Crossroads: Comparative Immigration Regimes in a World of Demographic Change (Cambridge University Press 2018). He has authored peer-reviewed articles in journals including Comparative Political Studies, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and the International Migration Review. He has also provided reporting or commentary for BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, NPR, The New York Times, Politico, Reuters, Vox, and The Washington Post. Gest received the 2014 Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize, Harvard’s highest award for faculty teaching. In 2013, he received the 2013 Star Family Prize for Student Advising, Harvard’s highest award for student advising. In 2007, he co-founded the Migration Studies Unit at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Lindsay Gorman is the Fellow for Emerging Technologies at the Alliance for Securing Democracy. Before joining GMF, she ran a technology consulting firm, Politech Advisory, working with start-up companies and venture capital firms in artificial intelligence and FinTech. She was also an adjunct fellow in CSIS’s Technology Policy Program. Gorman built her policy career in the Office of U.S. Senator Mark Warner, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to bipartisan legislation, she crafted policy guidance on cybersecurity and cyberwarfare, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, FinTech and financial regulation, artificial intelligence, disease surveillance, advanced manufacturing, and the internet of things. At the National Academy of Sciences, she supported the Committee on International Security and Arms Control in track II nuclear and cyber security dialogues with Chinese and Russian experts. Gorman’s technical expertise lies in artificial intelligence, statistical machine learning, and quantum materials. She has published a Nature Physics paper on topological insulators and programmed AI systems for a self-driving car in the DARPA Urban Challenge. Gorman holds an A.B. in physics from Princeton University, where she graduated magna cum laude and an M.S. in applied physics from Stanford University.

Jeffrey A. Gullo is an advisor in AARP’s policy, research, and international department. He joined the organization’s international team in 2014, responsible for diplomatic outreach and management of AARP’s international visitor program. His current work focuses on savings and planning, as well as workforce and employment issues. Gullo serves as an editor of AARP The Journal, an award-winning international publication that highlights key topics related to global population aging. He also manages AARP’s relationship with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including collaborative research, where years-long engagement has helped to elevate and reframe the issue of longevity. In his role, Gullo has worked closely with AARP’s executive team, including its chief executive officer, to identify and facilitate international engagement opportunities. Before joining AARP, Gullo served as assistant director in the Washington program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where he worked from 2008 to 2014.

Alexandra Ioan is a young professional and researcher focusing on the development of effective civil society organizations and governance processes. She completed her Ph.D. in Governance at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin in 2018 and leads the Learning and Action Center at Ashoka Germany. Originally from Romania, Ioan has extensive experience in program and organization development in civil society – working with organizations like the New Horizons Foundation, Hertie Foundation, Ashoka, Diaspora Civică Berlin. She also focuses on translating research findings into concrete policy action, through EU-funded projects like SEFORÏS or the Rethink. CEE Fellowship of The German Marshall Fund of the United States. Alexandra holds degrees from the Hertie School of Governance, the University of Bucharest and the National School of Public Administration and Political Studies in Romania. She conducted research at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, Stanford University.

Rikard Jozwiak is the Brussels Correspondent for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). RFE/RL is an American media organization broadcasting news in 21 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established such as Belarus, Iran, and Russia. Jozwiak has been responsible for daily reporting from the EU institutions and NATO about the latest political developments for the last nine years. Prior to joining RFE/RL, he worked as the press officer at the EU office of Amnesty International and as a reporter for European Voice covering EU affairs. Jozwiak has an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Lund, Sweden and an M.A. in European politics from the College of Europe. He speaks English, French, Polish, and Swedish.

Richard Lui has been an MSNBC dayside anchor since September 2010.  He has anchored some of the network’s major breaking stories, including the 2011 debt-ceiling debate, the Arab Spring, and the deficit super committee failure.  His daily reports have included the Tea Party movement, candidates’ social media strategies, and the link of unemployment to electability. Before joining MSNBC, Lui spent five years at CNN Worldwide, most recently with CNN Headline News as the solo anchor of the 10 a.m. hour of “Morning Express.” He led the network’s morning political reporting throughout the 2008 presidential election. Lui occasionally is a guest on political talk shows The Bill Press Show and The Stephanie Miller Show. Lui’s passion for politics started in the 70s, debating California’s controversial Proposition 13 on bus rides to school.  That interest turned into a job at the age of 19:  campaign manager for San Francisco College Board incumbent Alan Wong.  After the election, Lui returned to college.  His plan was to write on policy and the affairs of state, subscribing to the Washington Post when it had to be mailed to the west coast. In the 1990s, Lui reported for news radio KALX during a unique time in California politics.  He was assigned to stories including Dianne Feinstein’s first successful U.S. Senate campaign and the Rodney King verdict and riots. Later in the 2000s, Lui reported from Asia during an increasingly heated political climate.  Two Muslim countries in Southeast Asia transformed:  Indonesia’s Sukarno family was defeated after rule spanning over half a century; and Malaysia’s prime minister, after almost a quarter of a century handed over power.  Lui also reported on Taiwan’s controversial election between pro- and anti- China political parties. He was at Channel NewsAsia, an English-only news network in 20 countries and territories. In addition to his political and journalism work, Lui spent 15 years in business working in consulting, manufacturing, food and beverage, and environmental industries.  During the late 1990s, Lui worked with several new technology businesses in Northern California.  Most recently he co-founded the first bank-centric payment system for which he holds a patent. He also worked for firms including Citibank, and Mercer Management Consulting in New York. Lui has spent 25 years in community service in Africa, Asia, and the United States, volunteering for organizations like the United States Capitol Historical Society, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, and APIA Vote. Lui attended UC Berkeley majoring in the political economy of industrial society, later graduating with a BA in Rhetoric.  He received his MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and is enrolled at Stanford University in its program in International Security.

