Brexit: Deal or No Deal?

On March 29, the United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the European Union – and there is still no agreement in place between Brussels and London to guide the unprecedented exit. Theresa May’s failure to get a Brexit deal though parliament leaves London vulnerable and EU leaders frustrated. Join the World Affairs Council and Amanda Sloat, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center on the United States and Europe and former deputy assistant secretary at the State Department, for a discussion on March 14 to explore the narrowing options for the UK, Theresa May’s weakened political position, and what happens if March 29 arrives with no Brexit deal. Owen Larter, Senior Manager, Global Government Affairs at Microsoft, will moderate the conversation with Dr. Sloat.

If you are an educator attending in order to receive clock hours please register as a K-12 Educator. Educators will earn 3 clock hours by attending the program and completing the online module that accompanies the workshop.

This event is in partnership with the Rainier Club.

About the Speaker
Amanda Sloat is a Robert Bosch senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings. She is also a fellow with the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Her areas of expertise include Brexit and British politics, Turkey and Southern Europe, the European Union, and trans-Atlantic relations.

Sloat served in the U.S. government for nearly a decade. She was most recently deputy assistant secretary for Southern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean Affairs at the State Department, where she was responsible for U.S. relations with Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey as well as for coordinating European engagement on Middle East issues. She also served as senior advisor to the White House coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf region and as senior advisor to the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. She previously worked as senior professional staff on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, with responsibility for European policy.

Prior to her government service, Sloat was a senior program officer with the National Democratic Institute, including work in Iraq with the Council of Representatives. She was also a post-doctoral research fellow with the Institute of Governance at Queen's University Belfast. During this time, she held visiting fellowships at the Academy of Sciences in the Czech Republic, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, and the Jean Monnet Center at New York University Law School. She also served as a special advisor to the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly, and European Commission.

Sloat holds a doctorate in politics from the University of Edinburgh and a bachelor's in political theory from James Madison College at Michigan State University. She has published a book, "Scotland in Europe: A Study of Multi-Level Governance" (Peter Lang Pub Inc, 2002). She has written widely on European politics in academic and foreign policy outlets.

Moderator

Owen Larter is Senior Manager of Global Government Affairs at Microsoft. He works with Microsoft’s teams around the world to help governments realise the potential of new technologies like cloud an d AI in a way that benefits all of society. He also co-founded the Aspen Institute Next Generation Network, helping tomorrow’s leaders gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities of technology.

Previously, Owen worked in Microsoft’s UK Government Affairs team, leading on cybersecurity and AI issues. Prior to joining Microsoft, Owen worked for the Labour Party in the UK, as an adviser to a Minister for Justice and as a campaign consultant for a number of election campaigns. He has also worked as an adviser to startups in the reg tech and financial services space and served on the advisory board of an education institution. He is a member of the German Marshall Fund’s Young Professionals Program and a Fellow at the World Affairs Council.