Prior to this assignment Meg Young served in the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy’s office of Policy, Planning and Resources leading their Outreach and Communications unit. She has also served as Deputy Director of the China Division in the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, as an Advisor to the Office of the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and as a Member of the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff.  In addition, she was the deputy public affairs officer at U.S. Embassy, Lisbon, the press officer for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Bureau of South-Central Asian Affairs, and consular officer in Shanghai, China.

Before joining the Foreign Service, Meg received her master’s in public diplomacy from the University of Southern California. She also worked as a researcher at USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy where she focused on Chinese soft power.  She previously worked for Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation in the areas of youth exchange and international leadership development.  Meg received her undergraduate degree in theatre and philosophy from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.

Bradley T. McGuire is a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, who joined the Foreign Service in 2010.  His previous professional experience includes roles at a startup in Silicon Valley, the American public affairs television network C-SPAN, and as a senior copywriter at Marriott International.

Brad has held prior diplomatic postings as Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau; Deputy Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels; Vice Consul at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest; and Information Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat.  In Washington, D.C., he has served as the Public Diplomacy Officer on the Russia Desk and as a Watch Officer in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR).

He holds an A.B. in Government and a J.D., both from Georgetown University, as well as an M.A. in Journalism from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.  A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Brad has studied Dutch, French, Romanian, and Russian.  He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.

Amanda Rasmussen currently serves as SVP Global Head of Order Management Solutions at DHL Global Forwarding, based in Copenhagen. She has held leadership positions across North America, Asia, and Europe, including key roles at Maersk, Expeditors, and DHL. Amanda holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee and an MBA in International Business Systems from Loyola Marymount University. She has served as a Board Member and Chairwoman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam and is currently a Board Member of the Maritime Network of Women, also previously serving as Board President. Amanda’s work is driven by a commitment to building strong communities and expanding opportunities for growth and innovation. She believes in the transformative power of learning and strives to ensure that organizations and individuals have the tools, knowledge, and resources they need to succeed and thrive.

Katherine Richardson is Professor of Biological Oceanography and Leader of the Sustainability Science Centre at the University of Copenhagen. Her research centers on how changes in climate and biodiversity in the ocean interact to influence the global carbon cycle and how humans are impacting the Earth System. Katherine Richardson is also a Principle Investigator in the development of the Planetary Boundaries framework aiming to identify a safe operating space for humanity in relation to its perturbation of the global environment. She is a member of the Danish Council on Climate Change as well as UN’s Scientific Panel to draft the 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report.