Marshall Memorial Fellowship 2015-2016 Knud Brix Journalist Odense, Denmark TV2/Denmark Nationality: Denmark Knud Brix is a political correspondent at the Danish broadcaster TV 2. From the Danish Parliament he does live interviews and analysis on ongoing political stories. Prior to this, he served as a political correspondent for several major Danish newspapers. He graduated from the Danish School of Journalism in 2006 and has since completed a master’s in African Studies from The Centre for Africa Studies at The University of Copenhagen in 2014. His journalism career has taken Brix to Iraq, Burma, and several countries in Africa to report on international issues. Paula De Castro Bonilla Project Manager Barcelona, Spain Barcelona Centre for International Affairs Nationality: Spain Paula de Castro a project manager in the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB). She is currently the Project Manager of the Atlantic Future’s Project – a project funded by the EU’s 7th Framework Programme. Prior to this, she served as the assistant project manager of the initiative “The Northern Africa Security Continuum: The Dynamics of Instability and the Search for Effective Responses” co-directed by CIDOB and the Stimson Centre of Washington, DC. Her previous professional experience includes acting as an assistant analyst on political and security issues at Spain’s Ministry of Defense, in the Division of Strategic and Security Issues, where she was also a ministry representative at the European Union project about Open-Sources Intelligence (OSINT). She has also collaborated with the European Council on Foreign Relations in Madrid in the publication of the European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2014. Rokhaya Diallo Author & Filmmaker Paris, France Rok'n Prod Nationality: France Rokhaya Diallo is a French journalist, writer, and award-winning filmmaker. In 2007, she founded the INDIVISIBLES association that created the 'Y A BON AWARDS,’ an annual parody of the Academy Awards “honoring” French public personalities who made outrageous racist remarks during the year. She is a TV host, regularly contributes to radio RTL, and is a columnist and commentator appearing on several French TV channels. In 2013 Rokhaya directed and co-produced the documentary, The Steps to Liberty. In 2014 she produced the documentary, Networks of Hate, in response to tweets calling for her rape. She has authored several books including France belongs to Us, and How to talk to kids about racism (Le Baron Perche), and her first graphic novel, Paris d’Amies (Editions Delcourt). She describes her work as a comedy, loosely in the style of “Sex in The City,” about a diverse group of thirty-something friends living in Paris. Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation 1 Marshall Memorial Fellowship 2015-2016 Ömer Fazlioğlu Political Officer & Sector Manager Ankara, Turkey Delegation of the European Union to Turkey Nationality: Turkey Ömer Fazlıoğlu has worked at the European Union delegation to Turkey since 2011. He serves as the political officer in charge of public administration, anti-corruption, and security sectors. Prior to his service at the EU Delegation, he worked as a political analyst at Turkey's first interdisciplinary think-tank, the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV). Ömer holds a master’s degree in European Union studies and currently is a PhD student in Political Science at Bilkent University. His dissertation investigates power-sharing perspectives in Turkey's Kurdish problem. His recent co-authored works on Kurdish ethno- nationalism were published in the Nations and Nationalism journal. He's one of the founding partners of the "Kamuoyum Co." start up business (2014), which provides consulting and e- services to big organization with membership bases. He was capped for the Turkish national handball team in different age categories. Magdalena Gawrońska Chief of Staff Warsaw, Poland Community of Democracies Nationality: Poland Magdalena Gawrońska has served as the chief-of-staff to the secretary general of the Community of Democracies since July 2012. As a diplomat on secondment from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs she supports the secretary general in all areas of her activity including development and implementation of strategic plans, identification of critical areas of collaborative international projects with various stakeholders, formulation of proposals on initiatives, and advice on strategies for promoting and supporting democratization processes across the globe. Prior to her appointment as chief-of-staff, Magdalena served as a specialist for the Community of Democracies at the Department of the United Nations and Human Rights at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2009- 2012). During her