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Panel: International Careers in European Diplomacy: European Perspectives
March 4, 2021 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm EST
This panel is designed to highlight employment opportunities within European diplomacy, with representatives from the EU Delegation to the USA, the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington D.C., consuls, and a US State Department Diplomat in Residence. In the first hour, the panelists will talk about what their positions entail, what entry-position employment opportunities are available, and what kind of skills are needed for prospective applicants, with the last half hour reserved for answering Q&As from the online audience.
Watch the Recording
Opening Remarks
Michael Curtis
Deputy Head, Delegation of the European Union to the USA | Washington D.C.
Mr. Curtis joins the Delegation having served in the team of the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini, advising her on a number of important foreign policy issues for the past 5 years including on Transatlantic relations. He has had a long career in the European Union institutions working mainly on foreign policy and external relations, trade, development and humanitarian issues. From 2004 to 2008, he worked as the EU Humanitarian Affairs Counsellor to the United Nations in New York. From 2000 to 2004, he worked on the team of the EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson, first as Press Spokesperson then as a member of his Staff. Mr. Curtis has also had two stints working for the European Commission’s Secretariat General focusing on relations with the EU Member States in the area of foreign policy and trade, then relations with the European External Action Service where he was closely involved with its setting up in 2010. Mr. Curtis has a Bachelor’s degree in French and Politics from Leicester University in the U.K and a post-graduate Master’s degree in European Politics from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
Deputy Head, Delegation of the European Union to the USA | Washington D.C.
Mr. Curtis joins the Delegation having served in the team of the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini, advising her on a number of important foreign policy issues for the past 5 years including on Transatlantic relations. He has had a long career in the European Union institutions working mainly on foreign policy and external relations, trade, development and humanitarian issues. From 2004 to 2008, he worked as the EU Humanitarian Affairs Counsellor to the United Nations in New York. From 2000 to 2004, he worked on the team of the EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson, first as Press Spokesperson then as a member of his Staff. Mr. Curtis has also had two stints working for the European Commission’s Secretariat General focusing on relations with the EU Member States in the area of foreign policy and trade, then relations with the European External Action Service where he was closely involved with its setting up in 2010. Mr. Curtis has a Bachelor’s degree in French and Politics from Leicester University in the U.K and a post-graduate Master’s degree in European Politics from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.
Panelists
Maria Belovas
Spokesperson and Head of Press & Public Diplomacy, Delegation of the European Union to the USA | Washington D.C.
Ms. Belovas is the Spokesperson and Head of Press and Public Diplomacy at the Delegation of the European Union to the US in Washington since August 2018. Her team covers the entire spectrum of press, strategic communications, cultural diplomacy, people-to-people exchanges, and education in close coordination with the EU member states and local partners. Before joining the EU external action service, she spent ten years in the diplomatic service of the Republic of Estonia, most recently as Director General for Communications, including during Estonia’s very first Presidency of the Council of the EU. Her department was responsible for media relations, public diplomacy, strategic communications and nation branding. She has also served in Estonian embassies in Portugal and the US. Ms. Belovas has a degree in journalism and public relations from University of Tartu.
Spokesperson and Head of Press & Public Diplomacy, Delegation of the European Union to the USA | Washington D.C.
Ms. Belovas is the Spokesperson and Head of Press and Public Diplomacy at the Delegation of the European Union to the US in Washington since August 2018. Her team covers the entire spectrum of press, strategic communications, cultural diplomacy, people-to-people exchanges, and education in close coordination with the EU member states and local partners. Before joining the EU external action service, she spent ten years in the diplomatic service of the Republic of Estonia, most recently as Director General for Communications, including during Estonia’s very first Presidency of the Council of the EU. Her department was responsible for media relations, public diplomacy, strategic communications and nation branding. She has also served in Estonian embassies in Portugal and the US. Ms. Belovas has a degree in journalism and public relations from University of Tartu.
