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Team and Advisory Board

Our team, your network – get to know the minds behind our mission

EADSociety Team

George Mihael Manea

Director

José Villena Sierra

Partnership Manager

Ioana Lungoci

Project Manager

Andrei Dascălu

Project Manager

Advisory Board

Sorin Ducaru

Kerry Longhurst

James Mackey

Laura-Maria Craciunean-Tatu

Stefan Ganzle

Pamela Gidi Masias

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

Samuel Doveri Vesterbye

Silviu Rogobete

Antonia Colibasanu

Radu Magdin

Euro Atlantic Diplomacy Society

Euro Atlantic Diplomacy Society (EAD Society) emerged from a collective ambition to establish a think tank that goes beyond examining global and societal challenges to actively shaping impactful solutions. Understanding the need for a multidisciplinary and cross-sector approach, EAD Society was established to bridge the worlds of diplomacy, science, and policy, fostering synergies that drive innovation and systemic transformation.

Our Story

George Mihael Manea

Director

George Mihael is an accomplished professional in the field of development cooperation, where his expertise plays a pivotal role in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the MCR 2030 initiatives. He is a Certified Professional Business Continuity Practitioner and an IVLP Alumnus with a proven track record in developing innovative mechanisms, creating impactful tools, leading teams, and managing complex programmes.

With a dynamic career spanning the European Commission, NATO, and the EU Delegation to to Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), George-Mihael blends expertise from national public administration, the private sector, and international organisations. 

George Mihael holds a PhD in Political Science from the West University of Timișoara (Romania) and further enhanced his academic background with studies at the College of Europe (Poland – ENP Scholarship from the European Commission) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium).

José Villena Sierra

Partnership Manager

José is a Spanish-Ecuadorian professional with a PhD in Constitutional Law and Good Governance from the University of Salamanca. He holds a Master’s degree in Government and Public Administration and has built a distinguished career in constitutional law, human rights, and governance.

José served as the Director of Constitutional Law and Human Rights at Transparency International, Ecuador Chapter, where he played a pivotal role in shaping key electoral and constitutional reforms in the country. His expertise extends to international relations, having worked as an external adviser on the trade and commerce agreement between the European Union and South American countries.

In addition to his work in law and governance, José is deeply committed to climate action and sustainability initiatives. He is also an advocate for the cultural impact of public art and frequently discusses its role in fostering cultural relations on various podcasts.

Ioana Lungoci

Project Manager

Ioana has over 15 years of experience in the international NGO sector, focusing on programme development, international affairs, and community development. She has played a key role in designing and implementing impactful initiatives, including her work at Dorcas Aid Romania, where she contributed to projects aimed at empowering vulnerable communities.

She holds a Master’s degree in European Affairs and Programme Management from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, complemented by a degree in Business Administration from Portugal and a postgraduate specialisation in Regional Development.

Driven by a strong passion for continuous growth and learning in the ever-evolving tech industry, Ioana is committed to leveraging technology for positive social change.

Andrei Dascălu

Project Manager

Andrei is a medical resident in Emergency Medicine at the Emergency University Hospital in Bucharest. A graduate of the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, he is passionate about the management of medical emergencies, nutrition, and food security. 

In addition to his clinical work, Andrei actively participates in various NGOs focused on public health, global health, and emergency medicine. He is also a contributor to the “Grile Rezidentiat” podcast, where he shares insights on medical careers and the challenges faced during residency. Always eager to learn and expand his knowledge, he is committed to offering support wherever needed.

Sorin Ducaru

Ambassador Sorin Ducaru is the Director of the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) since June 2019. The agency is a unique operational asset in the field of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, supporting the EU, Member States, international organisations, and Third States by providing services based on data from satellites and other sources. It operates under the supervision of the Political and Security Committee and the operational direction of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Ambassador Ducaru held the post of NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges from September 2013 to November 2017. He was responsible for providing support to the North Atlantic Council and advising the Secretary General on the evolution of emerging security challenges, their potential impact on NATO’s security, and the development of relevant policies and action plans. He directed the Emerging Security Challenges Division of the NATO International Staff and coordinated NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme.

Prior to his appointment as ASG, Ambassador Ducaru served as Romania’s Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council from September 2006 to September 2013. Starting in November 2011, he held the position of Dean of the North Atlantic Council.

Born on 22 June 1964, in Baia-Mare, Romania, Ambassador Ducaru graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest in 1988 and the Romanian National School of Political Studies and Public Administration in 1992. He holds an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam (1993) and a PhD in International Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest (2005).

He joined the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993, assuming various posts such as member of the Policy Planning team, counsellor to the Minister, spokesman of the MFA, and Director for NATO and Strategic Issues. From 2001 to 2006, he served as Romania’s Ambassador to the United States of America.

In 2000–2001, Ambassador Ducaru served as Permanent Representative of Romania to the United Nations, in New York. In the year 2000, Ambassador Ducaru was awarded by the President of Romania the National Order of “Faithful Service” in rank of Commander, followed by the Order for “Diplomatic Merit” in 2006, and in 2008 the rank of Knight of the National Order “The Star of Romania.”

