David J. Kramer, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, U.S. Undersecretary of State (2008-2009)
Since May 2009, David J. Kramer is a Senior Transatlantic Fellow on issues related to Russia/Eurasia and Wider Europe as well as democracy and human rights. Previously, he served more than eight years at the State Department in various capacities, most recently as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and before that as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State responsible for Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus affairs and nonproliferation issues. He also was Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy in Washington. Before joining the government, Mr. Kramer was a Senior Fellow at the Project for the New American Century, Associate Director of the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Assistant Director of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, all in Washington. Prior to moving to Washington, he was a Lecturer in Russian Studies at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts and a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University.
James Sherr, Head, Russia and Eurasia Program, Chatham House
James Sherr is a foreign and security policy expert on the Russian Federation and Ukraine, as well as NATO and EU enlargement. His research interests include security arrangements in the Black Sea region and energy relationship between Russia, Ukraine, and the EU. Prior to joining Chatham House, Mr. Sherr was a Fellow at the Advanced Research Group at the UK Defense Academy from 1995 to 2008. He was also a Lecturer in International Relations at Lincoln College at Oxford University.
Hanne Severinsen, Co-Rapporteur of the Monitor Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1995-2007)
After serving as Vice Chairwoman of the Danish Liberal Party, Mrs. Severinsen became a Member of and a Vice Chairwoman of the Liberal Group at the Council of Europe. From 1995 to 2007, she was Vice Chairwoman of the Council of Europe’s Monitor Committee and Chairwoman for the Danish Delegation, where she was a Co-Rapporteur on Ukraine. Since 1971, Mrs. Severinsen’s community involvement includes positions of Senior Teacher / Teacher at the Skjern Technical School, the Adult Education Center at Skjern, and Gentofte Upper Secondary School. She also served as Member of Copenhagen City Council from 1974 until 1984.
William Taylor, Vice President, Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, United States Institute of Peace, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (2006-2009)
Prior to joining the U.S. Institute of Peace, Mr. Taylor served as Ambassador of the United Stated to Ukraine between 2006 and 2009. He also served in various U.S. Government posts in Iraq, Afghanistan, other Middle Eastern countries, and former Soviet Union states. Particularly, Ambassador Taylor was the U.S. Government Representative to the Mideast Quartet, which facilitated Israel’s disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. In Baghdad, he served as Director of Iraq Reconstruction Management Office in 2004 and 2005, and in Kabul as Coordinator of International and U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003. He is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and Germany.
Adam Michnik, the Editor-in-Chief, Gazeta Wyborcza
One of the leading organizers of the democratic opposition in Poland from the 60th until the regime collapsed. He was prisoned several times and spent almost six years in jail in total. He was elected to the first post communist parliament of Poland after The Velvet Revolution in 1989. He founded the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza the same year. Under his leadership, Gazeta Wyborcza was converted into a widely read and influential daily newspaper in Poland.
His articles on democracy, human rights and freedom of speech was printed often at Der Spiegel, Le Mond, El Pais, New York Review of Books, The Washington Post during 90th and 2000th. He wrote several books including Letters from Freedom: Post-Cold War Realities and Perspectives, Church and the Left, and Letters from Prison.
He is the laureate of many awards, including a Knight of the Legion of Honour and European of the Year.