Joseph Dunne
Director, European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington D.C. (EPLO)
Joseph Dunne has been appointed Director of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington DC, which was set up to foster and develop relations between the European Parliament (EP) and the United States Congress, from October 1, 2019. In 2018, Joseph was a Senior Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington DC and a Visiting Fellow at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Up to that time, Joseph was a Director in the Directorate General for European Parliamentary Research Service. He was previously Head of Secretariat for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and Deputy Chef de Cabinet for EP President Pat Cox. Before the Parliament, Joseph Dunne served in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. He edited the first edition of ‘Mapping the Cost of NonEurope’ in April 2014. Joseph has a B. Mod from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in EU Law from King’s College London.
Director, European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington D.C. (EPLO)
Joseph Dunne has been appointed Director of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington DC, which was set up to foster and develop relations between the European Parliament (EP) and the United States Congress, from October 1, 2019. In 2018, Joseph was a Senior Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington DC and a Visiting Fellow at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Up to that time, Joseph was a Director in the Directorate General for European Parliamentary Research Service. He was previously Head of Secretariat for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and Deputy Chef de Cabinet for EP President Pat Cox. Before the Parliament, Joseph Dunne served in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. He edited the first edition of ‘Mapping the Cost of NonEurope’ in April 2014. Joseph has a B. Mod from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in EU Law from King’s College London.
Laurent Gallissot
Consul General of France in Miami
Laurent Gallissot took office as Consul General of France in Miami on September 3, 2019, when Hurricane Dorian hit our constituency in Florida and in the Bahamas. Crisis management was thus his first practical exercise, supported by the entire team of the Consulate General and his predecessor. Mr. Laurent Gallissot joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1996 and held numerous posts abroad and in France (Jerusalem, Ottawa, Brussels, Rome) as a co-operation counselor, special and political advisor and multilateral negotiator. He has also worked with the European Commission. In 2014, he led for two years the mission of French language and education within the ministry. In 2016, he was one of the first diplomatic advisors working with regional Prefects and joined the city of Marseille as advisor to the regional Prefect of Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur. He then took up the position of Secretary General for “One Planet Summit”, a platform for private and public engagement launched by the President of the Republic to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Mr. Laurent Gallissot was a researcher in political science at the European University Institute in Florence. A graduate of the Sorbonne in literature and sociology, he also holds a European Masters degree in cultural management.
Consul General of France in Miami
Laurent Gallissot took office as Consul General of France in Miami on September 3, 2019, when Hurricane Dorian hit our constituency in Florida and in the Bahamas. Crisis management was thus his first practical exercise, supported by the entire team of the Consulate General and his predecessor. Mr. Laurent Gallissot joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1996 and held numerous posts abroad and in France (Jerusalem, Ottawa, Brussels, Rome) as a co-operation counselor, special and political advisor and multilateral negotiator. He has also worked with the European Commission. In 2014, he led for two years the mission of French language and education within the ministry. In 2016, he was one of the first diplomatic advisors working with regional Prefects and joined the city of Marseille as advisor to the regional Prefect of Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur. He then took up the position of Secretary General for “One Planet Summit”, a platform for private and public engagement launched by the President of the Republic to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Mr. Laurent Gallissot was a researcher in political science at the European University Institute in Florence. A graduate of the Sorbonne in literature and sociology, he also holds a European Masters degree in cultural management.
Rebecca Krimbell
Diplomat in Residence South Florida
Rebecca Kimbrell is a political-coned officer who most recently served as U.S. consul to Lyon, France from 2016 – 2018. Prior to this, she was deputy director in the Office of Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Rebecca also served as special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and as a senior watch officer in the Secretary of State’s Operations Center. Rebecca’s overseas assignments included tours as a political officer in Kyiv, and as an economic officer in Ankara. She began her career in Kingston, Jamaica. Before joining the State Department, Rebecca served as the executive director of the Nashville, Tennessee Sports Authority, the agency responsible for financing and overseeing the city’s NFL stadium and NHL arena. Rebecca earned an M.A. in international relations from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. in political science from David Lipscomb University. Hailing from the South (born in Birmingham, but settling in Nashville), she is an avid football fan and cook. Rebecca is married to a Diplomatic Security special agent. She has studied French, Turkish, and Ukrainian.
