From ambition to action: building Europe’s Defence Union

Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra Kanani was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

Julie is the Project Executive of the Debating Europe team. Prior to joining Debating Europe, Julie worked in the European public affairs sector in Paris and Brussels, mainly on environmental policies. She was also a Blue Book trainee at the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment (DG ENV), focusing on the green diplomacy in the regional and bilateral environmental cooperation unit. She holds a BA in Political Science from Concordia University in Montréal and an MA in International Relations, European Policies and Project Management from Université Jean Moulin Lyon III and Université of Lille in France. Julie is fluent in French and English and speaks basic Spanish. 

Retiring from NATO in September 2018 after 38 years at the organisation, Jamie Shea has occupied a number of senior positions at NATO across a wide range of areas, including external relations, press and media, and policy planning. As NATO’s spokesperson, he was the face of the alliance during the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts. He later worked as the director of policy planning in the private office of former secretary general Rasmussen during the preparation of NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept. Shea is also a regular lecturer and conference speaker on NATO and European security affairs.