Our Team & Governance

Geert Cami co-founded Friends of Europe, the action-oriented think tank, in 1999. As Secretary General, Geert mainly deals with the strategic development of Friends of Europe, he coordinates the work of the high-level Boards involved in the governance of the organisation and chairs the Leadership meetings. He oversees both the financial health and the successful running of the organisation and its flagship initiatives, and focuses on the expansion and the activation of Friends of Europe’s vast network of trustees, European young leaders and other senior political, corporate, media and societal contacts and partners throughout the world.

Geert also is a founding member of the Boards of both the Africa-Europe Foundation, and of TownHall Europe (the Davignon Centre for New Leadership).

Geert headed the European conference organising, press relations and publishing company Forum Europe for more than ten years, and managed the revival of one of Belgium’s finest architectural examples of Art Nouveau, after creating La Maison de l’Europe in the prestigious 100-year-old Bibliothèque Solvay.

At the outset of his career, Geert worked for a few years in the humanitarian office (ECHO) at the European Commission, as deputy in the newly set-up information and communications unit. His focus was mainly on raising the profile of the EU’s humanitarian efforts throughout the world, through publications and media initiatives such as exhibitions, television debates or Humanitarian Days in Member States.

He also worked for two music programmes at Belgian public Radio 1, and very briefly as a teacher and TV journalist.

Nathalie Furrer is the Director of Climate & Energy, Health, European Young Leaders and State of Europe Programmes & Operations at Friends of Europe. Through her leadership, since 2002, the think tank has become the go-to place to connect, debate and change Europe.

She founded its Africa, development, health, climate, energy and sustainability transition policy areas and launched its very successful European Young Leaders programme.

She has been instrumental in developing a multi-stakeholder approach to the work of a think tank and in the organisation’s reach to the non-institutional sector.

In her current role, she works with our talented team, members and partners. Prior to joining Friends of Europe, she worked in an institute for public policy research organising international conferences throughout Europe.

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 sector and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

Prior to joining the Institute for Security Governance, they served for 32 years in the US and NATO, most recently serving as the Multilateral Engagement Coordinator for US European Command and director of training and exercises for the Hybrid COE.

A natural international community organiser, Chris organises comprehensive approach seminars for various NATO headquarters and has buillt regional communities of interest to address hybrid threats and enhance resilience in the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions and to reduce violence along the US-Mexico border.

Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke is Founder & CEO of W4.org, a social enterprise dedicated to protecting girls’ and women’s human rights and promoting their empowerment around the world, with a focus on Sustainable Development Goal 5b: harnessing technologies. Nefesh-Clarke worked in human rights and development in Africa and Asia at Human Rights Watch, UNICEF, Enfants d’Asie, before founding W4. Named a “Women in IT Role Model” by the European Commission and one of the “Inspiring Fifty” women leaders in Europe’s technology sector, Nefesh-Clarke is a board member of the Women’s Economic Imperative (WEI), which aims to advance the work of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. She is also a Senior Fellow for Friends of Europe’s Connect Europe initiative, and a member of the advisory board of UN Women France.

Adam is the Director of Citizen Outreach and Engagement at Friends of Europe. He is responsible for the online citizen-driven discussion platform Debating Europe, which he co-founded in 2011. He has extensive experience in digital media start-ups, including the launch of the Brussels-based newswire service EUPOLITIX.com, which he merged into The Parliament Magazine, where he was the Managing Director. Adam speaks fluent English and Italian.

Tamsin Rose is the Senior Fellow for Health at Friends of Europe. Having studied international relations, she has 25 years of experience working across the European continent from Ireland to Mongolia. A natural communicator, Tamsin has been a radio reporter, worked on press for the EU Delegation in Moscow and is currently a member of the external speaker team for the European Commission Directorate-General for Communication, describing how the EU works and key policies to visitor groups from around the world. Since 2002, she has specialised in public health and public participation issues, serving as the Secretary General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), and providing strategic advice for health groups on how to engage successfully with the EU.

