HER NEXT MENTORS

EMILY HUNT

Brand & Retail Strategy | Marketing | Career Development

CATHERINE HARDWICKE

Film & Television | Directing | Creative Careers

MIA HERMAN

International Careers | Relocation | Travel & Culture

Mia is a relocation consultant and travel writer who has spent more than a decade exploring and writing about life and culture around the world. As founder of New 2 Portugal, she helps Americans navigate the practical and personal realities of moving abroad. Having lived in France, England, Japan and Portugal, Mia brings firsthand insight into international moves, adapting to new cultures and creating a life and career across borders.

TINA EXARHOS

Brand Strategy | Media & Entertainment | Leadership

Tina is an award-winning brand and content executive whose three-decade career spans television, film, music and digital media. Now Chief Brand Officer of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, she previously served as Chief Content Officer at NowThis and Chief Marketing Officer at MTV. Tina brings deep experience in creative leadership, building and reinventing iconic brands, navigating the media industry and using storytelling to create cultural and social impact.

KATHRYN WEICHEL

Growth & Marketing | International Impact | Squiggly Career

Kathryn is a marketing, communications and growth leader whose 25+ year “squiggly career” has spanned agencies, global brands, startups and mission-driven organizations. She spent 10 years living and working in Kenya and is now based in Spain. Kathryn is especially interested in helping women navigate career pivots, identify and communicate their professional value, work internationally and build careers around their evolving strengths, ambitions and priorities.

CHERRYL MARTINS

Global Marketing | Digital Transformation | International Leadership

Cherryl is a global marketing and digital transformation leader currently serving as Banking Communications Lead at the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative. Her international career has included leadership roles across the U.S., U.K. and EMEA for companies including Barclays, Pearson, Viacom and Marsh. Cherryl brings extensive experience in global business, marketing and communications, navigating large organizations and building a career across industries and international markets.

SARAH FRANÇOIS-PONCET

Executive Leadership | Law | Career Development

Sarah is an executive coach and consultant who helps individuals and teams around the world achieve their professional potential. Previously, she spent a decade as Global General Counsel of Chanel, overseeing a 150-person legal team across 15 countries and advising senior leadership on strategy and ethics. With a career spanning international law, C-suite leadership and executive coaching, Sarah offers a unique perspective on leadership, career development, navigating transitions and building an international career.

BAHAREH AZIZI

STEM | Strategy & Transformation | Career Pivots

Bahareh is a scientist and strategist whose career has evolved from biochemistry and academic research into senior leadership, consulting and community development. Her international career has included roles with Georgia Tech, the Dasman Diabetes Institute and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, and she later co-founded strategy consultancy InfoCap Associates. Bahareh brings particular insight into STEM careers, career transitions, strategy, organizational leadership and building a multidisciplinary career.

MIMI CARTER

Entrepreneurship | Venture Capital | Women Founders

Mimi is an investor and advisor active in Los Angeles’ entrepreneurial and venture community. A partner at Carterus Strategies and former director of Pasadena Angels, she has extensive experience evaluating and supporting early-stage companies and helping women founders gain access to capital, visibility and mentorship. Mimi brings firsthand insight into entrepreneurship, fundraising, investing, building professional networks and what it takes to turn an idea into a fundable business.

CRISTINA ANDRADE

Cristina is a U.S. federal government policy advisor focused on transatlantic relations and migration policy. Her international career has taken her from sustainability work at Amazon and combating illegal wildlife trade at Interpol to the European Commission and investment strategy at the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation. Cristina brings a distinctive perspective on international careers, public service and moving between government, multilateral institutions and the private sector.

KEESHA JEAN-BAPTISTE

People & Culture | Organizational Change | Leadership

Keesha is a C-suite leader and organizational change consultant whose career has spanned advertising, media and global luxury, including roles at Digitas, Wieden + Kennedy, Hearst Magazines and Richemont. Today, through The People + Culture Method, she helps organizations navigate transformation, develop leaders and unlock talent. Keesha brings a people-centered perspective to leadership, career development, navigating workplace change and building a professional path grounded in authenticity and purpose.