Diplomat in Residence South Florida
Rebecca Kimbrell is a political-coned officer who most recently served as U.S. consul to Lyon, France from 2016 – 2018. Prior to this, she was deputy director in the Office of Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Rebecca also served as special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and as a senior watch officer in the Secretary of State’s Operations Center. Rebecca’s overseas assignments included tours as a political officer in Kyiv, and as an economic officer in Ankara. She began her career in Kingston, Jamaica. Before joining the State Department, Rebecca served as the executive director of the Nashville, Tennessee Sports Authority, the agency responsible for financing and overseeing the city’s NFL stadium and NHL arena. Rebecca earned an M.A. in international relations from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. in political science from David Lipscomb University. Hailing from the South (born in Birmingham, but settling in Nashville), she is an avid football fan and cook. Rebecca is married to a Diplomatic Security special agent. She has studied French, Turkish, and Ukrainian.
Moderator
Markus Thiel
Director, Miami-Florida Jean Monnet Center of Excellence
Associate Professor, Politics & International Relations Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University
Markus Thiel is associate professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University, Miami and director of FIU’s Jean Monnet Center of Excellence. Dr. Thiel’s research interests are the political sociology of the EU and European (Union) Politics more generally, as well as Nationalism & Identity Politics. He graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Miami in 2005 and has published several EU-related articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, his research on the political sociology of the EU produced the monograph, ‘The Limits of Transnationalism’ (Palgrave, 2011), and 5 co-edited volumes on: ‘Diversity and the European Union’ (with Lisa Pruegl, Palgrave, 2009), ‘Identity Politics in the Age of Globalization’ (with Roger Coate, Lynne Rienner/First Forum Press, 2010), ‘European Identity & Culture: Narratives of Transnational Belonging’ (with Rebecca Friedman, Ashgate, 2012), ‘Sexualities in World Politics: How LGBTQ Claims Shape International Relations’ (with Manuela Picq, Routledge, 2015) and ‘EU Development Policies between Norms and Geopolitics’ (with Sarah Beringer & Sylvia Maier, Palgrave, 2019). Most recently, he published a book on the linkage of European transnational civil society groups with the EU Fundamental Rights Agency: ‘EU Civil Society and Human Rights Advocacy’ (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017). He supervises doctoral students in the areas of EU Politics and International Organizations.
Director, Miami-Florida Jean Monnet Center of Excellence
Associate Professor, Politics & International Relations Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University
Markus Thiel is associate professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University, Miami and director of FIU’s Jean Monnet Center of Excellence. Dr. Thiel’s research interests are the political sociology of the EU and European (Union) Politics more generally, as well as Nationalism & Identity Politics. He graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Miami in 2005 and has published several EU-related articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, his research on the political sociology of the EU produced the monograph, ‘The Limits of Transnationalism’ (Palgrave, 2011), and 5 co-edited volumes on: ‘Diversity and the European Union’ (with Lisa Pruegl, Palgrave, 2009), ‘Identity Politics in the Age of Globalization’ (with Roger Coate, Lynne Rienner/First Forum Press, 2010), ‘European Identity & Culture: Narratives of Transnational Belonging’ (with Rebecca Friedman, Ashgate, 2012), ‘Sexualities in World Politics: How LGBTQ Claims Shape International Relations’ (with Manuela Picq, Routledge, 2015) and ‘EU Development Policies between Norms and Geopolitics’ (with Sarah Beringer & Sylvia Maier, Palgrave, 2019). Most recently, he published a book on the linkage of European transnational civil society groups with the EU Fundamental Rights Agency: ‘EU Civil Society and Human Rights Advocacy’ (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017). He supervises doctoral students in the areas of EU Politics and International Organizations.
Our 2021-22 European Expert Career Panels aim to help young people identify and prepare themselves for transatlantic careers. The panelists will give advice on differences in EU and US business settings, training and language in a transatlantic workplace, and how to be successful when working in EU-US relations. The Expert Panels are providing a look at EU businesses, EU diplomats, and EU experts for those wishing to pursue a European career. In addition to providing career advice, the panels seek to foster understanding of the EU, its economic impact, and critical issues facing the EU-US relationship.