American Council On Germany

Hot Topics Call: The Future of the CDU and the Evolving Political Landscape in Germany
2020-03-11 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
In 2018, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she would not run for reelection in 2021. This set the stage for the selection of a new Chairperson of the CDU. In a contested race between three candidates, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was elected as party Chair in December of 2018 and presumptive candidate for Chancellor. However, last month she decided to step down as party Chair, reopening the question of who will become the successor to Merkel.
Join us for a Hot Topics Call on Wednesday, March 11 at 11:00am (EST) with Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, Foreign Editor for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, who will discuss the future of the CDU and the evolving political landscape in Germany.
Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger is Foreign Editor at the FAZ, where he writes about international politics. Before joining the newspaper’s editorial staff in 1986, Mr. Frankenberger gained deep insight into the U.S. political decision-making process when he worked as an assistant to a U.S. member of Congress. He was a Bosch Fellow at the Transatlantic Academy in Washington, DC, in 2011 and a Marshall Fellow at Harvard University in 1990. He serves on the Board of various institutions dealing with foreign and defense policy issues. Mr. Frankenberger holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science, Economics, and American Studies from Frankfurt University.

Hot Topics Call: How New Social and Economic Cleavages are Shaping German Politics
2020-03-13 10:00 - 11:00
With the drop in support of the center-right and center-left Volksparteien (catch-all parties) it seems as though Germany’s political middle is hollowing out. Different forces and trends are at play. Join us for a Hot Topics Call on Friday, March 13, at 10:00 am (EST) with Thomas Krüger, Director of the Federal Agency for Civic Education, who will discuss how new social and economic cleavages are shaping German politics.
To register for this call, please click here.
Thomas Krüger has been Director of the Federal Agency for Civic Education since 2000, President of the Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk since 1995, and Second Deputy Chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) since 2012. His career began in 1976 in the then-German Democratic Republic (GDR) with an apprenticeship as a plastics processing worker. Mr. Krüger studied theology in Berlin and Eisenach before becoming a pastor. He started his political career in 1989 as one of the founding members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the GDR and served as the party’s Secretary and as a member of the East German Parliament until 1990. Mr. Krüger was then appointed the first Acting Representative of the Lord Mayor of East Berlin in addition to his function as a City Council member for internal affairs in the joint Berlin city and state government between 1990 and 1991. From 1990 to 1992, he was Deputy State Chairman of the Berlin SPD for the entire city. From 1991 to 1994, Mr. Krüger also served as Senator for Youth and Family in Berlin, after which he was elected to the German Bundestag for four years.

Hot Topics Call: The Economic Implications of the Coronavirus
2020-03-24 10:00 - 11:00
In late February, William Boston and Tom Fairless published the attached article in the Wall Street Journal. The article focuses on the economic implications of the spread of the coronavirus on the German economy. Since then, markets have dropped, borders have closed, and factories have suspended production. Just days ago, Volkswagen, the world’s biggest car maker by sales, announced it will temporarily shut down most of its European and German plants in the face of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Join us on Tuesday, March 24, at 10 am ET for a Hot Topics Call with William Boston, Senior Reporter for the Wall Street Journal. He will provide an update on the economic implications of the coronavirus.
To register for the call, please click here.

Hot Topics Call: Spread and Management of Coronavirus in Europe and Asia
2020-03-26 11:00 - 12:00
The spread of COVID-19 has been stealing news headlines for weeks – if not months. With over 300,000 confirmed cases worldwide, it is still to hard to tell how many people will contract the virus. Although Italy is one of the hardest hit countries, Germany’s rate of infection remains relatively low.

Join us for a Hot Topics Call on Thursday, March 26, at 11:00 am (ET) with German journalist Martina Merten (and 2013 ACG Kellen Fellow) who will discuss the impact of the coronavirus in Asia and Europe.

To register for this call, please click here.

Martina Merten has been working as an international consultant and journalist focusing on healthcare in developing countries and emerging nations since 2004. She also teaches courses on global health and comparative healthcare systems at various national and international universities.
From 2005 until 2009, she was with the German Medical Journal – the largest specialized medical journal in Germany – as an editor for social and health policy in Berlin. She still publishes for trade and consumer publications, including the British Medical Journal, the German Medical Journal, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung. In 2013, she was awarded an Anna-Marie and Stephen Kellen Fellowship by the ACG to conduct research on the U.S. healthcare system.

Hot Topics Call: How Germany Is Combatting Coronavirus
2020-03-31 10:00 - 11:00
More than 160 nations worldwide have confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The following have the highest number as of 4 a.m. ET*:

China 81,591 (+0.04%)
Italy 69,176 (+8.21%)
US 55,225 (+18.89%)
Spain 42,058 (+19.44%)
Germany 32,991 (+13.54%)
Iran 24,811 (+7.64%)
France 22,635 (+12.38%)
Switzerland 9,877 (+12.30%)
South Korea 9,137 (+1.11%)
UK 8,164 (+21.38%)

Source: Johns Hopkins University
*Percentages change over 24 hours
Despite the number of cases in Germany, only 0.4 percent of those have been tested have died from COVID-19. According to infectious disease experts, the reason for the low death rate is Germany’s work in the early days of the outbreak to track, test, and contain infection clusters. That means Germany has a truer picture of the size of its outbreak than places that test only the obviously symptomatic, most seriously ill or highest-risk patients.
Join us on Tuesday, March 31, at 10 am ET for a Hot Topics Call with NPR’s Rob Schmitz to learn more about the measures Germany has introduced to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
To register for this call, please click here.

