Class of 2026

Léonie Allard is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, after being based in Washington from 2023 to 2025. Before her current role, Allard worked for the Ministry of Armed Forces’ Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy. There, she served at the Defense Strategy Directorate on power competition. She was particularly involved in fostering the US-France defense talks. Before that, she served at the French embassy in Beijing, China for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on energy issues and at NATO in Brussels, Belgium. She completed traineeships at the Council of the European Union in Brussels and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Austria.

Allard holds a MA in European affairs from Sciences Po Paris. She also pursued studies at the School of African and Oriental Studies in London and Fudan University in Shanghai.

Dr. Koen G. Berden is a Dutch international and financial economist specialising in international trade, competitiveness, and the economics of ideas. He is Managing Director of Trade Impact BV and a Senior Fellow at the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE). Over the past three decades, he has advised the European Commission on numerous trade agreements, including the EU-Japan EPA, EU-India FTA, the EU-ASEAN FTA, and the EU-Australia/New Zealand FTAs. Dr Berden led or co-led the overall studies and/or the economic and sustainability analyses for these studies. This has also involved an analysis of geopolitical and geoeconomic context within which these Agreements have been negotiated and effects they have had. More recently, Koen has focused on the interrelation of artificial intelligence and the global geopolitical and trade and investment system, linking up the public and private sector.

Previously, he was Managing and Market Director at Ecorys, where he acquired and directed framework contracts for the European Commission and national governments. His academic career spans appointments at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the College of Europe, and Clingendael. From 2018 to 2023, Koen was Executive Director for International Affairs (Japan, China, Türkiye, Russia – until February 2022) for the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries & Associations (EFPIA) in Brussels.

A graduate of the Tinbergen Institute (PhD Economics), Dr Berden’s current research covers EU trade & investment policy, EU economic security, IP rights, and Artificial Intelligence. His publications and project work continue to shape evidence-based policymaking. His key skills are seeing big systems & patterns, compressing complexity into clarity, and operating credibly at a strategic level in the public and private sectors.

Randolf Carr is a Researcher and Senior Policy Advisor at the Munich Security Conference (MSC). At the MSC, he is responsible for its Global Order and Technology Programs and works on security in East Asia, focusing on China and Japan. From July to December 2023, he was also a Visiting Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) in Tokyo. Randolf Carr studied Political Communication and International Relations in Glasgow, Dresden, and Saint Petersburg. Alongside his studies, he worked at the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and the American-German Institute (AGI), among others. His latest writing for the MSC deals with security in the Indo-Pacific region as well as geoeconomics and technology policy.

William Chou is a senior fellow and deputy director of Hudson Institute’s Japan Chair. At Hudson, he works on the US-Japan, US-Indo-Pacific relations concerning economic statecraft, industrial and technological investments, and regional partnerships. His recent projects include work on Nippon Steel, trilateral economic security cooperation, automobiles, and critical minerals.

Dr. Chou writes and speaks regularly on policy issues, with his analysis appearing in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Politico, The Washington Post, Nikkei, The New York Times, and the Financial Times.

He holds a BA in history from Yale and a PhD in history from the Ohio State University. He is a former fellow at the Smithsonian, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Tokyo. He began his career as a research analyst at the Institute for Defense Analyses during the Iraq War.

A native New Yorker, Dr. Chou is a former Jeopardy! champion.

Yasmine Dong is a Senior Trade Policy Advisor at the UK Department for Business and Trade, where she works at the intersection of trade and foreign policy.

Her portfolio spans non-tariff measures, supply chain vulnerabilities, and investment security, with a growing focus on the Indo-Pacific and the role of economic statecraft in shaping global governance.

Her research interests include the geopolitics of trade, Transatlantic relations, and the evolving role of middle power countries in multilateral initiatives.

Benedetta Girardi is Programme Coordinator of the HCSS Europe in the Indo-Pacific programme and Strategic Analyst at HCSS. Her primary research interests regard the geopolitics and geoeconomics of the Indo-Pacific, European defence and security policy, and the interactions and ties between Europe, China, and the United States. Her research focuses on the role of Europe in the Indo-Pacific, with specific attention to supply chains of energy, critical raw materials, and semiconductors as well as avenues for engagement between European and Indo-Pacific states. Benedetta’s work also looks at maritime security and the importance of free and open sea lines of communications. Some of the projects she has worked on examine the importance of guarding the maritime commons, the role of critical raw materials for the European defence industry, and the centrality of maritime chokepoints to global trade and security. Additionally, Benedetta served as one of the internship coordinators for the past three years, handling the HCSS Internship Program, from recruitment to management and mentoring.

