November Member-to-Member Lunch: Transatlantic Priorities for the Next Administration

In the face of a resurgent Russia and the looming departure of Britain from the EU, the future of transatlantic relations will be of critical importance to the next administration. Join the Council in welcoming German scholar Martina Timmermann and Derek West, U.S. Air Force (ret.), for a Member-to-Member lunch conversation on the future of TTIP and NATO post-Brexit, and how the U.S. and EU can work together to manage the refugee crisis, address global hotspots, navigate the rise of nationalist parties, and more.

A light lunch will be provided.

About the speakers: 

Martina Timmermann was born in Osnabrueck; she studied Social Sciences, Comparative Politics and International Relations; history and politics of East Asia, with a focus on Japan at Ruhr University Bochum, Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, and Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. From 2000-2003, she directed her DFG-funded research project on identity building processes in Southeast Asia and Japan at the Institute of Asian Affairs in Hamburg. In 2004, Martina returned to Tokyo as Academic Program Officer and Director of Studies on Human Rights and Ethics at the Peace and Governance Program of the United Nations University (UNU).  In 2008, Martina joined TIMA International as Vice President for International Affairs. Since 2010,  she has been serving as Secretary of the Mid-Atlantic Club Bonn e.V. In that capacity she edited the book, “Impacting in Times of Change – 40 Years Mid-Atlantic Clubs,” Hamburg 2013.

Derek West is a security cooperation professional with several years of experience working with African defense forces. Before joining the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) as a Department of the Army civil servant, he retired from the United States Air Force after 23 years of active-duty service as an officer. His military career included a wide range of assignments: special operations, aviation weather, defense acquisition, research and development, space and missiles, professional military education instructor, defense attaché, and foreign military cooperation. Derek graduated with academic distinction from the United States Air Force Academy and earned five graduate degrees in the fields of atmospheric science (masters and doctorate from Ohio State University), military operational art and science, international relations, and strategic studies. He is a graduate of Air Command and Staff College and Army War College. He is a fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar and a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.  The intersection of climate change and security cooperation is of particular interest to him.

About the moderator:

Phil Shekleton is a Part-Time Lecturer at the UW Foster School of Business and the former Managing Director of the EU Center of Excellence of Seattle. He regularly speaks on EU topics in local classrooms and community venues, and has led student study programs to Brussels and several other European cities. Originally from California, he has a master’s degree in political science from the University of Washington.