The Transatlantic Economy 2020
2020-04-02 09:00 - 10:00
The strong economic ties between Europe and the United States are essential for promoting shared prosperity and competitiveness. Each year, the Foreign Policy Institute of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce release U.S.-European economic connections – including jobs, trade, services, and investment.
Join us for a webinar on April 2 at 9:00 am (ET) with one of the authors of the report, Dr. Daniel S. Hamilton, Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Professor at SAIS. He will discuss the findings of the Transatlantic Economy 2020 Survey which was released on March 20. The study can be read online here.
To register for this call, please click here.
Dr. Hamilton is a true transatlantictist, previously holding positions as Richard von Weizsäcker Professor at SAIS, fellow of the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin, senior diplomatic fellow in the German Foreign Office, executive director of the American Consortium on European Union Studies, US deputy assistant secretary of State for European Affairs, US special coordinator for Southeast European stabilization and associate director of the Policy Planning Staff for two secretaries of State, senior associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and deputy director of the Aspen Institute Berlin; consultant to Microsoft, RAND, National Geographic Society, Business Roundtable and Transatlantic Business Dialogue.

Dr. Hamilton is a member and former chair of the selection committee for the Robert Bosch Foundation fellows program bringing young American professionals to Germany. He has been a member of the academic and advisory boards for a variety of US and European foundations, research institutes and business associations. He testifies regularly before the US Congress and European parliaments, and is a regular commentator for US and international media. Dr. Hamilton has also taught graduate courses in US foreign policy and US-European relations at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, the University of Innsbruck and the Free University of Berlin.

Hot Topics Call: Germany's Response to Coronavirus and its Political Implications
2020-04-06 11:00 - 12:00
In recent weeks, Germany has been praised for its quick and aggressive response to the spread of COVID-19. Although Italy has a death rate of 11% of those who tested positive for the virus, Germany has had a rate of just under 1%. This has been credited to early testing of a large portion of the population, but as numbers of cases increase, the worst may be yet to come. Fatality numbers always have a lag-time.

Join us for a Hot Topics Call on Monday, April 6 at 11:00 am (ET) with Bundestag Member Prof. Dr. Andrew Ullmann (FDP). A physician by training who specialized in infective diseases, he will discuss Germany’s response to COVID-19 – and the political implications of the current crisis.

To register for this call, please click here.

Prof. Dr. Andrew Ullmann was born in 1963 in Los Angeles, CA, and is a Member of the German Bundestag. He attended medical school at the Ruhr University in Bochum, and completed medical school in 1987. During his residency at the University Hospital, St. Josef Hospital in Bochum, he was a visiting physician at St. Clare’s Hospital/Spellman Center in New York City, where he specialized in HIV/AIDS. He was later qualified as a specialist in infectious diseases after participating in the combined clinical fellowship program at the Harvard Medical School. He completed his habilitation and was qualified as an assistant professor in 2008 at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. In 2012 he became a full professor at the University Hospital in Würzburg.
Andrew Ullmann joined the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in 2003 and was a board member of the FDP`s district organization in Mainz-Bingen from 2003 to 20012. From 2004 until 2012, he was a member of the municipal council of Ober-Olm and from 2009 until 2011 a member of the municipal council in Nieder-Olm. Since 2013, he is member of the Bavarian FDP Committee on Research and Culture, the Bavarian FDP Committee on Health, as well as the FDP federal Health Committee. Prof. Dr. Ullmann was deputy chairman of the FDP in Würzburg from 2013 until 2015 and has served as its chairman since 2015. In the German federal elections of 2017, he was the FDP’s direct candidate in the Würzburg district and was elected to the German Bundestag through the national list of the FDP. He is a member of the Committee on Health and serves there as the chairman of the FDP. He is deputy chairman of the Subcommittee on Global Health, deputy member of the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment and deputy chairman of the German-US Parliamentary Friendship Group.

In Conversation: Ambassador John B. Emerson and Sigmar Gabriel
2020-04-09 11:00 - 12:00
The American Council on Germany and Atlantik-Brücke will host a video discussion with the Chairmen of the two organizations – Ambassador John B. Emerson and Sigmar Gabriel. In conversation, they will discuss the national and international responses to COVID-19, the future of multilateralism and globalization, as well as domestic politics in this unprecedented and uncertain time.