SUMA SHAMANNA

Cybersecurity & AI | Entrepreneurship | Technology Leadership

Suma is a technology and cybersecurity leader whose career spans entrepreneurship, education and civic engagement. She advises startups and entrepreneurs on strategy, growth and organizational development while also teaching Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence to engineering and master’s students. Suma brings particular insight into technology careers, cybersecurity and AI, entrepreneurship, navigating growth and translating technical expertise into leadership and impact.

MARINA CATALA

Marina is an award-winning television editor, producer, and filmmaker with more than two decades of experience in post-production. Her work spans scripted television, unscripted programming, comedy, and independent film, with credits including Netflix’s The Four Seasons, Survival of the Thickest, and Girls5eva, CBS’s The Amazing Race, NBC’s The Biggest Loser, and truTV’s Impractical Jokers, where she served as an executive producer for nine seasons.

Over the course of her career, Marina has worked across nearly every facet of post-production, including picture editing, producing, visual effects, online finishing, and post supervision. After an extensive career in unscripted television, she transitioned into scripted comedy, working on acclaimed series including Girls5eva, Survival of the Thickest, and The Four Seasons. She most recently served as an editor on the third season of Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest. Marina also produces and edits independent narrative projects, bringing both an editorial eye and a deep understanding of the filmmaking process to her work.

Marina earned her MFA in Film Editing from the American Film Institute Conservatory and is a professor of film at the New York Film Academy, where she teaches the next generation of filmmakers the craft, technology, and storytelling principles of post-production.

CAROLYN HERZOG

Carolyn is a Board Director and C-Suite executive with over 25 years of broad technology experience in multinational companies, having worked across the U.S. and in other countries.  Currently, Carolyn is Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary of Elastic (ESTC). For Elastic, Carolyn is responsible globally for all legal, regulatory, compliance and public affairs matters and provides strategic counsel to the CEO, Board and leadership team on a broad range of corporate, commercial and regulatory issues. Elastic is headquartered in the Netherlands and is traded on the NYSE. 

Prior to Elastic, Carolyn was the EVP, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer for Arm Ltd. Before Arm, Carolyn was the VP, Deputy GC and CCO for Symantec Corporation (SYMC), which she joined through the acquisition of AXENT Technologies, Inc. (AXNT), where she led the transaction as GC.  Prior to her legal career, Carolyn worked in the Africa Department of The World Bank in Washington, D.C. 

Carolyn has served on a number of non-profit, advisory and subsidiary boards.  She has been recognized numerous times for her business leadership, most recently as an NACD Directorship 100, by 50 Women to Watch for Boards and as a Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by the National Diversity Awards.

JU NAMKUNG

Ju has been developing websites and software for the Internet for 30 years, starting in the San Francisco Bay Area, when the web was in its infancy. Trained in linguistics, with a BA from the University of Chicago and an MA from University of California, Berkeley, she brought her analytic and humanistic skills into the tech world. She currently works as a software developer for Novel Effect, an edtech company that makes an innovative app which enhances the experience of reading children's books aloud with music and sound effects. Prior to Novel Effect she spent fifteen years at Amazon.com, working in many parts of the company including the main retail site, the partner portal, software for the warehouses, and IMDb, the Internet Movie Database.

Ju lives with her family in Seattle, Washington, where she spends a lot of time volunteering for organizations such as the youth development program 4-H and Moms Demand Action, which works to end gun violence in America. She's also a member of her local Democratic party and volunteers with campaigns to elect progressive candidates. In both her professional and personal capacities she enjoys making connections and building community. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jnamkung/ 

DANI FOLLETT

Dani is an Associate Professor of American literature at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, Immediate Past Chair of Democrats Abroad France. I have mentored young people for many years, both within academia and within Democrats Abroad. In today's world, mentorship is essential for young people as they are seeking their orientation in a complex landscape. It is a great pleasure and honor to be able to share some of my experience and to help young people find their way.

ROXANA GRIEVE

Roxana is a real estate development executive in the Washington D.C. region. Professionally, she serves as Director of Real Estate Development at Skanska Commercial Development USA, where she currently leads the development and asset management of mixed-use assets with a heavy focus on luxury multifamily.

