David Eisler is a Research Associate at the Institute for Defense Analyses, where he provides analytical support to the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. In addition to his full-time position with IDA, he is also the Vice President of Programs for Words After War, a nonprofit literary organization that brings veterans and civilians together to examine war and conflict through the lens of literature. Prior to joining IDA, David served for five years on active duty in the United States Army, earning the rank of Captain. While stationed with the Second Cavalry Regiment in Vilseck, Germany, David deployed to Iraq in 2008 and Afghanistan in 2010. David holds a BA in astrophysics from Cornell University and an MA in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife, Verena.

In addition to his role at NOVA, Eddy Enriquez Arana also teaches German at the German Language School Washington. He serves as a Faculty Associate at NOVA’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), supporting faculty development. Prior to his appointment in Virginia, Mr. Arana served as a German linguist developing and teaching German courses to US Air Force men and women in the Language Enabled Airmen Program (LEAP). Mr. Arana has extensive experience living, working, and studying in German-speaking Europe. He has participated in numerous transatlantic initiatives to improve the teaching and recruitment for German language learners through his affiliation with the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG). He specializes in intercultural approaches to language acquisition, bilingualism, and the changing dynamics of German national identity and its international relations. Arana holds two MA degrees in German and Spanish from Bowling Green State University. Mr. Arana has been honored twice by the NOVA Alumni Federation for outstanding service to education and the development of students.

Eva Jobs is a PhD candidate at the University of Marburg. In her dissertation, she addresses the role trust, secrecy, and betrayal play for transatlantic intelligence cooperation. Currently, she is a Visiting Scholar at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and also works as a consultant for the German Military History Museum in Dresden. Prior to that, she was a Research Fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) and served as an Advisor for public history media. Ms. Jobs holds an MA from Philipps University, Marburg, where she studied history, art history, and peace and conflict studies. In 2011 and 2012, she was a Research Assistant for the Independent Research Commission for the History of the German Intelligence Service (BND) in Berlin and Washington, DC. She received doctoral scholarships from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Historical Institute in Washington, and the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation.

Ms. Gina Jones currently serves as the Special Adviser to the Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). In this capacity, she leads the development and implementation of strategic initiatives across the Agency. Gina began her intelligence career as an Intelligence Officer in the US Air Force, which included a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Between 2006 and 2008, she served as a Senior Consultant to US Army South, the element responsible for US Army operations in Latin America. In 2008, Gina joined DIA as one of the initial members of US Africa Command. Within the intelligence directorate, she led a small, multi-disciplined team of intelligence analysts, tasked with infusing analysis and operational planning with socio-cultural analysis. Her analysis directly supported policymakers and operational planners and shaped the command’s engagements with African partner-nations. Gina was recognized for her contributions as a lead analyst within the Intelligence Crisis Cell that supported coalition operations in Libya. Gina has advanced degrees from the US Army School of Advanced Military Studies, the University of Kansas, and Boston University. A Council on Foreign Relations Term Member, she is originally from San Antonio, TX.

Ludwig Jung is currently an FSO Trainee with the German Federal Foreign Office in Germany. Before that, he worked for the World Bank’s Development Research Group as part of the Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs, sponsored by the German National Academic Foundation. Previously, he was a Fulbright and DAAD Fellow at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he received his MA in international relations. During his graduate studies, he focused on transatlantic security relations and development policy in fragile states. Ludwig has prior work experience with the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Development Ministry, as well as with the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution. 

Lars Miethke works at a global management consulting firm supporting clients in the areas of strategic growth, value capture, and M&A in the aerospace and defence industries. Before joining the consulting sector, Lars Miethke studied business and economics at the Humboldt University Berlin and holds a graduate degree in European politics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He has also worked and studied abroad in Berlin, Paris, London, and Beijing. Lars Miethke currently lives in Washington, DC, and has a special interest in European and international affairs.