Russia's Involvement in the Spread of Disinformation During the Coronavirus Crisis
2020-04-14 11:00 - 12:00
In late March, a report from the European Union stated that Pro-Kremlin media has been purposely spreading disinformation about COVID-19 with the aim of disrupting western health care during the pandemic. Although Russia has denied the allegations, this is not the first time Russian media has been accused of this tactic.
Please join us for a Hot Topics Call on April 14 at 10:00 am (ET) with Dr. Evelyn Farkas, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, and Sarah Pagung, Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Robert Bosch Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia, who will discuss Russia’s involvement of the spread of disinformation during the coronavirus crisis. (See their bios below)
To register for the call, please click here.
Dr. Evelyn N. Farkas served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia from 2012 to 2015 where she was responsible for U.S. policy toward Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. She began her tenure working with the fragile democracies of Eastern Europe to bolster the rule of law and following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, she helped develop a strategy for President Obama to defend Ukrainian democracy against Russian attacks. She served previously as Senior Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe/Commander, U.S. European Command, and as Special Advisor for the Secretary of Defense for the NATO Summit. Prior to that, she was a Senior Fellow at the American Security Project. In 2008-2009, she served as Executive Director of the congressionally-mandated bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.
From April 2001 to April 2008, she served as a Professional Staff Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, conducting policy and budget oversight of the Department of Defense policy office and military commands including the U.S. Pacific Command, Special Operations Command, Southern Command, Northern Command, and U.S. Forces Korea. Prior to assuming that position, for four years she was a professor of international relations at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Marine Corps University. She served in Bosnia as a Human Rights Officer for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 1996, and as an Election Supervisor in 1997. In 2009, she was an election observer in Afghanistan.
Dr. Farkas earned her Bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College and her Master’s and Ph.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Trustee of Franklin & Marshall College, and until recently, a Resident Senior Fellow at The German Marshall Fund and a National Security Contributor for NBC/MSNBC. She speaks fluent Hungarian and German and has studied five other languages, including Spanish and Hindi. Dr. Farkas is currently a candidate to represent New York’s 17th Congressional District in The U.S. House of Representatives.
Sarah Pagung is a Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Robert Bosch Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. Her research focuses on Russian foreign and information policies and on Moldova. Until December 2018, she was a Program Officer at the Robert Bosch Center, and managed the Discussion Group on Russian and the Eastern Partnership and the joint project “A New Western Ostpolitik” with the Johns Hopkins University. From 2013 to 2015 she worked at the Carl Friedrich Goerdeler-Kolleg.
Ms. Pagung is currently completing her doctorate on the impact of Russian propaganda and information policy in Germany at the Freie Universität Berlin, where she studied political science. She is also an adjunct teacher at the Freie Universität Berlin and serves as a seminar facilitator for various formats relating to European foreign policy and Eastern Europe. In 2012–13 she was active on behalf of the European Voluntary Service’s German-Russian exchange program in Saint Petersburg, working in youth and adult education.

The Transatlantic Partnership During – and After – the Coronavirus.
2020-04-16 10:00 - 11:00
The spread of COVID-19 is dominating the headlines in the United States and Europe, and everyone wonders what the world will look like after the pandemic.

Join us for a Hot Topics Call (video edition) on April 16 at 10:00 am (ET) with Bundestag Member Peter Beyer (CDU), who also serves as Coordinator for Transatlantic Cooperation in the German Federal Foreign Office, who will discuss the transatlantic partnership during – and after – the coronavirus.

To register for this call, please click here.

Mr. Beyer is also a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he serves as Special Rapporteur on Transatlantic Relations. He is Executive Vice President of the Southeast Europe Association. Prior to his current roles, he served as Managing Chairman of the Heiligenhaus town branch of the CDU and a member of the Heiligenhaus town council from 2008 to 2009. In addition, he was an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Mettmann county branch of the CDU. Before joining the public sector, he worked as an attorney specializing in industrial property law in the Cologne office of Mayer Brown LLP, the Los Angeles office of Murchison & Cumming LLP, and the Chicago office of Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione LLP. Mr. Beyer completed his undergraduate studies at the Universities of Düsseldorf and Bonn, and received his Master in Law at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville.

Video Discussion: COVID-19 and the Mess It Creates for the Global Economy
2020-04-22 11:30 - 12:30
The ACG and Atlantik-Brücke will host a digital discussion as part of the 2020 German-American Conference on COVID-19 and the Mess it Creates for the Global Economy.
Speakers:
Dr. John Lipsky, Peter G. Peterson Distinguished Scholar, Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies; former First Managing Director, International Monetary Fund.
Professor Dr. Andreas Dombret, Global Senior Advisor, Oliver Wyman; Former Board Member, Deutsche Bundesbank.
Sigmar Gabriel, former Vice-Chancellor and former Federal Minister; Chairman, Atlantik-Bruecke e.V.
Moderated by:
Steve Sokol, President, American Council on Germany
Registration for this event has ended.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Cities in Germany and the United States
2020-04-24 10:00 - 11:00
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe, cities are faced with unprecedented challenges. The ACG will host a series of conversations with ACG program alumni and other experts, who work at the local level, on how local communities are confronting the myriad challenges posed by the pandemic.

Join us for the first conversation on Friday, April 24, at 10:00 am ET with representatives from Cleveland, Heidelberg, Knoxville, and Leipzig on the impact of COVID-19 on cities in Germany and the United States. Speakers include Tobias David, Chief of Staff for the Lord Mayor, City of Leipzig; Blaine Griffin, City Council Member, City of Cleveland; Irmintraud Jost, Head of Science and Communication Division of the Office of Economic Development, City of Heidelberg; and Stephanie Welch, Deputy to the Mayor and Chief of Economic and Community Development, City of Knoxville.

