Organizers

Guilherme Cruz (Harvard Business School, Co-President European Club) is a MBA candidate at Harvard Business School (HBS) and current co-President of the European Club at HBS. Before HBS, Guilherme worked at McKinsey & Company and Facebook, in Europe and Latin America. Originally from Portugal, Guilherme holds a Bachelors degree in Economics from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, and a Masters in Economics from University College London, UK.

Ilke Kiral (Harvard Kennedy School, Co-President European Club) is an MPA candidate from Stuttgart, Germany. At Harvard Kennedy School, Ilke concentrates on immigration policies and public sector management. She holds a Master’s degree in political science and Middle Eastern studies from the University of Heidelberg and a Diplôme du Programme International from Sciences Po Paris. Prior to Harvard, Ilke worked as a desk officer in the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany and as a political consultant in the fields of integration and immigration supporting local municipalities.

Spyros Michas (Harvard Kennedy School, Co-President European Club) is a dual-degree candidate pursuing an MPA (Econ) from Harvard and an MBA (Finance) from the Wharton School, UPenn. Spyros has worked as a teaching fellow at HKS and as a researcher at Harvard’s Center for International Development. Prior to Harvard, Spyros was a director economist in Fitch’s Sovereign team in London, where he led the macroeconomic analysis of select European sovereigns. He was previously part of Barclays’ quantitative analyst program in London and recently interned at the World Bank in DC. Spyros is a CFA charterholder. Upon graduation, he will be joining PIMCO in California as a portfolio manager focusing on global macro and fixed income investing.

Nikolas Ott (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Co-President European Affairs Society) is a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where he studies public international law and international security studies with a focus on the role of legal norms in reducing conflict cyberspace. This past summer he was a trainee at the Delegation of European Union to the United States in Washington, D.C. He is originally from Germany, where he graduated from the Freie Universität Berlin with a degree in Political Science. Prior to Fletcher, Nikolas worked as a Research Associate for Professor Helmut Anheier at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.

Alexandra-Maria Bocse is a Fellow on Transatlantic Relations at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University and a Fulbright-Schuman Grantee. Alexandra is also the coordinator of the European Centre, Cambridge and in the last stages of completing a PhD here. She received an MPhil in International Relations from POLIS in 2011 after graduating from the University of Bucharest with a BA in Political Science in 2009. Alexandra is a member of Trinity College. Her research interests are related to the European Union, Eastern Europe, international and regional governance, policy networks and energy security. She is currently conducting research at Harvard on EU energy policy and EU-US interactions in the field of energy.

Miranda Bogen is a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she focuses on international technology policy and international business strategy with a focus on how global technology corporations navigate undefined and evolving policy spaces. She was a 2015 Google Policy Fellow at the Internet Education Foundation, and is a fellow at the Internet Law & Policy Foundry. Miranda graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with degrees in Political Science and Middle Eastern & North African Studies.

Mattea Cumoletti is a first year Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, focusing on human security and issues of forced migration. She was a 2012-13 Fulbright Scholar in Southern Italy and most recently worked with refugees at the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants Field Office in Albany, NY. Mattea graduated summa cum laude in History and Anthropology from College of the Holy Cross in 2012.

Clark Frye is a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, focusing on transatlantic security and nuclear and cyberweapons. Prior to his studies at Fletcher, Clark worked on quantitative and demographic analysis at the University of Michigan and specialized in Russian and Eastern European studies.

Mike Girling is a mid-career Master’s of International Affairs candidate at the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy. With a background in communications and countering violent extremism, his areas of study include conflict studies, counter-terrorism and applied approaches to social change. Mike has worked for the UK Foreign Office in Islamabad, the communications consultancy Brunswick and served as the press officer to Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg in Westminster. He holds a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford.

Clare E. Kelly is pursuing a Masters of Laws degree (LL.M.) at Harvard Law School. She is exploring Alternative Dispute Resolution and the future of the legal profession. Clare came straight to Harvard from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, where she graduated top of her class in Law and Political Science. She spent the third year of her undergraduate studies on an Erasmus at Institut d’études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), France, completing the year summa cum laude. In Fall 2016 Clare is excited to be moving to Brussels, Belgium, to work with an American law firm in EU and competition law.

Margareta Klincic is a second year MBA student at Harvard Business School originally from Zagreb, Croatia. At HBS Margareta focuses on macroeconomics, international trade and emerging markets in specific. This year she is also co-chairing Venture Capital and Private Equity Conference. She graduated summa cum laude from University of Zagreb with bachelor’s and master’s degree in Computer Science. Prior to HBS, Margareta worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Company, and spent this past summer working for a startup foodora in Berlin and Goldman Sachs in London. Europe will always be home and Margareta is excited to go back and help deliver sustainable growth after finishing her studies in Boston.

Johannes Laepple is an MPA Candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. He worked for eight years as a parliamentary advisor within the Socialists and Democrats Political Group in the European Parliament in Brussels, in particular on transport policy, industrial policy and international trade.

 

Rafael Loss is a Master’s candidate in international affairs and Fulbright scholar at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, studying international security and international relations theory. He also conducts research on conflict escalation for The Fletcher School’s International Security Studies Program. Prior to his graduate studies he worked for the Committee on Foreign Relations of the German Bundestag, the German Green Party’s Co-Chairman, and the German Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

Cian McCarthy is Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where he specialises in International Organizations and International Communication. His studies are focused on the effects of international organizations and bilateral diplomatic relations between countries, and specifically the integration effects of the EU. He is from Ireland, where he got his degree in Philosophy and Economics and Trinity College Dublin, before spending two years in Japan, on the JET Program.