He received the title of “Ambassador of the Year” in 2003 and 2012, from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania.

Kerry Longhurst

Dr. Kerry Longhurst is Jean Monnet Professor at Collegium Civitas and Head of the Institute for Political Science and International Relations. Her research interests lie in the fields of European integration, Eastern Europe, democracy, and gender.

In addition, her expertise extends to the social and political dynamics and effects associated with the EU’s evolving relations with Moldova, Georgia, and other Eastern Partnership states. Dr. Longhurst holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in Strategic Studies from the University of Wales.

Before joining Collegium Civitas, she was a Marie Curie Fellow at the French Institute for International Relations in Paris, a Senior Lecturer at the European Research Institute at the University of Birmingham, and a visiting fellow at Chatham House.

Dr. Longhurst has published widely, writing and co-writing three books and over 20 scientific articles, as well as policy-relevant reports and briefs. Over time, she has received research grants from the EU, Visegrad Fund, German Marshall Fund, and NCN. Her research on state capture, corruption, and Eastern Europe has also been used by the European Parliament and the World Bank.

Finally, she teaches on a variety of international relations and European integration topics, and enjoys developing new teaching methods with her students, including Oxford Union debates and podcast-making.

James Mackey

James H. Mackey is the former Director of Security Policy and Partnerships at NATO Headquarters. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing NATO’s relationship with partner countries around the globe.

Prior to this post, he first served as an officer in the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division at NATO HQ and then as the head of the Office of Euro-Atlantic and Global Partnership. During this time, he managed NATO’s bilateral relations with several partner countries, including Georgia, Serbia, Moldova, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kyrgyzstan. In 2010, he was detailed to the Private Office of the Secretary-General to conduct a reform of NATO’s intelligence-sharing process.

Mr. Mackey is a former Luce Scholar and spent 2000–2001 teaching international relations theory at the Beijing Foreign Affairs College.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Princeton University and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Laura-Maria Craciunean-Tatu

Laura-Maria Crăciunean-Tatu is a professor at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania, specializing in the rights of minorities, international humanitarian law, diplomatic law, and international criminal law. She received her PhD in 2008.

She is also the chair of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and represents Romania on the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Professor Crăciunean-Tatu has authored and co-authored several books, including:

  • Public International Law (co-authored; 2008, 2014)
  • Handbook of Diplomatic and Consular Law (2011)
  • The International Protection of Cultural Rights (2011)
  • The International Protection of Cultural Diversity: “the United in Diversity” Model? (2013)
  • International Humanitarian Law (2014)

She has also written a series of articles, including:

  • The CESCR, 50 Years Later: Developments in Respect of the Justiciability of ESC Rights and the Universality, Indivisibility, Inter-relatedness, and Interdependence of all Human Rights, in Antônio Augusto Cançado Trinidade, C. Barros Leal, R. Z. Ribeiro Leão (eds.), O Cinquentenário dos Dois Pactos de Direitos Humanos da ONU, Instituto Brasiliero de Direitos Humanos, Fortaleza, Brazil, 2016, pp. 203-232.
  • Transplanting Democracy and Human Rights in a Post-communist Country: Some Comments on the Role of the Venice Commission’s Opinions in Respect of Romania, in Baltic Yearbook of International Law, vol. 15 (2015), Brill/Nijhoff Publisher, 2016.
  • Cultural Rights and a Right to Cultural Identity before the European Court of Human Rights: Present Approaches and Future Challenges, in D. Moura Vicente, Towards a Universal Justice? Putting International Courts and Jurisdictions into Perspective, Brill/Nijhoff Publisher, pp. 136-162.
  • Implementing Cultural Diversity within and outside the European Union: A Test for the EU’s and its Member States’ Competences in Cultural Matters?, in Christ University Law Journal, vol. 4, no. 1/2015, (January-June 2015), pp. 103-123, ISSN 2278-4322, Bangalore, India.

Stefan Ganzle

Stefan Gänzle is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Science and Management, University of Agder, Kristiansand (Norway).

Prior to coming to Kristiansand, he worked as a Senior Researcher at the German Development Institute in Bonn from 2008-2009, and was an assistant professor of political science at the University of British Columbia. He was also a Research Fellow at the University of Jena, the European University Institute (EUI), and a researcher-in-residence at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

His current research focuses on EU foreign and security policy, differentiation in regional integration, European Territorial Cooperation, as well as comparative regionalism—with a focus on African regional organisations. His interests include the European Union, global governance, and regionalism in world politics.

He is the author of Die Europäische Union als außenpolitischer Akteur: Eine Fallstudie am Beispiel der EU-Politik gegenüber den baltischen Staaten und Russland [The European Union’s Foreign Policy in the Making: The Case of the Baltic States and Russia], Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2007, and the editor (with Allen G. Sens) of The Changing Politics of European Security: Europe Alone?, London: Palgrave, 2007.