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.

Paul is a Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe and the author of Friends of Europe’s European Defence Cooperation report series. A Paris-based journalist, he also writes the “Europe at Large” column for Politico. He previously spent four decades working for Reuters as a foreign correspondent in Paris, Tehran, Bonn and Brussels, as bureau chief in Israel/Palestine, Berlin and Brussels, as chief correspondent in France, as diplomatic editor in London, and finally as European affairs editor. His assignments have included covering the Iranian revolution, the Cold War Euromissile crisis, the 1991 Gulf War, German reunification, the Maastricht summit, France in the 1990s, EU enlargement, the Eurozone crisis and the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt.

Nathalie Furrer is the Director of Climate & Energy, Health, European Young Leaders and State of Europe Programmes & Operations at Friends of Europe. Through her leadership, since 2002, the think tank has become the go-to place to connect, debate and change Europe.

She founded its Africa, development, health, climate, energy and sustainability transition policy areas and launched its very successful European Young Leaders programme.

She has been instrumental in developing a multi-stakeholder approach to the work of a think tank and in the organisation’s reach to the non-institutional sector.

In her current role, she works with our talented team, members and partners. Prior to joining Friends of Europe, she worked in an institute for public policy research organising international conferences throughout Europe.

Pronouns: she/her
Krystal is a Programme Executive at Friends of Europe, responsible for the European Young Leader (EYL40) programme. She holds a double MSc in Public Policy and Human Development from Maastricht University and the United Nations University, as well as a joint law degree and political science BA from the University of Kent. Prior to this, she was a junior policy analyst, assistant researcher and editor-in-chief of a public policy and governance academic journal.

Pronouns: she/her
Giulia is a Programme Officer for Climate, Energy & Sustainability. She joined Friends of Europe after finishing an MSc in International Development at the University of Amsterdam, where she completed a fieldwork-based thesis on the agroecology movement. Prior to this, she obtained a BSc from Bocconi University on subjects regarding international governance and political economics. She is motivated to work towards implementing change-driven ideas through research, debate and advocacy.

Pronouns: he/him
Juraj Majcin is the Programme Manager for Peace, Security & Defence. Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Juraj worked on multiple policy research projects on digital governance and security at the World Economic Forum and Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF). As a teaching assistant at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Juraj supervised Capstone research projects on international development and multilateral cooperation. He has also diplomatic experience thanks to his work for the Permanent Mission of Slovakia to the UN Office in Geneva, representing his country at the Human Rights Council. He holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Geneva and MA/LLM in International Law from the Geneva Graduate Institute. Juraj loves books, travelling, running and cross-country skiing. He speaks his native Slovak, English and French, and is a citizen of Slovakia.

Luke O’Callaghan-White is the Programme Manager for Climate, Energy & Sustainability. Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Luke served as the senior researcher at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), Ireland’s leading international think tank, where he specialised in energy and climate policy. Luke has written widely in this policy space and his publications have been covered in The Irish Times, Irish Examiner and Irish Independent. In 2021, he also served as an ‘expert reviewer’ of the TIMES-Ireland Model, which produced influential energy system pathways for energy supply and demand, in keeping with the Irish Government’s decarbonisation targets. Previously, Luke has also worked a policy analyst at the Canadian Centre for Responsibility to Protect (CCR2P), a Toronto-based research organisation. Luke holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Toronto and a BA in Political Science and Geography from Trinity College Dublin. Luke is a committee member of the Irish Centre for European Law, where he contributes on matters relating to energy law in the European Union. He is also a member of the IIEA’s climate and energy expert working group. Luke speaks English and Irish.

Quinlan is a Programme Assistant for the Asia and Digital & Data Governance programmes at Friends of Europe. He holds a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Amsterdam University College and is currently pursuing a Dual MA/LLM in International Security and Chinese Politics at Sciences Po, Paris and Peking University, Beijing. In addition to his work at Friends of Europe, Quinlan is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Podcast Director at the Student Think Tank for Europe-Asia Relations. He speaks fluent Dutch and English, advanced German, and elementary French and Mandarin Chinese.