To register for this discussion, please click here.
Tobias David grew up in Leipzig (in the former GDR/East Germany) and spent most of his school years under the conditions of the GDR dictatorship. Even as a teenager he was involved in opposition groups under the protection of the Catholic Church and became politically active early on. The Peaceful Revolution of 1989, driven by the peace and civil rights movement, had a lasting impact on his life. After studying political science and communications, he worked for many years as Managing Director of a communications agency. In 2004, he moved to the Saxon State Parliament as Advisor to the Vice-President. Since 2008, Mr. David has been the closest strategic advisor to the Mayor of the City of Leipzig. He was a participant in the ACG’s McCloy Leadership Mission on Urban Affairs and Sustainability in 2016. The Peaceful Revolution of 1989 — which ultimately led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany — began in Leipzig. Today Leipzig is not only one of the largest cities in Germany but also the fastest-growing German city.
Blaine A. Griffin is a Cleveland City Council Member for the racially and economically diverse Ward 6 area of the City of Cleveland. He serves as the Majority Whip on the Council Leadership Team and he is the Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. He serves on the Finance, Safety, Operations and Workforce and Community Benefits Agreement Committees. Mr. Griffin is the former Executive Director of the Community Relations Board for the City of Cleveland, a cabinet role for the Mayor of the City of Cleveland. He serves on many boards and committees including the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Association (NOACA) focused on roads and infrastructure, Doan Brook Watershed Committee and the United Way of Greater Cleveland Equity and Inclusion Committee. Mr. Griffin received a B.A. in Communications from Malone College in Canton, Ohio.
Irmintraud Jost is the Head of Science and Communication Division of the Office of Economic Development for the City of Heidelberg. Prior to joining the city administration in September 2019, Ms. Jost worked in the field of international higher education and research for more than a decade. After studying at the Free University of Berlin and holding journalistic and editorial positions in Hamburg, Berlin and London, Jost moved to New York City and served as the New York Bureau Chief and U.S. Correspondent for Axel Springer Foreign News Service. The founding of her own communications firm and her consulting work for companies and organizations in the U.S. and Europe led to joint projects with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and many other academic and cultural institutions. In order to strengthen the cooperation and exchange between German universities and colleges with partners in the United States, Ms. Jost established several foreign offices of German institutions. From 2008 until 2019, she headed the New York liaison office of the University of Heidelberg.
Stephanie Welch serves as the Deputy to the Mayor and Chief of Economic and Community Development for the City of Knoxville. For more than two decades, Ms. Welch has worked to build strong, healthy and educated communities in Knoxville and East Tennessee. Her career began in public health, with a focus on community engagement and strategic planning to promote healthy eating, active living and health equity. From 2013 to 2019, she worked as a VP and then President of Great Schools Partnership, a non-profit that works closely in support of Knox County Schools. Ms. Welch has served in the U.S. Army Reserves for 19 years and holds the rank of Major and is the Executive Officer for a medical unit in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 2017, she was elected to serve Knoxville’s First District for a term of four years on city council. As a first-time elected official, she worked to continue the positive momentum underway in Knoxville to ensure strong neighborhoods, healthy investment and value for diversity. In February 2020, she assumed her current role. Originally from New Hampshire, Ms. Welch moved to Knoxville in 1995 to attend the University of Tennessee to earn a dual master’s degree in Public Health and Nutrition.

Resilience and Adaptation: Challenges to Democracy During the Corona Crisis
2020-04-28 11:00 - 12:00
Resilience and Adaptation: Challenges to Democracy during the Corona Crisis
The pandemic is challenging democratic institutions and practices all around the world. Governments have an obligation to respect the basic rights of citizens in uncertain times – but are they? Join Stefan Kornelius and Kori Schake for a conversation about how democracies respond to this unprecedented crisis.
Stefan Kornelius has been Foreign Editor of the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung since 2000. In his reporting career, he has covered Germany’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU), the chancellorship of Helmut Kohl, and defense issues in Europe. From 1996 to 1999, he served as the paper’s Washington correspondent. His biography of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, entitled Angela Merkel, the Chancellor and her World, has been translated into 13 languages.
Dr. Kori Schake (1999 ACG Young Leader) is the Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Before joining AEI, she was the Deputy Director-General of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. She has had a distinguished career in government, working at the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Security Council at the White House. She has also taught at Stanford, West Point, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, National Defense University, and the University of Maryland.
Please register here.

The Effects of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Europe's Far Right
2020-04-30 11:00 - 12:00
Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, far-right parties in Europe were dominating the headlines with provocations on government failures and anti-immigrant rhetoric and significantly influencing political debates in Germany and other European countries. The pandemic has changed the political dynamic, in some cases weakening the far-right’s popularity, and in other cases, like Hungary, enabling far-right politicians to consolidate more political power.
Please join us for a Hot Topics Call (video edition) on April 30 at 11:00 am (ET) with Emily Schultheis, an American freelance journalist based in Berlin, to discuss the effects of the outbreak on Europe’s far right, and on German politics in particular.
To register for the call, please click here.

Emily Schultheis is a freelance journalist based in Berlin focusing on the rise of right-wing populism. Her research focuses primarily on Germany, but also explores parallels with populist parties in neighboring countries including Austria, Hungary and Poland. During the last two years, she held a fellowship with the Institute of Current World Affairs and was a Robert Bosch Foundation fellow. Her reporting has appeared in The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, CBS News, The Los Angeles Times, NBC News, World Politics Review, BBC Online, Spiegel Online International, Deutsche Welle, and Der Tagesspiegel, among other outlets. Emily is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and received her B.A. in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania.

