WASHINGTON, DC — NOVEMBER 4, 2025 —  The Atlantic Council’s Africa Center announced today the appointment of six distinguished experts as senior fellows: Dana Banks, Neil Ford, Rebecca Katz, Rose Keravuori, Deneyse Kirkpatrick and Maisie Pigeon.  These appointments strengthen the Center’s leadership in shaping policy and fostering partnerships across Africa in areas including health security, education, energy, governance and security, as well as trade and investment. 

“The Atlantic Council is honored to welcome these remarkable experts and public servants as fellows,” said Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council. “Their expertise and global outlook will enrich our ability to bridge ideas and action at a time of unprecedented complexity. Each brings a unique perspective that will deepen our ability to deliver innovative solutions for Africa and the world.” 

“These additions bolster our thought leadership in critical areas — from trade and public health to inclusive development and institutional resilience,” said Amb. Rama Yade, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. “Their perspectives will help chart stronger strategies and convene compelling cross-sector exchanges for better outcomes worldwide. For example, with Dana Banks’s leadership, we will launch a new Trade and Investment Initiative for Africa, advancing opportunities for sustainable growth.” 

 
The new fellows are as follows: 

  • Dana Banks is a transformational senior leader and former senior foreign service Officer of over 25 years, with a career history of advancing US foreign policy, national security, and commercial and public diplomacy. Most recently, Dana was senior advisor to the US Chamber of Commerce’s Africa Business Center. In 2024, she was the U.S. executive director of the African Development Bank, representing the US government. From 2021-2023, Dana served at the White House as special assistant to the president and senior director for Africa at the National Security Council.  
  • Neil Ford is a freelance consultant and journalist from UK specializing in African affairs and the global energy sector. His main areas of interest include African development, regional integration, boundary disputes, the energy transition, and African logistics. With over twenty-five years’ experience as a journalist, he has worked for dozens of outlets, including African Business, the BBC, Platts, Jane’s, and Reuters Events. 
  • Rebecca Katz is a professor and director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security and holds joint appointments in Georgetown University Medical Center and the School of Foreign Service. She teaches courses on global health diplomacy, global health security, and emerging infectious diseases in the Science, Technology and International Affairs, Security Studies, and Global Infectious Disease Programs. Prior to coming to Georgetown in 2016, she spent ten years at George Washington University as a faculty member in the Milken Institute School of Public Health.  
  • Brig. Gen. Rose Keravuori is a global military intelligence officer and former brigadier general in the U.S. Army with over three decades of leadership experience in crisis management, strategic operations, and risk mitigation. As the former director of intelligence at U.S. Africa Command, she offers valuable subject matter expertise in defense, security and African matters. 
  • Deneyse Kirkpatrick is president and CEO of the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC), based in Austin, Texas, a state-based network of public and private higher education institutions advancing campus internationalization. Prior, she served for two decades with the US Department of State as a foreign service officer in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Most recently, she was appointed as the highest-ranking US official to Guinea-Bissau. Kirkpatrick also served as senior advisor to the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. 
  • Maisie Pigeon is the director for the Coalition for Fisheries Transparency, an international network of civil society organizations committed to improving data transparency in the fisheries sector. Prior to joining the CFT, she spent over a decade working alongside governments and international organizations to promote initiatives to secure maritime spaces, encourage good ocean governance, promote blue economic growth, and stabilize coastal communities in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. Maisie has served as a consultant to the Global Maritime Crime Programme at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the European Union’s Critical Maritime Routes (CRIMSON) project, and the Defense Security Cooperation University for the US Department of Defense. 

 With these appointments, the Africa Center reaches a record 34 fellows, deepening its bench of seasoned thinkers and practitioners dedicated to actionable solutions for Africa’s future. 

For media inquiries, please contact press@atlanticcouncil.org.  

About the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center  

The Atlantic Council’s Africa Center is a leading voice shaping the African narrative in Washington and across the world. Its convening power over the last year has brought together prominent leaders such as Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, Kenya’s President William Ruto, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Chadian Prime Minister Success Masra, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks; Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States Reta Jo Lewis, and US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas- Greenfield.