Pamela Gidi Masias

Former Undersecretary of Telecommunications of the Government of Chile, Member of the National Artificial Intelligence Commission, National Cybersecurity Policy Group, and National Emergency Commission. She was responsible for 10 successful public tenders for digital infrastructure, including the first Spectrum Auction for 5G in Latin America and the Humboldt submarine cable from South America to Australasia.

Chilean-British (dual citizenship) with over thirty years of senior executive international experience, she has been responsible for and led important teams across eight industries in three geographical areas – USA, Europe, and Latin America. She has never faced a challenge she couldn’t handle.

Former Vice-President of Marketing, Innovation, and Public Affairs of DIRECTV-AT&T Latinoamerica, she has received numerous awards, including from the Women’s Economic Forum, Santander Foundation, Association of Women Entrepreneurs, and as a Women Leader in Chile.

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was the first female president of Mauritius, serving from 2015 to 2018. Prior to her presidency, she was the Managing Director of the Centre International de Développement Pharmaceutique (CIDP) Research and Innovation and Professor of Organic Chemistry with an endowed chair at the University of Mauritius.

Since 2001, she has served successively as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Pro Vice Chancellor (2004-2010). She also worked at the Mauritius Research Council as Manager for Research (1995-1997).

Dr. Gurib-Fakim has participated in several consultation meetings on environmental issues organized by international organizations such as the World Bank, SIDA, CIDA, EU, and UN, among others. Between 2011 and 2013, she was elected and served as Chairperson of the International Council for Scientific Union – Regional Office for Africa. She also served as an Independent Director on the Board of Barclays Bank of Mauritius Ltd between 2012 and 2015.

As a Founding Member of the Pan African Association of African Medicinal Plants, she co-authored the first-ever African Herbal Pharmacopoeia.

In addition, Dr. Gurib-Fakim has authored and/or co-edited 28 books and several book chapters and scientific articles in the field of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. She has lectured extensively around the world and is a Member of the Editorial Boards of major journals. She has also served on Technical Committees in various capacities, including the Chair of several National Committees in Mauritius.

For her efforts as a scientist, Dr. Gurib-Fakim has been recognized worldwide, receiving the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science, the Laureate for the National and Economic Council, and the African Union Award for Women in Science.

Samuel Doveri Vesterbye

Samuel Doveri Vesterbye is Managing Director at the European Neighbourhood Council (ENC), an EU-funded independent think tank based in Brussels with staff in Belgium, Türkiye, and Central Asia.

Doveri Vesterbye is an expert on EU neighbourhood and foreign policy, including EU-MENA and EU-Türkiye relations. His research is focused on supply-chain geo-economics, due diligence trade energy security, migration, information theory, and media consumption.

He has written numerous policy briefs, data-driven analyses, and book chapters, including Palgrave Macmillan’s Managing Security Threats along the EU’s Eastern Flank.

Doveri Vesterbye regularly advises the European Parliament, European External Action Service, and EU Member States on foreign policy data collection and new methodologies.

Silviu Rogobete

Professor Silviu Rogobete returned to the Department of Political Science, West University of Timisoara (WUT), after serving as Consul General of Romania in South Africa. He is currently the Director of the Doctoral School of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science. In 2019 he was appointed Honorary Professor of Stellenbosch University, South Africa. 

He teaches courses on Human Rights, Religion and Politics, Globalisation and Human Security, Diplomacy and Global Affairs. Since 2019 Professor Rogobete represents WUT in the Academic board of the European Security and Defense College (ESDC), where he also introduced and currently directs two permanent courses on Diplomatic Skills for CSDP Missions (Basic and advanced).

Antonia Colibasanu

Antonia Colibășanu is a senior associate expert at the New Strategy Center. She is also a senior geopolitical analyst and the chief operating officer of the US-based Geopolitical Futures and is a lecturer on international relations at the Romanian National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, as well as an associate professor at the Romanian National Defense University. 

Prior to joining Geopolitical Futures in 2016, Antonia spent more than 10 years with Stratfor in various positions, including as partner for Europe and vice president for international marketing. Prior to joining Stratfor in 2006, Antonia held a variety of roles with the World Trade Centers Association in Bucharest. 

Antonia holds a doctorate in international business and economics from Bucharest’s Academy of Economic Studies. She also holds a master’s degree in international project management. She is an alumna of the International Institute on Politics and Economics at Georgetown University.

Radu Magdin

Radu Magdin, CEO at Smartlink Communications, is a global analyst, consultant, trainer and think tanker. He worked as an honorary advisor to the Romanian Prime Minister (2014-2015) and advised the Moldovan PM (2016-2017) on various strategic issues, from political strategy and communications to reforms implementation and external affairs. 

Radu is a NATO Emerging Leader with the Atlantic Council of the US (2014), a Forbes Romania Trendsetter (2014), and a Warsaw Security Leader (2015). Magdin, who has a PhD in Resilience to Russian Information Operations, is a widely quoted analyst by global media; he has taught, since 2019, with Romania’s SNSPA, “Global Competition and Strategic Communications” respectively “Global Communication Campaigns”, courses with a special focus on great power competition and its impact on global players and communications.

Team and Advisory Board