She started her career in the industry on the construction side as a project manager for Whiting-Turner. Her total project portfolio exceeds $500MM across mixed-use, multifamily, hospitality and higher-education, and it  includes 1.2MM GSF of mixed used assets, 50,000 GSF of retail, more than 1,200 hotel key, and more than 1,000 luxury apartment units delivered. She serves on the NoMa BID board since 2026 and is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and CREW DC.

Roxana earned her architecture degree from Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela, and holds an MBA from the University of Maryland, College Park.

LIBBY JAMISON

Libby is an attorney and advocate based in Marrakech, Morocco. She is the founder and principal attorney at E. Grace Law Firm PLLC. Prior to her current practice, Libby served as Senior Advisor to Dr. Jill Biden's Joining Forces initiative at the White House and as senior counsel at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2024, she served on the legal team at the Democratic National Committee and then on the Harris-Walz campaign as National Engagement Director for Veterans and Military Families. As a proud Navy brat and the sister to two U.S. Marines, she has a strong commitment to veterans and military families, and currently serves as the Chair of the Democrats Abroad Global Veterans and Military Families Caucus.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ejamisonesq/

MELANIE CARTER

Melanie is a Senior Instructor at the American University in Cairo, where she teaches academic and creative writing. The recipient of AUC's Teaching Excellence award, she has also served as the Director of the University's Common Reading Experience and currently serves as the Associate Chair of the Rhetoric and Composition Department. She has an MA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of Alabama. Her poems have been published in The Gettysburg Review, Shenandoah, and other literary journals, and early in her career was shortlisted for the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. Currently she is at work on a poetry manuscript.

ANNA GARCIA

Anna is a global Talent Acquisition leader whose career has taken her from supporting high-growth organizations across APAC to leading international talent strategies from Europe. She has played a key role in building and scaling teams, including supporting the establishment of new offices across Asia, and has recruited talent within complex industries such as SaaS, telecommunications, and technology. Her experience spans both fast-growing scale-ups and large multinational organizations, giving her a broad perspective on business growth, organizational transformation, and workforce strategy. Holding degrees in Psychology and International Business, Anna combines commercial insight with a deep understanding of people and what drives them. She is known for building strong, lasting relationships by taking the time to understand individuals, their motivations, and their aspirations, creating meaningful connections that drive both personal and organizational success. 

MYRIAM JURABE

Myriam is an education professional with twenty-four years of teaching experience in both public and private school settings. Throughout her career, she has taught in Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, Ohio, London, and Brooklyn, New York.

She spent the last fourteen years of her career at a prestigious New York City independent school, where she designed and taught the Primary Division’s first Spanish as a World Language program.

Her passion for language education, cultural understanding, and global connections continues in retirement in Spain. She currently volunteers with the NGO Málaga Acoge, providing educational support to migrant children.

ALISE MUNSON

Alise is an experienced marketing, brand, and communications specialist with a passion for promoting startup culture as both a founder and advocate. She began her career as a journalist at The Oregonian in Portland before making the leap into the advertising world.

Her career then took her to LAIKA, the award-winning stop-motion animation studio, where she worked on brand strategy for feature films and commercial animation.

Most recently, Alise made the move from Oregon to Frankfurt, Germany, where she serves as Director of Marketing and Communications at an innovation hub supporting startups and entrepreneurs.

SALLY DESIPIO

Sally is Chair of the Global Women’s Caucus for Democrats Abroad. Prior to that she was Chair of Portugal. Prior to getting involved in political organizing, Sally spent 25 years in entertainment and marketing as an executive producer in television. She started her career at MTV Networks in New York City, and then moved to Los Angeles and learned the rules of Hollywood. She developed and produced award-winning shows, including VH-1’s Behind the Music, Rock the Vote, and Unreal. She moved to Portugal with her husband and two dogs in September 2022 and is committed to organizing women to vote around the world.