professional career she also worked for the Council of Europe (2009), Boston Consulting Group (2008), and the Warsaw University of Technology Business School (2005-2007). Magdalena holds the title, Master of Economics, from Warsaw School of Economics. Stefania Kapronczay Executive Director Budapest, Hungary Hungarian Civil Liberties Union Nationality: Hungary Stefánia Kapronczay currently serves as the executive director of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, a position she has held since July, 2013). Kapronczay graduated cum laude from the faculty of law at ELTE as lawyer, and also completed a five-year master’s program in Sociology in 2010. Kapronczay started working at the HCLU in 2005 where she was the head of the patients’ rights program from March 2008 to August 2012. As program director Kapronczay lead HCLU's effort to stop restrictions on reproductive rights, criminalization of homelessness, and foster the rights of persons with disabilities. Between August 2012 and July 2013 she was a scholar at Stanford University, attending courses on human rights and public interest work, graduating as Master of Law. She was elected as the co-chair of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations in May, 2014. Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation 2 Marshall Memorial Fellowship 2015-2016 Lina Liakou Municipal Counselor Thessaloniki, Greece Municipality of Thessaloniki Nationality: Greece Lina Liakou is an elected councilor at the municipality of Thessaloniki appointed for issues of civic engagement. From 2015 she became chairman and managing director of the ‘Metropolitan Development Agency of Thessaloniki’ an intermunicipal legal entity that coordinates national and international research projects. Prior to this, Lina Liakou was responsible for the design and implementation of the participatory platform of the “REACTIVATE ATHENS / 101 IDEAS”, a research and design initiative of the ETH in Zürich and the Onassis Foundation. Her previous professional experience includes being an associate at the nonprofit organization “School of ARCHitecture for All” and co- founder of the architectural studio “URBAN3” in Athens. She is an architect and a PhD candidate in the department of Urban Planning at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Nezar Mahmoud Senior Manager, Business Model Development, Corporate Steering Frankfurt, Germany Deutsche Telekom Nationality: Germany Nezar Mahmoud is a senior manager for T-Systems in Frankfurt, Deutsche Telekom’s IT subsidiary. Within the corporate steering department he drives the development of digital business models and partnerships with startups. He is also a startup CEO and founder himself, having started Frimeo in 2014, a two-sided marketplace in the farm to table space, allowing consumers to connect directly with local food producers via an app. Prior to this, he advised various industry and government clients as a strategy consultant for A.T. Kearney in the Middle East. He obtained his master’s in Industrial Engineering from Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany in 2008 with a research appointment at the University of St. Gallen, and also spent time on exchange at the National University of Singapore. Nuno Martins Journalist Lisbon, Portugal Observador Nationality: Portugal Nuno Martins is a journalist for the Portuguese digital newspaper Observador, in Lisbon, Portugal, which he helped launch in May 2014. He started as an intern in the Portuguese News Agency, Lusa, where he worked his way through from the local news to the economics desk. Starting on the economics desk as the financial crisis was unfolding in the U.S., he moved up to cover the economic crisis in Portugal and Europe, following closely the bailout process. More recently, he has co-authored the book Segredos de Estado, with backroom first-hand details of the bailout negotiations. Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation 3 Marshall Memorial Fellowship 2015-2016 Saorlaith Ni Bhroin Executive Development Officer Dublin, Ireland Misean Cara Nationality: Ireland Saorlaith Ní Bhroin has six years’ experience in the human rights sector, nationally and internationally. She works as the executive development officer at Misean Cara, a development agency with an emphasis on education, health, livelihoods, and human rights. Prior to this role, Saorlaith worked in project management, communications, and policy at the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Tanzania, and Caritas Europa, Brussels. Holding two degrees, Law and French, and a master’s in Human Rights and Democratisation, her areas of expertise include asylum, integration, anti-trafficking, and migrant youth. Saorlaith is a regular public speaker and has authored a number of publications on integration. She is recognized