Class of 2024
Learning Innovative Approaches to Defending our Democracies
The Bertelsmann Foundation Fellowship is a congressional fellowship that convenes individuals from European Institutions, German Institutions, U.S. Institutions as well as select participants from the private sector. The Bertelsmann Foundation Fellowship Class of 2024 centered around defending democracy. Through a hybrid format spanning four months, fellows explored how the transatlantic relationship can best approach new challenges to our respective democracies.
Defending Democracy: A Collection of Essays is the final publication reflecting the conversations and insights which spanned the Bertelsmann Foundation Fellowship of 2024.
2024 Participants
U.S. Fellows
Maryum Saifee - Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of State
Alicia Porile - Senior Legislative Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives
Kelsey Ritchie Frierson - Congressional Innovation Fellow, TechCongress
U.S. Private Sector Fellows
Andrew Kolb - Director of Strategic Communications and Advocacy, IFES
Aubrey Wilson - Director of Government Innovation, POPVOX Foundation
Richard Young - Founder and Executive Director of CivicLex
EU Fellows
Slavina Ancheva - Policy Adviser and Team Leader for MEP Eva Maydell, European Parliament (Brussels)
Alex Kleibrink - Senior Policy Officer, Federal Minister of Education and Research, German Federal Government (Germany)
Evdoxia Nerantzi - Policy Officer, European Commission (Brussels)
EU Private Sector Fellows
Rafael Schmuziger Goldzweig - Global Response Manager, META (Germany)
Dahlia Kownator - Founder Capsule Conseil (France)
Bertelsmann Observers
Vicent Climent-Ferrando - Research and Project Manager, Fundación Bertelsmann (Spain)
Sahra Abukar - Advisor to Executive Board Member Daniela Schwarzer, Bertelsmann Stiftung (Germany)
Regina von Görtz - Senior Manager Education and Next Generation, Bertelsmann Stiftung (Germany)