PAULETTE BROWN

Paulette is an American lawyer who was the president of the American Bar Association for a one-year term from August 4, 2015 to August 2016. She was nominated for the presidency and was later confirmed by the organization's House of Delegates as president-elect in August 2014. She thus became the first woman of color and third African-American person to be president of the ABA. Brown is a partner with Locke Lord LLP, where she is chief diversity officer. She is a mediator for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She was formerly the president of the National Bar Association and the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey. Brown was a municipal court judge in Plainfield, NJ.

SALLI A. SWARTZ

Salli is a dual national of France and the United States who has practiced international business law in Paris since 1979. Her focus has been on international mergers and acquisitions. negotiating and drafting joint ventures and consortia particularly in the extractive industries. She has lectured and trained Government officials on "Transparency and Business and Government" in Oman, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin and Ethiopia and on “Negotiating Extractive Contracts” in Chad, Kenya, Uganda, Mongolia, South Sudan,Tanzania and Ethiopia, is a co-author of “Mining Contracts: How to Read and Understand Them” (OpenOil), the author of the Assessment of the Administrative Tribunal of Tunisia (ILAC), has assisted in the drafting of the “African Legislative Mining Atlas” (World Bank), and the “Guiding Principles for Durable Extractive Contracts” (OECD). She a founding architect with the International Office of Migration (IOM) of the “International Recruiting Integrity System” (IRIS) to certify the human rights bona fides of migrant recruiting agencies. She is a Member of the Pennsylvania and Paris Bars, with specializations in the Law of International Relations and Commercial Law, is admitted to practice before the French Courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a former Chair of the International Section of the ABA, served on the Board of Directors of the Rule of Law Institute (ROLI), has been a contributor to the Rule of Law Index of the World Justice Project, was a former member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is currently a member of the Advisory Council of the International Legal Assistance Consortium.

DEBORAH ENIX-ROSS

Senior Advisor Global Engagement

Deborah is a Senior Advisor, Global Engagement, for the International Dispute Resolution Group and a member of the firm’s ESG Group.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Enix-Ross served as a Senior Legal Officer and Head of the External Relations and Information Section of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center in Geneva, Switzerland. Before joining WIPO, Ms. Enix-Ross was the Director of International Litigation for the Dispute Analysis and Corporate Recovery Services Group of Price Waterhouse, and, before that, served, for seven years, as the American representative to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration.

Ms. Enix-Ross is a Past President of the American Bar Association (ABA).  She is a Past Chair of the ABA House of Delegates, the Association’s 600 member deliberative body.  Ms. Enix-Ross is a former Chair of the ABA Center for Human Rights and its Business and Human Rights Project. She is a former Chair of the ABA Section of International Law, where she co-founded the Women’s Interest Network (WIN). As the WIN Chair, Ms. Enix-Ross was instrumental in working with the International Bar Association to create their Women’s Interest Group (WIG). During her tenure as Chair of the International Law Section, she led an International Legal Exchange (ILEX) delegation to Ghana (where she delivered an address commemorating the country’s 50th anniversary of independence), Liberia and Sierra Leone. Ms. Enix-Ross is a Vice President of the World Justice Project, a former Chair of the ABA’s Section Officers Conference, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She is the Secretary-General of the International Bar Association (IBA) and a past ABA representative to the IBA.

Ms. Enix-Ross is named on the 2024 Forbes List of America's Top 200 Lawyers and the 2022 Forbes 50 Over 50: Impact list. She is recognized for being “a change maker who uses her empathy, insight and savvy to make the world a better, more equitable place.”

Ms. Enix-Ross- received her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1981, a Diploma in Comparative Law from the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law of Columbia University in 1989 and a Certificate in International Law from the London School of Economics in 1979. Ms. Enix-Ross is an Honorary Bencher of The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.

JUANITA AUSTIN

I have more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, with a background in commercial insurance, claims, agency operations, client service, sales, and leadership.

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to lead and develop teams, train and onboard employees, build strong client relationships, and help others grow professionally.

I enjoy sharing the knowledge and lessons I have gained throughout my career and believe strongly in the value of encouragement, guidance, and meaningful relationships. I am passionate about helping others recognize their strengths, build confidence, and pursue opportunities for personal and professional growth. I hold the CISR and CIC professional designations and a bachelor’s degree from California State University San Marcos.

