We take pride in our international staff from Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Roberta Bonazzi, Executive Director, has a long-standing experience as an EU public affairs practitioner. After having worked for some of the major public affairs agencies in Brussels, she founded the European Foundation for Democracy. She works on a broad range of issues relating to foreign relations, democratic reforms, violent radicalisation and terrorism. Fluent in English, Italian, French and German, Roberta holds a degree in Political Sciences and International Relations from the University of Milan and a post graduate degree from the Institute for International Studies.
John Duhig, Senior Counsellor, has extensive experience in EU governmental affairs and commercial consulting, having worked for many years at both the European and national levels. He began his career at the European Commission, working on human rights, good governance and democratic institution building, where he spent three years. He subsequently spent over a decade at two of Brussels' leading government relations commercial consulting firms where he has focused on advising businesses on working with the European Parliament in particular. In this context he has advised on a broad range of EU policy areas including foreign affairs and enlargement, energy and environment, trade, consumer protection and animal welfare issues. John holds a BA in History from NUI Galway in Ireland, as well as an MPhil in International Politics from the Free University of Brussels.
Niall Judge, Programme Manager, is responsible for managing and coordinating projects on empowerment activities, human rights and international security. His main expertise lies in the field of EU affairs having arrived in Brussels in 2008 and completed a traineeship in the European Commission. Since then, and before joining EFD, Niall has worked in public affairs consultancy and marketing. He has a Bachelor of European Studies from the Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin and a Master of European Studies from the University of Bonn. Niall speaks English and German as well as some French.
Irshad Manji, Senior Fellow, is also Director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University, a leadership program that mentors students to speak truth to power within their communities. Ms. Manji came to both roles as author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith, published in more than 30 countries. Wherever her book is banned, she reaches readers by posting free-of-charge translations on her website. So far, the Arabic, Urdu and Farsi translations have been downloaded 2 million times. Her documentary film, Faith Without Fear, is now being widely watched by young Muslims in the digital underground. Ms. Manji has just released her new book, Allah, Liberty and Love.
Valentina Colombo, Senior Fellow, teaches Geopolitics of the Islamic World at the European University, Rome. After graduating in Arabic Language and Literature from Cattolica University, Milan, she earned a Phd in Islamic Studies from Orientale University, Naples. She taught Islamic Studies and Arabic language and literature at Bologna University (Faculty of Political Sciences). Her research focuses on democratization processes in the Middle East, with particular regard to Arab liberal intellectuals and the role of women in politics in the Middle East. Her latest works are: Islam. Istruzioni per l'uso (Islam. Instructions for use, Milan 2009); Vietato in nome di Allah. Libri e intellettuali messi al bando nel mondo islamico (Forbidden in the name of Allah. Books and Intellectuals banned in the Islamic World, Turin 2010).
Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, Senior Fellow, a German-Iranian scholar based in Germany, writes in the major German media addressing the threat of Iran as well as violations of human rights and minority rights. He is a graduate sociologist and political scientist and wrote his doctoral PhD. thesis on the issue of the "Third form of totalitarian rule as it manifests itself in Iran". He is a member of the independent German expert group on anti-Semitism, which was established by the Federal Ministry of Interior and is tasked to issue its first report to the German Parliament by the end of 2011.
Alexander Ritzmann, Policy Advisor, former Member of the Berlin State Parliament and now an expert in international and home-grown terrorism and immigration policies in Europe and the USA. Alex received his Masters degree in Political Science from the Freie Universität in Berlin. He was also a Research Fellow with the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C.
Bakary Sambe, Senior Fellow, specialises in, and conducts research on movements and ideologies within Islam, as well as on their compatibility with democratic values and principles. He is a member of ASMEA (The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa) and is currently working on strengthening the European network of Muslim reformers, especially in France. He is fluent in French, English and Arabic.