Resilience and Adaptation: The Future of Liberal Democracy and the Corona Crisis
2020-05-06 10:00 - 11:00
Resilience and Adaptation: The Future of Liberal Democracy and the Corona Crisis
Are autocracies better positioned to fight pandemics than democracies? Join American political scientist and author Francis Fukuyama and Daniela Schwarzer, Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, for a discussion about how the current crisis is handled by different regimes.
Please register here.

Video Discussion with Ambassador Emily Haber and Ambassador John B. Emerson
2020-05-07 10:00 - 11:00
The American Council on Germany is delighted to partner with the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) to host the German Ambassador to the United States Emily Haber in conversation with ACG Chairman Ambassador John B. Emerson, Vice Chairman at Capital Group International, on Thursday, May 7, at 10 am ET. (Bios for both speakers are included below.)
This webinar builds on the successful partnership between ACG and WACA during the German government’s Deutschlandjahr USA initiative in 2018 and 2019. Our event will take place as part of a series of events hosted by World Affairs Councils across the country under the auspices of a special, inclusive “ideas summit,” titled Putting the World Back Together and branded as CxC: Amplified.
CxC: Amplified is a full week of activities designed to amplify voices on foreign and security policy across the country. Open to the public, these events will bring together thought leaders, experts, and citizens to discuss one central question: How will the world be put back together as we chart our way through this unprecedented period?
To register for the call, please click here. We hope you can join us for this timely discussion.
Emily Margarethe Haber has been German Ambassador to the United States since June 2018.
Prior to her transfer to Washington, DC, she served in various leadership functions at the Foreign Office in Berlin. In 2009, she was appointed Political Director and, in 2011, State Secretary, the first woman to hold either post. Thereafter, she was deployed to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, serving as State Secretary in charge of homeland security and migration policy from 2014 until 2018.
Emily Haber has many years of experience with Russia and the former Soviet Union. She held various posts at the German Embassy in Moscow, including Head of the Political Department. At the Foreign Office in Berlin, she served as Head of the OSCE Division and as Deputy Director-General for the Western Balkans, among other positions.
Emily Haber holds a PhD in history and is married to former diplomat Hansjörg Haber. The couple has two sons.
Ambassador John B. Emerson was named Chairman of the American Council on Germany on January 17, 2018. He is vice chairman of Capital Group International, Inc. and has 19 years of industry experience, all with Capital Group.
He most recently served as the United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2015, Ambassador Emerson was awarded the State Department’s Susan M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service, which is given annually to one non-career ambassador, and in 2017 he was awarded the CIA Medal and the U.S. Navy’s Distinguished Public Service award.
Prior to accepting the ambassadorial posting, John Emerson was president of Private Client Services for the Capital Group Companies. Before joining Capital, he was deputy assistant to President Clinton where he coordinated his economic conferences, served as the president’s liaison to the nation’s governors, and led the administration’s efforts to obtain congressional approval of the GATT Uruguay Round Agreement and the extension of China s MFN trading status. Additionally, he was appointed by President Obama to serve on his Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. Before working in the Clinton White House, John Emerson served as Los Angeles Chief Deputy City Attorney, and was a partner in the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg, and Phillips.
Ambassador Emerson holds an honorary doctor of laws degree from Hamilton College, a juris doctorate degree from the University of Chicago and a bachelors degree in philosophy from Hamilton College. He is based in Los Angeles.

Local Impact of COVID-19 and Transportation
2020-05-08 11:00 - 12:00
While ridership on public transportation has dropped dramatically across the United States during the coronavirus outbreak, millions of Americans are still riding public buses and trains, putting themselves and anyone they encounter at risk as they commute to work, go to the grocery store, or visit the doctor. At the same time, since the start of the pandemic, the use of motor vehicles has fallen dramatically in the United States and Europe – and air pollution and congestion with it. In cities in the U.S. and Europe, as residents begin to return to work and try to avoid busy public transit systems, local governments are considering reallocating streets for cycling and walking.
Join us for on Friday, May 8, at 11:00 am ET for a conversation about the future of mobility and transportation in cities – during and after the pandemic. Drawing on alumni from ACG programs, speakers include Laurin Sepoetro, Public Policy Planner for Uber Germany; Jana Kugoth, Mobility and Transportation Reporter for Der Tagesspiegel; Brandie Lockhart, Director of Urban Design for Houston Metro; and Jesse Mintz-Roth, the Vision Zero Program Manager for the Department Transportation in San Jose, CA.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CgbrTF4mS3C6geXDsaggBw

Laurin Sepoetro is the Manager of Public Policy Germany for Uber and leads on public transit partnerships, Future of Work and inclusive mobility. Before joining Uber, he worked as a policy adviser in the European Parliament and at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). He holds an MSc degree in Public Policy and Human Development from Maastricht University. In 2019, he participated in the ACG’s Sustainable Urban Development Study Tour.
Jana Kugoth works as an editor for Tagesspiegel Background, an exclusive briefing for decision makers in the mobility and energy sector. Previously, she wrote for the online magazine Gründerszene.de, especially about start-ups and new business models in the mobility and logistics sector. After studying media science, German language and literature, and library and information science in Berlin, she first trained as a journalist with the Berlin based business and energy magazine Bizz Energy, for which she also reported on the world climate conferences in Paris and Marrakesh. In 2019, she was a participant in the ACG’s Sustainable Urban Development Study Tour.
Brandie Lockett is currently spearheading the research and design of Houston METROs Urban Transit Design Guideline Manuals. A collaborative effort that will aim to guide transit design consultants to develop transportation infrastructure as public space. With a Bachelors of Architecture from Tuskegee University, a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University – Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and a Certificate in Real Estate Development from University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate; her enthusiasm for urbanism inspires communities to use urban design strategies in planning and development projects; whether rural, suburban or urban, to help bring out vibrant opportunities in unlikely places. Brandie has been a part of international design forums and workshops discussing social, ecological, and infrastructural issues and solutions globally. In 2018, she participated in the ACG’s Sustainable Urban Development Study Tour.

