Team

Irene Braam joined the Bertelsmann Foundation as executive director in April 2016. She is also the first vice president and board director of the Bertelsmann Foundation Board of Directors.

Irene is an experienced lawyer and media expert, and worked for over ten years with the Bertelsmann company. She began as director of government relations of the Brussels Liaison Office in 2005 and became senior vice president of government relations in September 2011.

Irene developed, among other things, a European platform for global discussion about the digital transformation of the media world. The series was held in Brussels, Berlin, Madrid and London. Not only did she represent and position Bertelsmann’s interests in the EU, she also promoted Bertelsmann in other cultural and social events in Brussels, such as UFA Film nights, previews of Fremantle Media’s productions, exhibitions and public panel discussions.

After studying law at Maastricht University, the Dutch native began her professional career in 1998 in the music industry. Irene was head of international, legal and business affairs at Naïve Records in Paris, in charge of business development for Midbar Tech Ltd. in Tel Aviv, and served as both director of public policy and government affairs, and director of legal and business affairs at the Universal Music Group in London and Brussels.

Irene is a native speaker of Dutch, and also speaks English, German, French and some Spanish.

Tony Silberfeld joined the Bertelsmann Foundation as the Director of Transatlantic Relations in April 2014, overseeing a project portfolio aimed at strengthening the Euro-Atlantic alliance through traditional and innovative means. His research focuses on democratic innovations in cities, and geopolitical competition in space. He currently oversees two online platforms, RANGE and the Transatlantic Periscope, that provide geopolitical forecasting capacity and in-depth analyses of America’s bilateral relationships with its European partners, respectively. Tony has produced long-form publications, policy briefs, graphic books, education guides, digital animations and feature-length documentary films, constantly exploring cutting-edge avenues to connect the Foundation’s work to policymakers and the public.

Tony arrived at the Foundation after seven years with the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where he was head of political and public affairs at the British Embassy’s Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington, DC. He also served as the Northern Ireland government spokesman in the Americas, and advised government ministers on political developments in the United States, Canada and Brazil. Prior to his tenure with the British government, Tony held posts as a foreign policy advisor in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.

Tony has a master’s degree from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University.

Faith joined the Bertelsmann Foundation when it was established in February 2008. She is responsible for the financial, administrative and human resource operations of the organization.

Faith previously managed the administrative and travel units of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Washington, DC. Prior to that position, she worked for several years in administration at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). She held managerial and administrative positions within the dean’s office of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and at the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities within the UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health.

Faith has a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in race, ethnicity and stratification from UCLA.

Samuel George is the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Global Markets and Digital Advisor. Since joining Bertelsmann Foundation in 2012, his work has focused on economics, politics, the digital revolution, and daily life with a specific emphasis on where these issues intersect.

His multimedia approach features documentary film, animated video, and written analysis. Samuel’s documentaries bring viewers up close and personal to people and communities facing the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, offering candid perspectives that allow viewers to draw their own conclusions. Samuel’s written work has also sought to highlight global crossroads. His publications investigate the global impact of the digital revolution, arguing that a successful digital transition requires an inclusive conversation. This work builds upon previous research that contextualized trends in emerging markets, while underscoring the importance of international economics to the transatlantic community.

Samuel is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and holds a master’s degree in international politics and economics from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington. He is currently completing a PhD at that same institution.

Megan joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in December 2015 and is responsible for event logistics, office travel and other administrative duties. She previously worked in academic administration at the Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, DC. Megan managed the graduate academic affairs for several departments within the CUA School of Arts and Sciences, and before that, worked in an administrative position for the CUA Department of Politics.

Megan has a bachelor’s degree in global studies with a concentration in European integration and a minor in international business and history from Loyola University Maryland. During her studies at Loyola, she spent one year abroad at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. In that time, she traveled extensively, studied Dutch and participated in diverse cultural exchange programs and experiences.

Chloe Laird joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in June of 2021 as Manager of Transatlantic Relations. Her research at BFNA primarily focuses on France and the implications of current French policy in the United States and Germany. She is also in charge of the Bertelsmann Foundation Fellowship, a program bringing together policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic.