Matt Jeneroux has been elected to the House of Commons of Canada since the 2015 federal election. He represents the electoral district of Edmonton Riverbend as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada caucus and is Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Economic and Security Partnerships. He was previously a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Alberta.

• He is co-Founder and current co-Chair of the Canada-ASEAN inter parliamentary Friendship group.
• He is a member of the International Trade Committee in Parliament for the Liberal Party.
• He is the Founder of Hi Dad Foundation, a mental health foundation focused on raising awareness about the importance of men’s mental health.
• He is the host of the annual “Father’s Day on the Hill” event, in its 9th year, dedicated to reducing stigma around men’s mental health.
• MP Jeneroux also hosted the first Canadian Mental Health Summit in Ottawa in May 2024, which brought together Members of Parliament, Senators, experts, advocates, and leaders to discuss mental health policy improvements.
• He tabled Motion 116 in March 2024 and Motion 21 in October 2025 to improve access to online mental health services on Government of Canada websites.
• During the 43rd Canadian Parliament, MP Jeneroux’s private member bill, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (bereavement leave), was adopted with all party support to extend bereavement leave from 5 days to two weeks and entitle employees already on compassionate care leave to also claim bereavement leave.
• During his time as an Alberta MLA, he passed a private members bill to expand Compassionate Care Leave in Alberta by amending Alberta’s Labour Code.
• In both 2016 and in 2017, MP Jeneroux was named the Top Up and Comer in Canadian Parliament by The Hill Times.

Dimitris is an analyst at the General Secretariat for National Security at the Presidency of the Hellenic Government, where he is accredited to the Secretary General for National Security and National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister. He is also a Research Fellow at ELIAMEP, Greece’s leading foreign policy think tank. His work focuses on security and foreign policy, with particular emphasis on space (politics of outer space), emerging technologies, and their implications for strategy, policymaking, and geopolitics. He was selected among the “50 Future Think Tank Leaders” at the 2025 Next Milan Forum and is a member of the 2026 cohort of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution International Seminar. Dimitris brings to the Fellowship a perspective shaped by both government practice and think-tank research on Greece’s and Europe’s place in shifting strategic competition, the politics of outer space, and their implications for contemporary security affairs.

Ann Kowalewski is currently a Vice President at Beacon Global Strategies, where she helps companies navigate geopolitical risk in the Indo-Pacific. She is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security and the Global Taiwan Institute. Ann previously served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee as professional staff, and spent a few years researching China at think tanks. Before her life in DC, Ann also worked in the Scottish Parliament. She received her MA in Security Studies from Georgetown University and her LLB (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh – School of Law.

Dr. Shin-Ae Lee is currently a Research Fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and a Fellow at the Strategic Communications Education and Research Unit at the University of Tokyo. Previously, she worked as a researcher at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and served as a Visiting Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in the summer of 2024. Dr. Lee holds a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Tokyo and a master’s　degree in International Studies from Seoul National University. Her research focuses on security affairs in Japan and the Korean Peninsula, particularly in the area of strategic communications.

Dr. Lily McElwee is President and CEO of the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations, where she focuses on advancing subnational diplomacy and elevating Arizona’s global role. With deep family ties to the state, her work bridges international policy and local impact.

She previously served as deputy director and fellow in the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and remains a non-resident fellow there. Lily is a recognized expert on China’s foreign policy and its relations with the United States, European Union, and Global South. She is the author of Raising the Drawbridge: U.S. Investment Screening Amid the Rise of China (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026), supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation.

Her experience includes fellowships with the American Council on Germany, the CSIS-USC U.S.-Korea NextGen program, and the QUAD Task Force on China’s Strategic Futures organized by ORF America and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. She has lived in the UK, China, and Germany, and holds a DPhil and MSc from Oxford and a BA from Stanford.