Jesse Mintz-Roth is Vision Zero Program Manager at the San Jose Department of Transportation. In this role he oversees a staff of 10 including crash data analysis, street redesign engineering, traffic safety education, and safe routes to schools. Vision Zero is the city’s initiative to reduce traffic fatalities. In February 2020, the city committed $6.8 million to the first year of a five year Action Plan which will redesign arterial streets to reduce speeds with a particular focus on lowering pedestrian fatalities which have risen in recent years. Before moving to California from New York City in December 2018, he worked for 2 years as Senior Advisor for Transportation Improvements at the New York City Department of City Planning, and for 7 years at the New York City Department of Transportation, where he was a Senior Project Manager working on Vision Zero street redesign projects. In 2018, he was a participant in the Sustainable Urban Development Study Tour.

Resilience and Adaptation: Globalization and the Corona Crisis
2020-05-12 11:00 - 12:00
Resilience and Adaptation: Globalization and the Corona Crisis
The current pandemic has slowed the global economy. It has exposed the interdependence inherent in global supply chains. Will things snap back when the concerns over the virus subside? Join us for a discussion with Thorsten Benner, co-founder and director of the Global Public Policy Institute, and Shannon O’Neil, the Vice President, Deputy Director of Studies, and Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, about globalization in volatile times.
Please register here.

Global Order in Crisis Mode: Coping Strategies of the West
2020-05-14 11:00 - 12:00
As part of the 2020 Virtual German-American Conference, the American Council on Germany and Atlantik-Brücke cordially invite you to join a video discussion on: “Global Order in Crisis Mode: Coping Strategies of the West”
Thursday, May 14, 2020
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Eastern Standard Time
with
Omid Nouripour, Foreign Policy Spokesperson of the Green Parliamentary Group, German Bundestag; Member of the Board, Atlantik-Brücke
Ambassador Victoria Nuland, former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. State Department; Senior Counselor, Albright Stonebridge Group
Moderated by: Dr. David Deißner, Executive Director, Atlantik-Brücke
The international community has been faced with an unprecedented health and economic crisis in recent months. While global leadership seems to be divided by political differences and is struggling to find common ground, restrictions due to COVID-19 are still in place. In light of these challenges, our guests will explore possible coping strategies for the Western alliance.

Emerging from the Lockdown: How Cities are Coming Back to Life During a Pandemic
2020-05-15 11:00 - 12:00
As lockdown restrictions begin the lift, cities are faced with a new set of challenges. Join us for a discussion with William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, and Ullrich Sierau, Lord Mayor of Dortmund, on how their cities have coped with the pandemic – and how they are preparing for the future.
This event is being held in cooperation with the Office of International Relations and Sustainable Development of the City of Dortmund and the Office of the Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh.
Click here to register.

Resilience and Adaptation: Digitalization and the Corona Crisis
2020-05-19 11:00 - 12:00
Resilience and Adaptation: Digitalization and the Corona Crisis
In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, many businesses have closed. Many people are working from home – but not everyone is able to do so. An almost complete lock-down has magnified many existing social inequalities and the digital divide. Thought leaders in the fields of AI the impact of digitalization Gesche Joost and Mona Sloane will talk about the benefits and barriers created through digitalization in this unprecedented time.
Please register here.