A graduate of Georgetown University’s Master of German and European Studies in the School of Foreign Service, her focus was on France and its role in transatlantic security. She received her undergraduate degree in Spanish and International Relations at the University of Virginia.

Originally from France, she speaks fluent French and, having spent time in Valencia, Spain abroad during her undergraduate experience, she also speaks Spanish.

Daniela Rojas Medina joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in October of 2021 as a Research Analyst. Her work specifically focuses on technology policy issues in the U.S. and European Union. She is also responsible for RANGE, our crowdsourced forecasting platform.

Daniela recently obtained her Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she did research on emerging technology and privacy, particularly the benefits and risks of vehicle-to-everything communication technology (V2X). She also graduated from Penn State University with BA degrees in International Politics and German, as well as a minor in Global Security.

Prior to joining Bertelsmann, she was a Program Officer at the German American Business Council in Washington, D.C. and worked with BMW’s Government and External Affairs team.

Originally from Venezuela, she speaks fluent Spanish and, having spent time in Switzerland and Germany, she also speaks some German.

Sara Leming joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in November of 2021 as a Research Analyst. A graduate of James Madison University with a Masters in European Union Policy Studies, where she studied in Florence, Italy and served as the graduate assistant. Her work since then has focused on transatlantic relations.

Sara received her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Leadership Studies from Christopher Newport University. Prior to joining Bertelsmann, Sara worked abroad in Brussels, Belgium as a trainee at the U.S. Mission to the European Union and the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies. Most recently she worked as a trainee policy adviser at the EU Delegation to the United Nations in New York City, NY and on the Government Projects team at the German American Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, Illinois.

Sara is originally from northern Virginia. She speaks some Spanish.

Rylie graduated from the George Washington University with a B.A. in International Affairs, a minor in Political Science, and a concentration in European and Eurasian affairs. While at GW, Rylie completed a senior thesis on the topic of institutionalized secularism and the effects on Muslim communities in France, granting her special honors from the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Before joining Bertelsmann, Rylie worked at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy and the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. She has held internships in Europe and South America, and her research interests include democratic decline, disinformation, and the transatlantic relationship.

Courtney Flynn Martino joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in 2022 as the Senior Manager of Transatlantic Relations. Courtney manages the Transatlantic Barometer, an interactive platform that provides snapshot overviews of 31 transatlantic actors’ policy positions supplemented with interviews, infographics, and videos. She also conducts research on U.S.-German relations, with a focus on eastern Germany. Courtney comes to Bertelsmann after five years with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, where she managed an economics-focused exchange platform for international experts.

Courtney graduated with an M.A. in German and European Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, with a Certificate in Diplomatic Studies. Her graduate research focused on the impact of U.S. public diplomacy strategies in countering violent extremism. She has a double B.A. in German and Classical Studies from Wake Forest University. Courtney was a 2014 Fulbright grant recipient to Germany. Courtney speaks German and has studied Spanish, Latin, and Russian. She is originally from Staten Island, NY.

Liz Mohn represents the fifth generation of Bertelsmann’s founding families. She is a member of the Steering Committee of Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH and has been a member of the Bertelsmann Supervisory Board since 2002. In 1986, she joined the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Advisory Board, today’s Board of Trustees. In 2005, she became the vice-chairwoman of the foundation’s Executive Board and its Board of Trustees. Within the Executive Board, she was responsible for the programs Germany and Asia, Living Values, Business in Society, Discovering Music, and Leadership and Corporate Culture.

Since June 2021 she has been the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s worldwide representative and an honorary member of the Board of Trustees. She is president of the Board of Trustees of the Spain-based Fundación Bertelsmann, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bertelsmann Foundation North America.

Issues that Liz Mohn has long addressed will be consolidated in the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s new Liz Mohn Center. The center will provide continuity for internationally established dialogue venues, such as the Trilogue Salzburg and the German-Spanish Forum, while developing them further. It will also pursue forward-looking initiatives on leadership and corporate culture and bring together the cultural projects initiated by Mohn.