Tamta Otiashvili is a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. Her fields of study are human security and governance and policy analysis. Before graduate studies Tamta was working at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Georgia Office between 2008 and 2014. Within her work at NDI, she managed the process of conducting rounds of national surveys measuring public opinion on citizen attitudes towards political process, issue priorities, integrity of the election process, new and emerging political parties and alliances, civic participation, and perceptions of gender equality. She also designed, organized and delivered trainings on various topics to political parties, NGOs and media representatives.

Samuel Parsons is a Masters of Laws (LL.M.) candidate at Harvard Law School, having graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA in Music and completed the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) at City University, London. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2015 by Gray’s Inn, and looks forward to beginning pupillage at a set of commercial chambers in London in October 2016.

Andre Rocha is a first year MBA student at Harvard Business School, where he is currently Director of VC of the Tech Club. Prior to HBS, Andre worked at The Boston Consulting Group in Angola and before that was part of the founding team of ZALORA Philippines – a Rocket Internet venture. Originally from Portugal, Andre holds a BSc in Economics from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, and a MSc in International Management from Bocconi University, Italy.

Hanna Rudorf is a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate student at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, concentrating on European affairs, U.S. foreign policy, and international security. Since May 2012, she has been working as the Press and Public Affairs Officer at the German Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Boston, MA. Hanna graduated summa cum laude from Emerson College with degrees in Political Communication and Broadcast Journalism.

Monica M. Ruiz is a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at The Fletcher School. Her fields of study are international security studies and conflict resolution/ negotiations. Currently, she is conducting research on Russia’s evolution of military strategies and the challenges hybrid warfare presents in 21st century security. Prior to her graduate studies, she worked at the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) in the J9 Partnering Directorate as a Public Private Coordinator.

Vasiliki Sergianni is a Master of Arts candidate and an Andreas David scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Her focus is on security studies and her areas of study include terrorism and counterterrorism, underground finance, crisis management and international law. Vasiliki got her first Bachelor’s degree from the Hellenic Police Officer’s Academy and is currently working towards her second Bachelor’s in the School of Law of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She is an active duty Police Major in the Security Directorate of Attica specializing in international organized criminal groups that commit crimes against property in Greece.

Yutong Shan is a PhD candidate in astronomy at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Her research topics include observational studies of low-mass binary stars and astrobiology, and she enjoys journeying to telescopes located in idyllic, remote parts of the Earth. Apart from her academic pursuits and her passion for teaching and science outreach, Yutong is keenly interested in issues concerning Europe and in promoting European values. Several times a tourist there, she hopes to one day contribute to European society. Yutong hails from Toronto, Canada, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in astrophysics from Queen’s University.

Maja Šoštarić is currently a second-year Master in Public Administration (MPA) candidate at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), focusing on finance, investment techniques and social finance. She is Co-President of the HKS Finance and Macro Professional Council, having co-chaired the HBS-HKS Finance Conference in October 2015. Upon graduation, she would like to work in investment management. Originally from the newest EU-member state, Croatia, Maja obtained her PhD in Political Science/Political Economy from University of Vienna (with research stays in Paris and Osaka), her postgraduate Diploma in International Studies at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, and her MA in Economics from Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Maja is currently working as research assistant at Harvard and is also a CFA candidate, with particular interest in data analysis and FinTech. Previously, Maja worked as a Croatian diplomatic official with the OSCE, as well as a project manager with several international non-profits. Furthermore, Maja spent summer 2015 in South East Asia, authoring a white paper on impact investing in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Tamer Teker is an MPP candidate from Duisburg, Germany. At the Harvard Kennedy School, he focuses on energy and environmental policies with a specific focus on the implementation of renewable energies in existing electricity infrastructures. Prior to Harvard Kennedy School, Tamer was a DAAD Scholar at Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and a Research Assistant and Project Manager for the Solar Turbine Group International, an international MIT­-based NGO that manufactures small-scale autonomous energy systems to increase energy access in developing countries.

Joelle Thomas is a second year MPP student studying energy policy at the Kennedy School. She is passionate about climate change, the arts, and travel. Before the Kennedy School, Joelle supported USAID projects in the Middle East and North Africa during the Arab Uprisings. She spent this past summer working in Paris at the International Energy Agency, and recently returned to Paris for the Conference of Parties (COP21) climate negotiations. In another life, Joelle is also an actor and singer.

Georgios Tritsaris is a research associate at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, where he uses computational modeling and simulation to accelerate the development of advanced materials for emerging energy technologies. He is a physicist by training with international experience in capacity building for nanotechnology research and development. When he is not designing novel materials, he may be found mapping national research output for informing science, technology and innovation policy.

Emilie Valentova is a 2^nd year MBA student at Harvard Business School where she focuses on digital strategy and leadership. She is also a Teaching Fellow in Economics at Harvard University. She worked for McKinsey & Company and for the Government of the Czech Republic. Emilie is excited to go back to Europe after finishing her studies to help the continent pursue new growth opportunities.

Geoffrey Wright is a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and an Army War College Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and has extensive military service in Europe, most recently serving as a military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia (2012-2015). He has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s Degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from Harvard University.

Hugo Zylberberg is a Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government after concentrating on Economics and Computer Sciences at the Ecole polytechnique. He currently studies cyber security, Internet governance and power in cyberspace between the technology and policy worlds. This multi­disciplinary approach enables him to think about the political and social consequences of new technologies that fundamentally transform the way we live.