Pronouns: she/her
Amanda Rohde-Stadler oversees programme delivery across all of Friends of Europe’s areas of expertise. Through her previous roles in the organisation, she managed the production and delivery of activities and publications across a wide range of themes, including: digital & data governance; peace, security & defence; EU-Asia relations; and migration & inclusion. She was also involved in the inception phase of the Africa-Europe Foundation, with a focus on policy and partnerships. Prior to joining Friends of Europe in 2016, she worked in the Research Unit of International Crisis Group – tracking conflicts across Africa and Asia – and as a teacher in South Korea. Amanda holds a Master of Advanced International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, where she focused her studies on conflict and crisis analysis, and a BA in linguistics from the University of Florida with a special focus on African languages and literature.

Alexandra is the Head Ad Interim of Programme Performance and Operations at Friends of Europe. Previously, she has overseen the operations and events of the e-Crime & Cybersecurity Congress series in Europe, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. Prior to that, Alexandra has worked in the cultural and diplomatic field in roles related to public relations, projects, events and administration. She holds a BA in Cultural Mediation from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies, major in International Relations and Politics, from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and a diploma in Business Foundations from Wharton School. Alexandra is fluent in English and French, advanced in Italian and Spanish, intermediate in Arabic and native in Romanian.

Pronouns: he/his
Thomas Van Vynckt is the Programme Manager for State of Europe. Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Thomas worked in the private sector in London, organising defence and security conferences, and at NATO Headquarters, both in the Political Affairs and Operations divisions. At NATO, Thomas worked on partnerships between NATO and non-NATO countries in the South Caucasus and the Western Balkans, the KFOR mission in Kosovo and the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. Thomas has lived, studied, and worked in Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the United Kingdom (England and Scotland). He attended the United World College in Mostar (2009-2011) and is a proud UWC alumnus. He holds a BA in International Development from the Leiden University, an MSC in Strategic Theory and International Law from the Aberdeen University, and an MA in Intelligence from King’s College London. Thomas enjoys sports (swimming, cycling, running, hiking, skiing and sailing), travelling and the opera. He speaks French, Dutch and English, and holds both Belgian and Swiss citizenships.

Thomas is a member of the steering committee and the Friends of Europe representative at the Brussels Binder, a publicly accessible database of women experts, with the goal of achieving gender balance and equality of representation in policy debates.

Pronouns: he/him
Rayan is a Programme Officer on the Peace, Security & Defence team. He joined Friends of Europe after completing internships at the United Nations and Interpol. His studies ranged from political science and European studies to diplomacy, conflict resolution and human rights. Rayan has a keen interest in critical conflict studies and intersectional feminism. He speaks French and English, as well as some Dutch.

Monica Frassoni is an Italian politician who previously served as the Co-President of the European Green Party. Prior to that, during her time as Member of the European Parliament, she was Co-Chair of the European Greens–European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament. She also served for ten years as an officer of the Greens group in the European Parliament and was Secretary-General of the Young European Federalists. In 2010, she co-founded the European Alliance to Save Energy, an organisation which aims to promote and advocate energy savings and a new energy model.

Jon is one the best-known political bloggers and commentators on all things EU politics and Brexit. His commentary on his blog (jonworth.eu) and Twitter account (@jonworth) are well known in Brussels and EU circles. His work around Brexit and especially his famous Brexit diagrams have been featured in international media, including The New York Times and ARD. Jon is a Visiting Lecturer on politics and online communication at the College of Europe in Bruges. He also leads workshops at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, the University of Maastricht and the Italian School of Public Administration in Rome. The Founder of Trains for Europe, a campaign that demands the European Union take action on the issues surrounding long distance rail travel in Europe, Jon is an experienced campaigner, having previously organised a number of online campaigns for United Kingdom politicians and the Atheist Bus Campaign.