In 2001, Mohn began organizing international cultural dialogues: first Egypt, then in Japan, later in China and India, but also in Europe and the US. Prior to that, the International Bertelsmann Forum with then German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was one of the foundation’s flagship events. Together with former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, she organizes the Trilogue Salzburg, which was launched two decades ago. Since 2017, she has also been organizing the Forum Bellevue on the Future of Democracy, together with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier – a series of events with leading international figures from the political, economic, cultural and academic arenas. In addition, she is co-president of the German-Spanish Forum, which takes place in the host country during visits by the Spanish king and the German president.

Founded by Mohn in 1987 following conversations with acclaimed conductor Herbert von Karajan, the NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition is now known around the world for promoting young opera talent. Some 40 up-and-coming opera singers took part in the first competition. Today, with up to 1,400 participants from 80 countries, it is considered the best and most successful competition worldwide.

Mohn is also active on behalf of the Bertelsmann Relief Fund, the Medical Information Service, philanthropic events and information events for pensioners, administrative assistants and the spouses of executive managers. As president of the German Stroke Foundation, which she established, she promotes education, research, prevention and the development of a national and international network.

She has expanded her engagement in the area of culture through the Liz Mohn Culture and Music Foundation, which she established in November 2005. Through the foundation, she wants to do justice to the importance of music and culture for individuals and for society as a whole.

Ralph Heck, who comes from the German-speaking part of Belgium, studied industrial engineering. After working at the International Monetary Fund, he joined the management consultancy McKinsey, were he worked until 2017. He has since served on various supervisory boards. Since 2012, Ralph Heck has been a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Board of Trustees. In August 2020, he became Chairman of the Foundation's Executive Board, where he is also responsible for the programs Europe's Future and Shaping Sustainable Economies.

Irene Braam joined the Bertelsmann Foundation as executive director in April 2016. She is also the first vice president and board director of the Bertelsmann Foundation Board of Directors.

Irene is an experienced lawyer and media expert, and worked for over ten years with the Bertelsmann company. She began as director of government relations of the Brussels Liaison Office in 2005 and became senior vice president of government relations in September 2011.

Irene developed, among other things, a European platform for global discussion about the digital transformation of the media world. The series was held in Brussels, Berlin, Madrid and London. Not only did she represent and position Bertelsmann’s interests in the EU, she also promoted Bertelsmann in other cultural and social events in Brussels, such as UFA Film nights, previews of Fremantle Media’s productions, exhibitions and public panel discussions.

After studying law at Maastricht University, the Dutch native began her professional career in 1998 in the music industry. Irene was head of international, legal and business affairs at Naïve Records in Paris, in charge of business development for Midbar Tech Ltd. in Tel Aviv, and served as both director of public policy and government affairs, and director of legal and business affairs at the Universal Music Group in London and Brussels.

Irene is a native speaker of Dutch, and also speaks English, German, French and some Spanish.

Dr. Stephen F. Szabo is a senior fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary Studies, Johns Hopkins University and a professorial lecturer at SAIS Johns Hopkins University

Previously, Szabo was the executive director of the Transatlantic Academy, based at the Washington office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). He also served as academic and interim dean as well as professor of European studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that he served as professor of national security affairs at the National Defense University and chairman of West European studies at the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State. He has written on German foreign and security policies, generational politics in Europe, and transatlantic security and political relations. His publications include The Changing Politics of German Security; The Diplomacy of German Unification; Parting Ways: The Crisis in the German-American Relationship; and Germany, Russia and the Rise of Geo-Economics.

Wilhelm-Friedrich Uhr has been with the Guetersloh, Germany-based Bertelsmann Stiftung since 2003. He joined as senior vice president for human resources and organization, and became in 2013 senior vice president for corporate operations.

Prior to joining the Stiftung, Mr Uhr was executive director of it-akademie ostwestfalen (IT Academy of East Westphalia), an institution that was a Bertelsmann Stiftung project.

Mr Uhr was a World Bank senior human-resources officer responsible for southeastern Asia based in Washington, DC from 1997 to 2000. He joined the bank from Siemens, where he served as director of human resources and organizational development for the electromechanical components division.

Between 1989 and 1994, Mr Uhr worked for Nixdorf, where he held various positions, among them the personal assistant to the board member in charge of human resources and the director of the software engineering department.