KIMBERLY WYN PUGH

Kimberly Wyn Pugh is an international communications professional with 15 years of experience in global public relations. Both strategic and creative, she solves complex communications challenges with insight-based plans that drive measurable results. 

She has successfully led teams across territories to execute multimarket PR launches, global brand campaigns and integrated marketing programmes. Organisations like Booking.com, OVO Energy, Walgreens and Target have relied on her to tell their stories to consumer, business and trade audiences. 

Kimberly is an advocate of ethical marketing to women. She has led cause marketing initiatives and nonprofit PR on topics related to women’s health, pay parity, advocacy and representation. She works closely with C-suite executives and other spokespeople to provide strategic communications counsel, key message development, interview and speaking engagement preparation and media tour management.  

Kimberly began her career agency-side in Boston and New York, relocating to open MWW PR’s first international office in London in 2014. She traded agency life for in-house experience at OVO Energy, heading up their media relations and later consumer public relations, reporting into the C-Suite. She currently lends her communications skills to the Democrats Abroad Global Women’s Caucus.

Kimberly has BA in English Literature with a minor in Dance from Skidmore College.

 MICHELLE SAMSON

Michelle has worked in Communications since graduating with a degree in Psychology from Santa Clara University in California. Starting out in the US in exhibit management then Corporate Events for DirecTV, Michelle decided to move abroad where she worked as PR Director for an agency specialized in tourism and hospitality. After five years, she chose to open her consultancy to Italian SMEs looking to ‘go global’. Her focus was on strategizing the companies’ digital footprints, trade show presence and promotional material. 

Bridging the digital transformation, Michelle accepted an in-house role in Internal Communications for CNH, a multi-national corporation with 66,000 employees on every continent. Responsibilities increasingly involved change management and Executive Communications, and following the spin-off from CNH, she moved into her management position in Corporate Communications for Iveco Group. 

Driven by excellence, Michelle brings her American work ethic to international settings. When not in the office, she explores the Alps and hikes European and US trails. She is an active volunteer with the Democrats Abroad Global Women’s Caucus and the Taxation Task Force. She is proud of her two adult daughters who are already contributing to making the world better.

 SAMANTHA WILLIAMS

Samantha Williams is an international professional with experience spanning both the United States, her home country, and Italy. She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a focus on Italian Studies, enhanced by attending academic programs in Rome and Florence. She later completed the International MBA program from POLIMI Graduate School of Management, relocating to Milan in 2019.

Guided by a human-centered approach and a deep appreciation for historical and cultural perspectives, Sam has developed expertise in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), organizational culture, change management, and stakeholder engagement. She began her career working with nonprofit organizations in California before taking on roles at various international companies in Italy, where she developed a broad skill set working across Human Resources, ESG, and Corporate Communications teams.

Passionate about advancing equity and inclusion, she is actively committed to supporting underrepresented communities and helping create workplaces that are more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable. She brings this commitment to both her professional work and personal life.

CHLOE LAMFERS

Chloe is a freelance graphic designer who helps small businesses grow their brand and level up their look because good design isn't just pretty, it's good for business. She moved abroad and immediately started giving back, splitting her free time between a local animal shelter and the Global Women's Caucus. Outside of work and volunteering? She's raising a future feminist, one small win at a time.

ASHELY LYKINS

Ashley currently leads Nike, Inc’s EMEA Marketplace Supply Chain to bring the best Nike product to athletes everyday. For the last decade, she has supported similar activity spanning multiple continents in global and regional roles across product, digital, stores and sustainability. Ashley also built experience in strategy and partnership development at JPMorganChase in Asia Pacific, the Clinton Foundation, US Agency for International Development (USAID), and several academic, non-profit and government institutions. Outside of work, Ashley can be found enjoying local parks and museums, reading biographies, and traveling with her husband and three kids.

MELYSSA FRATKIN

Melyssa is a Stakeholder Liaison for the AI Factory at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), coordinating the efforts of supercomputing centers that serve as regional AI Factory nodes across Spain.

