Defence Leaders

Senior Consultant Land Advisory Group

EUSPA - EU Agency for the Space Programme

Finabel has been listed as a Public Partner of the EU Space ISAC, which held its General Assembly on 20 September.
The main objective of the EU SPACE ISAC is to enhance the security and resilience of the space sector by raising awareness and developing the expertise of its Members. The initiative will engage the industry, public sector institutions and academia and act as a network-based information-sharing platform, connecting its Participants in a trusted environment.
The EU SPACE ISAC will serve as the primary communication channel for the space sector regarding security-related information and the sharing of best practices. It will support the development of relevant knowledge, services, and resources to enable Members to prevent, tackle, and mitigate security challenges more effectively and efficiently.

Strategic Advisor

Finabel - The European Land Force Commanders Organisation

Taking care of the management and the daily business of the organisation, under supervision of the country holding the presidency.

Director

Senior Subject Matter Expert Cyber Defense

Deputy Chief

NATO Land Operations Working Group (LOWG)

Member Research Development

NATO

Contracting Specialist

With over 30 years of experience in the defence domain, I am the Director of Finabel HQ, the European Land Force Commanders Organisation, where I lead the management and daily business of the organisation. I am also the organisation's international representative. My strategic planning, leadership, and negotiation skills have been honed through my previous roles at Belgian Defence and NATO.

My passion for military interoperability guides my mission to enhance collaboration and mutual understanding among European land forces. I am actively involved in several NATO and EU working groups, where I contribute to international cooperation and effective dialogue on defence policies and issues. I also represent Finabel on a broader stage as a Senior Subject Matter Expert on Cyber Defence. I am dedicated to driving innovation, promoting efficient communication, and ensuring a unified and robust defence system for Europe. I welcome the opportunity to connect with anyone who shares my interests and goals.

Mario Blokken

Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

Research Officer-Foreign Policy, Security and Defence

German Marshall Fund of the United States

Within the fellowship, I will be working on a policy project regarding the impact of the Russian war on Ukraine for the security of the Black Sea region

ReThink.CEE Fellow

Transatlantic Alumni Network

TAN brings together the Brussels-based alumni of US-sponsored exchange programmes. It was founded by 6 alumni with the support of the United States Mission to the European Union.

NATO Parliamentary Assembly 

Researcher

Center for European Policy Analysis

Strengthening transatlantic links through engagement opportunities and dialogue between the US and the Central and Eastern European policy communities.

James S. Denton Transatlantic Fellow

European Policy Centre

- Visiting Research Fellow within "Europe in the World" programme
- Working on issues regarding NATO, NATO-EU relations, and the EU Security and Defence Policy

Research Fellow

Amnesty International

•	Initiated the movement of Amnesty International Volunteer Facilitators in Romania;
•	Founded and led the first group of human rights activists for Amnesty International in Romania (Amnesty International Bucharest Group);
•	Project management: coordinating 30 human rights activists; drafting and implementing annual strategies of increasing the human rights awareness in Romania; coordinating and supervising human rights education workshops in schools and universities; designing, budgeting and monitoring the implementation of local, regional and national human rights campaigns; organized 15 human rights campaigns on subjects as women rights, Roma rights, LGBTQ rights, freedom of speech, banning torture, sexual and reproductive rights with a reach of 40 thousands Romanians.
•	Representation of the Organization: promoting the organization and its activities in Romania (online and offline); representing the group at public events on human rights as guest speaker; representing the group at the Amnesty International Germany meetings.
•	Stakeholder Management: maintaining the relations with the International Secretariat of Amnesty International and the Coordinator for the region; working together with the Board and Secretariat of Amnesty International Germany; coordinating the national network of high-school teachers which whom I collaborate on various national human rights campaigns; networking and creating partnerships with other Romanian civil society organizations; 
•	Achievements: elected as the Delegate for the International Membership from Europe (representing the interests of volunteers and local groups from 22 countries) to participate in Amnesty’s International Council Meeting 2015 (the highest decision-making body). This is the highest position that an activist can have within the organization; I am also the first Romanian Delegate that is selected for this position, in the history of Amnesty International.

