James G. “Jamie” Foggo is currently serving as the dean for the Center for Maritime Strategy at the Navy League of the United States. A retired four-star admiral, Foggo is a 1981 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Throughout his career, Foggo has been a champion of the Navy as an extended arm of diplomacy. He maintained close relationships with the U.S. ambassadors in his area of responsibility from Europe to Africa and into the Middle East.
Elena Lazarou is the Acting Head of the External Policies Unit of the European Parliamentary Research Service. Her work focuses on geopolitics, transatlantic relations and EU foreign, security and defence policy. Previously she headed the Center for International Relations of the Getulio Vargas Foundation, Brazil. She received a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Cambridge. Dr Lazarou is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House.
Lauren Speranza is Director of the Transatlantic Defense and Security program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). She works with the US government and NATO ally and partner governments to inform transatlantic security policy. She founded and leads CEPA’s Defense Tech Initiative. Her expertise includes defense and deterrence in Europe, emerging defense technologies, Russian and Chinese hybrid threats, and NATO’s future. She has also written extensively on NATO-EU relations, as well as Nordic-Baltic, Black Sea, and Mediterranean security.
Leon Hartwell is the Sotirov Fellow at LSE IDEAS and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington D.C. His research interests include conflict resolution, genocide, transitional justice, diplomacy, democracy, and the Western Balkans. Previously, Hartwell was CEPA’s Acting Director of the Transatlantic Leadership Program and a Title VIII Fellow. From 2012 to 2013, he was also the Senior Policy Advisor for Political and Development Cooperation at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Zimbabwe, where his work included government and civil society engagement, political reporting, peace building projects, and supporting human rights defenders. In 2019, Hartwell completed a joint doctoral degree summa cum laude at Leipzig University (Germany) and Stellenbosch University (South Africa). His thesis analyzed the use of mediation in the resolution of armed conflicts.