3rd Class of CEPI Fellows Convenes

Five-day staffer exchange between Washington and Brussels legislatures begins next week; financial services/banking regulation and agriculture policy in the spotlight

WASHINGTON, DC (May 21, 2012) - The Bertelsmann Foundation's Congressional European Parliament Initiative (CEPI) is pleased to announce the third class of CEPI Fellows who will participate in this year's exchange program for staff from the two legislative bodies. The talented group of ten Congressional staffers and ten European Parliament staffers will gather May 29-June 2 in Brussels for the first of two five-day meetings. They will re-convene in late summer in Washington, DC. CEPI Fellows attend substantive discussions on high-priority issues for legislators on either side of the Atlantic. This year's areas in focus are financial services/banking regulation and agriculture policy.

Fellows will meet at a time when the US's Dodd-Frank Act and new EU financial regulation are being implemented, and during a year of reform for the US Farm Bill and the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Both areas have significant consequences for economic policy and can benefit from a trans-Atlantic exchange of best practices that could help better align legislation between two of the world's economic powerhouses.

CEPI Fellows were chosen by the program's selection committee based on their expertise in finance or agriculture. Their political affiliations reflect the diversity of thought in Congress and the European Parliament.

The Congressional staffers selected for the 3rd class of CEPI Fellows are:

  • Michael Ahern, Legislative Director (Rep. Ed Royce, R-CA)
  • Carlisle Clarke, Professional Staff, Senate Committee of Appropriations, Subcommittee on Agriculture (Sen. Thad Cochran, R-MS)
  • Sara Decker, Legislative Assistant (Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL)
  • Tyler Frisbee, Legislative Assistant (Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR)
  • Margaret Lawrynowicz, Legislative Counsel (Sen. Joe Manchin, R-WV)
  • Travis Moore, Legislative Assistant (Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA)
  • Ted McCann, Budget Analyst (Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI)
  • Jeffrey Siegel, Senior Counsel, Senate Committee on Banking (Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD)
  • Warren Tryon, Deputy Chief of Staff, House Financial Services Committee (Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-AL)
  • Beth Zorc, Counsel, Senate Committee on Banking (Rep. Richard Shelby, R-AL)

The European Parliament staffers selected for the 3rd class of CEPI Fellows are:

  • Tilman Anger, Policy Advisor (MEP Wolf Klinz, Germany - ALDE)
  • Denis Guillerme, Parliamentary Assistant (MEP Michel Dantin, France - EPP)
  • Alejandro Olmos Marcitllach, Coordinator for Spanish S&D Delegation, ECON Committee
  • Rhiannon Price, Chief of Staff (MEP Kay Swinburne, UK - ECR)
  • Antonella Rossetti, Policy Advisor (MEP Paolo de Castro, Italy - S&D; AGRI Committee Chairman)
  • Viktor Sata, Political Advisor for EPP Group
  • Leida Sergo, Parliamentary Assistant (MEP Marit Paulsen, Sweden - ALDE)
  • Emma Soto Renou, Administrator, AGRI Committee
  • Johannes Weber, Parliamentary Assistant (MEP Elisabeth Jeggle - Germany, EPP)
  • Johannes Woelfing, Legal Researcher/Parliamentary Assistant (MEP Sven Giegold, Germany - Green)

More information on the CEPI can be found at www.cepinitiative.org. The website provides detailed information on the staff exchange including program schedules and the CEPI's other main activities: a briefing series on the workings of Capitol Hill and the European Parliament, and links to the program's e-publications, CapitolWire and EuroWire.

The CEPI is supported by a generous grant from the European Commission. The Bertelsmann Foundation North America and the Bertelsmann Stiftung Brussels Office administer the program.

For further information about the CEPI, contact Andrew Cohen, Bertelsmann Foundation Communications Director, at andrew.cohen@bfna.org or at +1.202.384.1996.