Did We Miss the Warning Signals? Global Trends and New Security Threats
2020-05-21 10:00 - 11:00
As part of the virtual 2020 German-American Conference, the American Council on Germany and Atlantik-Brücke will host a video discussion on “Did we miss the warning signals? Global trends and new security threats,” with Ambassador Boris Ruge, Vice-Chairman of the Munich Security Conference and Gregory F. Treverton, Professor of the Practice of International Relations and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California and former Chairman of the National Intelligence Council. Moderated by: Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller, Kissinger Chair on Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress and a Senior Fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution.
With the spread of COVID-19, an unprecedented public health crisis has brought global travel to a halt and slowed international commerce. The current environment was almost unimaginable as recently as January of this year. Or, should we have seen this coming? Our guests will discuss whether or not we should have anticipated this pandemic and how the definition of security threats is evolving.
Ambassador Boris Ruge took up his assignment as Vice-Chairman of the Munich Security Conference in August 2019. He previously served as Director Middle East/North Africa at the Foreign Office in Berlin, as German Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and as Deputy Chief of Mission at the German Embassy in Washington, DC.
Having joined the Foreign Service in 1989, much of Ambassador Ruge’s career has been focused on security policy and stabilization. He worked at NATO Headquarters in Brussels during the Kosovo air campaign and later served as Chief Political Adviser to two successive Commanders of the Kosovo Force and as Head of the Political Department at the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina. At the Foreign Office he was also in charge of European security and defense issues.
Following undergraduate studies at the University of Cologne, Ambassador Ruge received a master’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a diploma in international relations from the Bologna Center of the Johns Hopkins University and was a participant in the 2005 course of the Royal College of Defense Studies in London. He is married and has three daughters and one son.
Gregory F. Treverton is Professor of the Practice of International Relations and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California.
He served as chairman of the National Intelligence Council from September 2014 to January 2017. Earlier, he directed the RAND Corporation’s Center for Global Risk and Security, and before that, its Intelligence Policy Center and its International Security and Defense Policy Center. He also was associate dean of the Pardee RAND Graduate School.
He has served in government for the first Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, handling Europe for the National Security Council and as vice chair of the National Intelligence Council, overseeing the writing of America’s National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs). In addition to RAND, he has taught at Harvard and Columbia universities, has been a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and also Deputy Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller is an expert on German, European, and transatlantic foreign and security policy and strategy. She currently holds the Kissinger Chair on Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress and is a Senior Fellow at The Brooking’s Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe. She served as the inaugural Robert Bosch Senior Fellow at Brookings from 2014 to 2019.
Prior to working at Brookings, Dr. Stelzenmüller was a Senior Transatlantic Fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), where she directed the influential Transatlantic Trends survey program. She is the former director of GMF’s Berlin office. From 1994 to 2005, she was an editor for the political section of the German weekly DIE ZEIT, where she had also served as defense and international security editor and covered human rights issues and humanitarian crises.
She has worked in Germany and the United States, and speaks English, French, German, and Spanish. Dr. Stelzenmüller holds a doctorate in law from the University of Bonn (1992), a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (1988), and a law degree from the University of Bonn (1985).

Transatlantic Perspectives: The Local Impact of COVID-19 and Education
2020-05-22 11:00 - 12:00
Friday, May 22 at 11:00 am – “Transatlantic Perspectives: The Local Impact of COVID-19 and Education” with Susana O’Daniel, Director of Public Affairs for the Arkansas Education Association; Daniela Schneckenburger, Commissioner of the Department for School, Youth, and Family for the City of Dortmund; and Laura Ward, Vice President of Talent Development, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Click here to register.

Resilience and Adaptation: Civil Society and the Corona Crisis
2020-05-26 11:00 - 12:00
Resilience and Adaptation: Civil Society and the Corona Crisis
The current pandemic has forced civil society to grapple with new challenges. The spread of COVID-19 has led some communities to develop new ways to look after each other – and respect social distancing guidelines. In other areas, the social fabric has been tested. Join experts and practitioners Nina Lemmens and Daniela Kaisth for a discussion about the ways in which civil society is coping with the current crisis and how the philanthropic community is responding.
Please register here.

The Merkel-Macron EU Recovery Fund: A Historic Moment for Europe?
2020-05-29 12:30 - 13:30
Just over a week ago, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined forces in proposing a 500 billion euro EU recovery fund to help respond to the corona virus crisis. If other EU member states agree to the plan, it would be an important step forward for a more unified Europe – and it might bring the bloc closer together rather than fracturing it. But, the proposal is not without controversy.
Please join us for an online discussion on Friday, May 29 at 12:30 pm (ET) with Bundestag member Metin Hakverdi (SPD) titled “The Merkel-Macron EU Recovery Fund: A Historic Moment for Europe?”

POSTPONED Transatlantic Perspectives: The Local Impact of COVID-19 and Digitalization
2020-06-05 11:00 - 12:00
The coronavirus outbreak has demonstrated ways in which digitalization has helped communities by allowing many people to work from home and enabling students to continue their education via remote learning. We’ve also seen how technology can assist with healthcare both in terms of service and tracking the pandemic. However, the crisis has also exposed a continued “digital divide” – a gulf between those with access to technology and those with little or no access – that has a profound impact on equity in communities. And the increased use of technology also raises concerns about cyber-security and data privacy.
Join us on Friday, June 5, at 11:00 am ET for a conversation about digitalization and cities – during and after the pandemic. Drawing on alumni from ACG programs, speakers include Sunanna Chand, Vice President of Systems Reinvention at Teach for America, Bruce Clark, Executive Director at Digital Charlotte; and Devin Dienes, Project Manager at Digitalstadt Darmstadt.

Racial Injustice And National Security
2020-06-09 11:00 - 12:00
Over the past two weeks, protests have erupted across the United States following the killing by police of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Minneapolis. Racial injustice has long been an issue for civil rights activists, but it also has a national security dimension.
Against the backdrop of racial injustice and inequality at home, join us on Tuesday, June 9, at 11:00 am ET for a virtual discussion on “Racial Injustice and National Security” with Bishop Garrison (2017 ACG Young Leader), Director of National Security Outreach at Human Rights First, President and Co-Founder of the Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy, and former Defense and Homeland Security Official under the Obama Administration.