Michael McKeon is Director of Government Affairs at ASML, a global leader in the semiconductor industry specializing in holistic lithography tools and services. Prior to his current role, Michael spent four years as Senior Economic Policy Advisor and Congressional Liaison at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Washington, DC. Michael has previously worked as Manager of Trade and Legislative Affairs at the Bertelsmann Foundation and as a Trade Advisor at the Delegation of the European Union in Washington, DC. Michael has a master’s degree in International Relations from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, and a bachelor’s degree in Government and Italian with a minor in Modern European Studies from Cornell University.

Aki Peritz is an associate research scientist at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) at the University of Maryland. He is a former U.S. official who has worked for the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense across multiple Administrations.

Akl is the author of Disruption: Inside the Largest Counterterrorism Investigation in History (2021) and coauthor of Find, Fix, Finish: Inside the Counterterrorism Campaigns that Killed Bin Laden and Devastated Al Qaeda (2012). He comments on national security issues for CNN, Fox, and elsewhere, and has published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone and elsewhere. He was also part of the 2017 CBS show Hunted exploiting his knowledge and experience in the OSINT dark arts to hunt down contestants. (The show wasn't renewed.) He lives in the Washington DC area with his family.

Asako Takashima is a Senior Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), specializing in European security, NATO strategy, and Japan–Europe relations. She previously served as a Research Fellow at JIIA and as a Project Researcher at the University of Tokyo’s Global Studies Institute, where she led an oral history project with former Japanese ambassadors. Since 2020, she has also been a Lecturer in International Relations at Kanagawa University, teaching courses on global security and comparative politics. Takashima holds an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Tokyo and a B.A. in Political Science from Keio University, with study experience in Germany. Her research focuses on Germany’s Zeitenwende, transatlantic cooperation, and democratic security challenges. She has published in both English and Japanese and has received multiple grants, including JSPS fellowships and awards from the Suntory and Panasonic foundations.

Cora is Senior Expert for China and the Asia-Pacific at the German Bertelsmann Stiftung in Gütersloh. She works on EU–China relations, foreign direct investment (FDI) and international trade, with a focus on de-risking and economic security. Together with Murali Nair, she co-coordinates the Stiftung’s Indo-Pacific taskforce. She was recently appointed to the China expert commission of the German Bundestag, which focuses on the security-relevant economic relations between Germany and China.

Before joining the Bertelsmann Stiftung, she was an assistant professor at the Institute of Chinese Studies at the University of Freiburg and a research associate at Heidelberg University’s Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context.” In addition, she has worked as a freelance consultant on Asia-related projects for organizations including Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

Cora studied Chinese Studies and Economics at Heidelberg University, Shanghai International Studies University, and Tsinghua University in Beijing. She holds a Ph.D. in Chinese Studies from Heidelberg University, with her doctoral research focusing on the internationalization processes of Chinese companies.

Murali Nair is a Senior Project Manager at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, where he works within the Europe Program with a focus on India and the Indo-Pacific. Since joining the foundation in 2015, he has been involved in research and policy initiatives that strengthen EU–India relations, particularly in areas such as digital cooperation, economic engagement, and sustainable development.

His work includes contributions to social innovation and impact investing, notably through initiatives like the Impact Data Initiative in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. Nair’s expertise lies in connecting policy, technology, and development to support inclusive growth.

He holds an MBA in marketing and began his career in the automotive sector across South Asia and Africa before transitioning into sustainability and policy work. At Bertelsmann Stiftung, he contributes to analysis and dialogue on India’s economic development and its role in global markets.

Maša Ocvirk joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in 2026. As Senior Manager for Transatlantic Relations, she leads the Bertelsmann Foundation Fellowship, a program that has been fostering transatlantic policy dialogue for over 17 years. She also conducts research on U.S. – EU relations, transatlantic security and defense, and EU foreign policy. Originally from Slovenia, she has several years of experience working in foreign policy and legislative affairs in Brussels and Washington, DC, including the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung USA, the Wilson Center, the European Parliament and the Slovenian National Assembly.

Maša received her M.A. in American Studies from Leipzig University, where she focused on U.S.-EU foreign policy cooperation, and her B.A. in International Relations from University of Ljubljana. She is also an alumnus of the Mercator Stiftung Turkey Europe Future Forum and the Manfred Wörner Seminar. Maša speaks Slovenian and German, and can converse in Croatian.