Charlotte Potts has been working as a journalist and Producer for ARD German Television in Washington, DC since 2011. In addition to her work at ARD, she writes for several German news outlets, such as Handelsblatt and Zeit, and is working on her PhD dissertation on the Tea Party and Occupy movements as political phenomena. Prior to joining ARD, she worked for ZDF German TV, as well as for Vanity Fair and Al Jazeera English. Charlotte has interviewed many experts on economics and politics, including Robert Zoellick and Madeleine Albright. She has travelled across the United States producing and covering social and political stories, such as the 2008 and 2012 presidential races, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the detainee camps in Guantanamo, the protests in Ferguson, and the Oscars in Los Angeles. Charlotte received her MA in history, psychology, and economics from the University of Freiburg in Germany, as well as an undergraduate certificate in foreign policy and journalism from American University in Washington, DC. During her studies, Charlotte was a Journalism Scholar at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Charlotte is a German national and has lived in Washington, DC for five years.

Victoria Rietig is a Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank in Washington, DC. Her work focuses on migration flows and policies of Europe, the United States, and Latin America. Her research expertise includes labor migration, skilled migration, health worker migration, forced migration, human trafficking, asylum and refugee issues, unaccompanied child migration, and migration and development. Her research has been published in the International Migration Journal, the Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, and the Migration Information Source. Prior to her current position, Ms. Rietig worked for the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the US government. At the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), she developed training for high-level officials in the Migration and Development Seminar Series at the UN headquarters in New York. After that, she colaunched the Berlin office of an international sustainability NGO. Most recently, she developed strategic recommendations for the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, an interagency center of the US Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security. Ms. Rietig received her master’s in public policy from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government and her MA in American studies, history, and psychology from Freie Universität Berlin. She also studied and conducted research at Argentina’s Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, New York University, and El Colegio de México (COLMEX).

Anna Schiller is a Communications Strategist at the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), focusing on advancing press freedom and gender equality worldwide. Prior to joining the IWMF, Schiller was a Senior Press and Public Diplomacy Officer at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, DC where she coordinated media activities around myriad transatlantic programs, major multilateral summits, and public diplomacy campaigns aimed at improving the US public understanding of German foreign policy interests as well as domestic issues. She has also worked for the Delegation of the European Union in Washington, DC, and the University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY. Schiller has a MA in political science, American studies, and Netherlands studies and was named a 2014 European-American Young Leader by Global Bridges. A native of Germany, she became a dual USGerman citizen in 2013.

Peter Sparding is a Transatlantic Fellow in the German Marshall Fund’s (GMF) Europe Program in Washington, DC, where he works on issues related to the transatlantic and global economy. In particular, Sparding’s work focuses on the consequences of the Eurozone crisis on the transatlantic economic relationship and the global economy. He also works on issues related to transatlantic trade and global economic governance. A native of Germany, Sparding previously worked in GMF’s Berlin office. He holds an MA from Free University in Berlin and has also studied at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

Michael Stock is a Europe Analyst for the Crumpton Group, a strategic advisory firm in Washington, DC. Prior to joining Crumpton Group, Mr. Stock was a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow, which entailed assignments at Deutsche Bank Research in Frankfurt and the German Federal Finance Ministry in Berlin. His research at the bank led to two published reports, one on the EU’s balance-of-payments facility and the other on Eurozone migration trends and their subsequent effect on the real economy. Additionally, Mr. Stock has spent time as a Fellow of the German Parliament, where he helped aid an MP-office’s EU subcommittee work. He has also spent time in temporary positions at the US Department of the Treasury and at US diplomatic posts in Germany (Düsseldorf) and Austria (Vienna). Mr. Stock received his MS in foreign service from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He holds a BA in political science from the University of Kansas and has also spent time at the Rheinische Friedrich- Wilhelms-Universität Bonn.

Christina Tsafoulias currently serves as Advisor for Congressional Affairs at the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States, where she helps the embassy engage with the US Congress and increase its presence on Capitol Hill. From June 2013 to June 2014, she was a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow in Berlin, Germany. There, Christina worked at the German Federal Foreign Office and was a Visiting Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations, concentrating on transatlantic relations. From 2006 to 2013, she worked in the US House of Representatives as a Senior Legislative Assistant and Foreign Policy Advisor for Congressman Mike Capuano of Massachusetts. She earned her MA in international affairs (with a regional focus on Europe) from George Washington University in 2013 and her BA in international relations and modern European history from Brown University in 2004.