Lead Project Coordinator

National School of Political Science and Public Administration

•	Research and analysis on EU foreign and security policy as well as on NATO affairs;
•	Instructor to the course “Introduction to NATO” (2016, 2017, 2019): drafting the seminar syllabus and materials, holding the seminars, grading students’ essays, updating the course materials.
•	Took part in 4 academic research projects financed by either the Romanian Ministry of Education and/or the European Commission. 
•	Expertise Development: Monitored and evaluated political and security developments of the European Eastern vicinity (with a focus on Russia, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, and Georgia).
•	Knowledge Management: wrote academic articles, briefs, public presentations and op-eds on EU relations with Russia, foreign policy and security progress on the Eastern Flank, and on other subjects of interest for the research projects.   
•	Event management: contributed to the planning and implementation of academic conferences and workshops; assisted with the drafting of the content-setting and agenda of several events on topics related to European foreign policy and security architecture; 
•	Other tasks: prepared reports and minutes of meetings; presenting my research at international conferences and seminars; note-taking; post-event reporting.

Foreign and Security Policies Researcher                        

•	Research, analysis & policy monitoring: wrote short background analysis and policy briefs on topics related to the security of the Black Sea region, Russia’s interference in the Eastern Flank countries, Romania’s foreign policy and security issues, NATO; monitored main political and civil developments in the former Soviet space; 
•	Event management: assisted in the organization and coordination of CEPA meetings and events.

Policy and Research Intern	

University of California, Berkeley

•	Affiliated at The Institute for Slavic, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies
•	Expertise Development: Monitored and evaluated political and security developments of the Former Soviet Space and South Caucasus, transatlantic relations and Chinese interventions in Center-Eastern Europe.
•	Knowledge Management: wrote academic articles, briefs, public presentations and op-eds on the above-mentioned topics.
•	Event management: contributed to the planning and implementation of academic conferences and workshops projects within the Humanities and Social Sciences Association; Helped as an Associate Editor with peer-review, promotion and event organization within the Troika Student Journal; assisted with the drafting of the content-setting and agenda of several events on topics related to foreign policy and security in Europe; moderated the event: “Biopolitics and Biopower in Putin's Russia: An Alternative research agenda” by Professor Andrey Makarychev (Johan Skytte Institute of Political Science, University of Tartu, Estonia)

Fulbright Visiting Researcher

Dr. Ionela Maria Ciolan is a Research Officer at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, focusing on European Foreign Policy, Security and Defence. Her areas of interest and expertise include European Security and Defence Policy, European Foreign Policy, NATO, Black Sea security, Arctic security, transatlantic relations, and EU relations with Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova.

In addition, Ionela is a 2023-2024 Re.Think CEE Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and part of the 2023 Transatlantic Security Initiative of the International Republican Institute. 

Previously, she worked as a security and defence researcher at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Prior to that, she was a research fellow at the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels and a James S. Denton Transatlantic Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington. She gained extensive international policy expertise as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California-Berkeley, and through her work at the European Parliament, the Centre for EU-Russia Studies at the University of Tartu, and the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Romania.

Ionela holds a PhD from the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (Romania) on the dynamics of the Eastern Neighbourhood between the EU’s multilateral values and Russia’s great power politics (with a focus on Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia). Her policy research has been published by CEPA, EPC, GLOBSEC and the European Defence Agency. Her work has been quoted in several international media.

Ionela is an alumna of the Manfred Wörner Seminar of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany (2022), the GLOBSEC Young Leaders Forum (2022), and the OSCE and UN Office for Disarmament Affairs Scholarship for Peace and Security (2019). She was a New Security Leader of the Warsaw Security Forum (2018) and a Professional Fellow of the US Department of State (2015).

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Mario Blokken

Ionela Maria Ciolan

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