Previously, she was director of industrial programs at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin, where she built and managed strong partnerships between industry and academia, and raised over $5M for TACC programs. She also chaired communications for the SC20 and SC24 conferences.

She serves on the board of the HPC-AI Society and the planning committee for Rice University’s Energy HPC & AI Conference.

MIMI SUR

Mimi is a Senior Product Development Leader and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience driving digital transformation, product innovation, and business growth across global organizations. She has had a varied career, starting in biomedical research and public health, transitioning to designing and building technical solutions, always with the end customer in mind. Throughout her career, she has led the development and launch of digital products, scaled technology solutions, and built high-performing cross-functional teams across diverse industries, including telecom, fintech, transportation and supply chain management. 

Alongside her professional work, she is passionate about advancing women through mentorship and community building. She is an active volunteer with Female Ventures in the Netherlands where she previously served on the Board and as Mentoring Program Director to empower expat women seeking entrepreneurship, career growth, and network building. A strong believer in the power of inclusive, servant leadership, Mimi is passionate about helping individuals and organizations unlock their full potential through meaningful connections. 

Born in India, Mimi grew up in the US and later relocated to the Netherlands in 2001. As a "third culture" adult, she has learned that home isn't a place on a map, it's wherever she is with her husband and three children.

CATRINA SHOCKEY

Catrina is the Director of Projects & Services at Fives Giustina in Turin, Italy, where she leads global teams to deliver projects and service excellence for customers in the manufacturing industry. An engineer with an MBA, she has spent more than 14 years with Fives in multiple roles. She moved from the United States to Italy in 2018 and believes it was one of the best decisions she has ever made, enriching both her career and personal life. The experience has broadened her perspective and offered her experiences that she never imagined. Outside of work, Catrina enjoys traveling and exploring new places, and spending time in the beautiful landscapes of Italy.

NATALIE STOFFER

Natalie Stoffer is an east coast girl. She has been living in Italy since 2005, in Torino since 2007.  Her career took many turns as she figured out what she wanted to do for work while living abroad: she started out working part time in coffee bars, then took advantage of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, working in a warehouse for one month. Like many expats, she taught English for several years and she finally found her niche in Real Estate around 2019, getting her Italian real estate license after the accredited training course and state examination. Natalie lives with her husband and two teenage children in the city centre and is active in the International Women’s Club.

FRANCESCA GUTIERREZ

Francesca is a US-UK dual citizen based in Oxford, with an international career spanning the US, UK and Europe. She has spent over 20 years working in the technology industry, holding senior leadership roles at companies including Amazon Web Services, Anaconda, and VMware.

Her experience spans business development, sales, strategic partnerships, entrepreneurship and emerging technologies, including AI and cybersecurity. Having worked in both large multinational companies and startups, she understands the opportunities and challenges of different career paths, as well as navigating career transitions, working across cultures and building professional networks.

Francesca is particularly interested in helping younger professionals explore their options, identify their strengths, build confidence and make informed career decisions. She enjoys sharing practical advice on networking, interviewing, career development and finding opportunities internationally. Her mentoring approach is informal, supportive and focused on helping people find a path that suits their own interests and ambitions.

JULIA BRYAN

Julia is Managing Director of Vero Partners, a Prague-based consulting company that specializes in systems integration, digital media, and startup consultancy, working with banks, mobile operators and media and retail outlets across Europe and North America. During the course of Ms. Bryan's professional career she has managed several startups, including the setup, development and roll out of a digital print and fulfillment center for a major OEM serving customers across Europe. ​

Ms. Bryan was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. She received her bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University. In the course of her years in Prague, Ms. Bryan has worked within IT circles to encourage entrepreneurism and international outreach amongst Czech developers and young business leaders. She was one of the founding board members of the Czech branch of Wireless Wednesday (now called Communication Wednesday), has acted as an advisor on banks and telecoms to Enterprise Ireland Czech Republic and Slovakia, and was most recently involved in setting up a startup initiative within a major pharmaceutical company. She is the former Global Chair of Democrats Abroad, the overseas arm of the U.S. Democratic Party. She lives in Prague with her husband and two children.​​