Bee Nguyen currently serves as a Georgia State Representative.   In 2017, she served as Chief-of-Staff for Democrat Representative Sam Park under the Gold Dome, where she drafted legislative resolutions, tracked legislation, and developed policy recommendations.  In 2016, Nguyen served on the host committee for the national Facing Race conference, where she helped curate a bus tour and worked with high school teachers and undocumented students to put together a public art exhibition on Buford Highway, highlighting the importance of cultural identity.  In 2015, as a fellow with the Georgia Women’s Policy Institute, Nguyen lobbied to pass the Pursuing Justice for Rape Victims Act.   Since its passage, thousands of untested rape kits have been tested and DNA matches have been made.   Born to Vietnamese refugee parents, Nguyen is also a member of the Atlanta Regional Commission advisory board, where she fights for quality education for all.

Danielle Piatkiewicz is a senior program coordinator for The German Marshall Fund of the United States’ (GMF) Asia and the Future of Geopolitics programs. In these roles, she is responsible for managing and coordinating the Asia program’s portfolio on U.S. and EU relations with China, Japan and India on economic, trade, security and defense issues. In addition, she manages the Future of Geopolitics program, which examines the emerging challenges to the liberal international order through convening and research to explain current political and societal trends in the United States to Europe. She works on various leadership development projects at GMF, including organizing the Young Transatlantic Network of Future Leaders, the Young Professionals Summit at GMF’s flagship event, the Brussels Forum and the previous Emerging Leaders program at Atlantic Dialogues. In addition, she was a 2018-2019 participant in AICGS’ project “A German-American Dialogue of the Next Generation: Global Responsibility, Joint Engagement.” Previously, she worked as a program assistant in GMF’s Wider Atlantic program in Brussels and program intern in Warsaw. Before joining GMF, she worked for the European Institute of Peace in Brussels (EIP) where she assisted with the logistical and operational set up of EIP as well as provided research and analysis on future peace mediation actors and regions. She holds an M.A. in international and political studies with a concentration in transatlantic studies from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. She received her B.A. in political science with an emphasis in international relations and a minor in German studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).

Christopher M. Schroeder is an American entrepreneur, advisor, and investor in interactive technologies and social media.  Schroeder is the co-founder and general partner of Next Billion Ventures which invests in and advises growth stage tech companies in rising markets.  Previously, he was the CEO and Publisher of washingtonpost.newsweek interactive and co-founder of the Silicon Valley venture capital-backed startup HealthCentral.com.  He is an investor in disruptive enterprises including Vox Media, Skift, iBotta, Zignal Labs, and the fin-tech enterprise in Africa Segovia among others.  He is also a limited partner in leading Silicon Valley venture capital funds and on the investment and advisory committees of top funds in the Middle East.  He is the author of the recent bestseller, and the first book on startups in the Arab World, Startup Rising -- The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East  -- with a foreword by Marc Andreessen.  He co-led the Economic Recovery and Revitalization working group of the Atlantic Council's Middle East Strategy Task Force, co-chaired by Madeleine Albright and Steve Hadley. Schroeder serves on the board of advisers of American University School of International Service, Endeavor Global, 500 Startups, the Global Entrepreneurship Network, 1776 venture capital fund and the boards of directors of the American University of Beirut, The German Marshall Fund and the American Council on Germany. He has written and speaks extensively on startups and innovation as well as emerging markets and the Middle East for The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Politico, Fast Company,  ReCode, TechCrunch, Business Insider, MIT Technology Review, among many others, and has been featured regularly on leading news shows.  He was named one of LinkedIn's first 50 Influencers.  He graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. 

Corina Stratulat is senior policy analyst and the head of the European Politics and Institutions Programme at the European Policy Centre (EPC). Her work at the EPC focuses on EU institutional developments and enlargement towards the Balkans. She holds an MPhil in Contemporary European Studies from the University of Cambridge, U.K., and a Ph.D. in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute, Italy. Her main research interests include comparative Central and East European politics, parties and party systems, elections, democracy, EU institutions, integration, and enlargement policy.

Aminata Touré is a Member of the Schleswig-Holstein Parliament in Germany.  She was sworn in on June 29, 2017, becoming the first black and the youngest female Member of the Schleswig-Holstein parliament. She is also a Spokeswoman for the Green Party for refugees and equality of women and men. She was born in 1992 in Germany as the child of two refugees from Mali.   Prior to coming to Parliament, she worked in the German Bundestag for two years.   She has a Bachelor‘s Degree in Political Science and French Philology.