Bishop Garrison, Jr. is a graduate of United States Military Academy at West Point and an Operation Iraqi Freedom Army veteran.
He served in multiple national security positions in the Obama Administration to include Advisor to the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These efforts included serving as the Executive Director of the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee as well as a role as Deputy Lead on a TSA Blue Ribbon Panel that reviewed the airline passenger screening system. Following his time in the Administration, he served as the Deputy Foreign Policy Adviser on the Presidential campaign of Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Along with two Bronze Stars, a Combat Action Badge, and a Meritorious Service Medal, his civilian accolades include participation as a member of the Obama Administration’s National Security Leadership Workshop. He is also a graduate of the College of William and Mary Law School as well as the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership’s Political Leaders Program at the University of Virginia. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Council for a Livable World, a non-profit focused on the reduction and elimination of nuclear weapons, as well as the Northern Virginia Regional Advisory Board of the non-profit Urban Alliance.
In 2017, he served as an American Delegate for the American Council on Germany’s Young Leaders Conference in Munich and Berlin as well as a member of Cultivate the Karass Campfire Cohort III. He is also the recipient of 2017 Taylor Revelry “Citizen Lawyer” Award from the College of William and Mary Law School.

Virtual Discussion with Amb. Emily Haber and Amb. John B. Emerson
2020-06-09 14:30 - 15:00
The ACG and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council will host a video discussion with German Ambassador to the United States Emily M. Haber and Ambassador John B. Emerson, Chairman of the ACG and former U.S. Ambassador to Germany.
The Ambassadors will be taking questions from livestream participants during our audience Q&A. CLICK HERE to register.
H.E. Emily Margarethe Haber has been German Ambassador to the United States since June 2018. Prior to her transfer to Washington, DC, she served in various leadership functions at the Foreign Office in Berlin. In 2009, she was appointed Political Director and, in 2011, State Secretary, the first woman to hold either post. Thereafter, she was deployed to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, serving as State Secretary in charge of homeland security and migration policy from 2014 until 2018. Emily Haber has many years of experience with Russia and the former Soviet Union and held various posts at the German Embassy in Moscow.
H.E. John B. Emerson was named Chairman of the American Council on Germany on January 17, 2018. He is Vice Chairman at Capital Group International. Previously, he served as United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany from August, 2013 until January 20, 2017. He served at a particularly challenging time, and in 2015 Ambassador Emerson was awarded the State Department’s prestigious Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service, which is given annually to one non-career Ambassador. He also served on President Obama’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.

We’re In This Together: Science and the Fight for Global Health
2020-06-11 11:00 - 12:00
It has been more than three months since the first lockdown measures were introduced in the United States, and many states and communities are now in the process of reopening. The precautions have helped flatten the curve, but the coronavirus is still spreading at home and around the globe. COVID-19 will continue to spread until a vaccine has been found.
Join us for a virtual discussion on Thursday, June 11, at 11:00 am ET on “We’re In This Together: Science and the Fight for Global Health” with Dr. Kathrin U. Jansen, Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research and Development for Pfizer Inc. Kathrin U. Jansen, PhD, is Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research and Development at Pfizer Inc, and a member of Pfizer’s Worldwide Research and Development leadership team. She oversees a fully integrated, global vaccines research and development organization, with responsibilities ranging from discovery to registration and post-marketing commitments of first-in-class or best-in-class vaccines to prevent or treat diseases of significant unmet medical need. More recent accomplishments are the global licensures of Prev(e)nar13® to prevent pneumococcal diseases and the development and licensure of Trumenba®, the first vaccine licensed in the United States to prevent invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B.
Dr. Jansen received her doctoral degree in microbiology, biochemistry & genetics from Phillips Universität, Marburg, Germany. Following completion of her formal training, she continued her postdoctoral training at Cornell University working on the structure and function of the acetylcholine receptor. She then joined the Glaxo Institute for Molecular Biology in Geneva, Switzerland, where she focused on basic studies of a receptor believed to be a drug target to treat allergies. Dr. Jansen was appointed an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania – School of Medicine in 2010.
Before the Wyeth acquisition by Pfizer in 2009, Dr. Jansen served as Senior Vice President at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and on Wyeth’s Research and Development Executive Committee since 2006 and was responsible for vaccine discovery, early development and clinical testing operations. Dr. Jansen also briefly worked at Vaxgen as Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President for Research and Development with responsibility for the company’s late stage development programs. Prior to joining Vaxgen, Dr. Jansen spent 12 years at Merck Research Laboratories where she directed or supported a number of vaccine efforts, including Merck’s novel bacterial vaccine programs and viral vaccine programs (rotavirus, zoster and mumps, measles and rubella). Dr. Jansen initiated and led the development of Gardasil®, the world’s first cervical cancer vaccine.

Resilience and Adaptation: Social Inequity and the Corona Crisis
2020-06-15 10:00 - 11:00
The combined public health and economic crises have exacerbated social inequity in our societies. Social injustice and police brutality have led to widespread protests and unrest. From essential workers risking their lives on minimum wage to poor living conditions to inadequate access to health care and the digital world, we must right many existing wrongs in the United States and in Europe. German sociologist Jutta Allmendinger and American community leader Bill Strickland will discuss how to heal and preserve the fabric of our communities. This event is being held with support from the Thomas Mann House.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6Q4-fYVYTT6d31sCcIW8hQ
Prof. Dr. Jutta Allmendinger, President of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and Professor of Educational Sociology and Labor Market Research at Humboldt University
Bill Strickland, community leader and Founder and Executive Chairman of the non-profit Manchester Bidwell Corporation
