Tom has just completed his MA in Development Studies at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. His thesis examined the relationship between international trade and trade union rights in India and Pakistan. Before this, Tom worked for the National Alliance of People’s Movements and the European Projects and Management Agency in Delhi and Prague respectively. During the course of his undergraduate degree, he completed a one year internship with international development consultancy firm EUROPE Ltd. His areas of interest include trade liberalisation, workers’ rights and civil society. Alongside his work with Politheor, Tom is currently working for TRUST Consultancy and Development.

Igor Sarkissian holds an M.A. in Advanced European and International Studies from Sciences Po Lille. Focusing mainly on European affairs and the EU, he worked as an intern for the economic and trade section of the EU delegation to Vietnam. His areas of interests include the economic, foreign and trade policy of the EU, the decision-making process of the European institutions and the relations between Europe and Asia.

Michele Federle is currently pursuing a Master's degree in International Economic Policy at Sciences Po Paris, France. He was also a student at the Scuola di Politiche, Rome, the public policy school founded by former Italian PM Enrico Letta. Among his professional experiences are included internships at the Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt and at the Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung in Mannheim, Germany.
His research interests encompass global financial governance, European integration and macroeconomics.

Ozren holds an MA in Intercultural Communication and Media and an MSc in Strategic Management. Fluent in five European languages. Works in risk consulting and public relations. Nikola holds a BSc degree in management and organization and has worked on multiple consulting projects.

Igor Tkalec is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Luxembourg. His PhD project encompasses policy coordination and social policy of the European Union with a focus on pension systems. His academic interests include political economy, governance, and comparative politics, notably in the context of the European Union. He has experience in journalism, blogging, and research projects.

Barbara Lewis, Ph.D., heads the Trotter Institute for the Study of Black History and Culture at UMass Boston, and is tenured in the Department of English. As a cultural historian, she has published on lynching in drama, the minstrel stage, and the black arts movement. For over fifteen years, she wrote theater, film, and performance reviews and covered the arts scene in New York. Dr. Lewis has taught at City College, Lehman, New York University, and chaired the Department of Theatre at the University of Kentucky.

I am a Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York's Guttman Community College. My undergraduate and graduate degrees are in International Relations from Alliant International University in San Diego. My specialization is in International Economics and Foreign Policy for my MA degree. I'm a doctoral candidate (2019) for a Phd. in. Political Science at the City University of New York's Graduate Center in Mid-Town Manhattan. My research interests are securitization of refugee policy and international humanitarian law. I have taught a range of Political Science, International Relations and Public Administration courses in the United States, Brazil, South Africa and Kenya. I also regularly provide media contributions on a range of topical issues concerning International Affairs on Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, Citizen and Nation Television.

Ann-Kathrin Beck is currently finishing up her graduate degree in the Erasmus Mundus Masters Program in Public Policy at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals and the School of Public Policy, Central European University, Budapest. Previously, she has gained professional experiences with the German Agency for Development Cooperation (GIZ) in Ghana, Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Indonesia and the German Embassy in Kazakhstan, always eager to find the connections between environmental and development policies – her two main research interests. Her master thesis focusses on the external dimension and potentials of EU forest governance.

Murdock is a writer and educator originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico U.S.A. He holds a BFA in Creative Writing and MA in Rhetoric and Writing with a Teaching Focus from the University of New Mexico. He currently teaches writing and composition, as well as other courses, at Chosun University in Gwangju, South Korea.