Please join the Alliance for Securing Democracy, Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Ron Johnson (R-WI), Estonian Ambassador to the United States Jonatan Vseviov, and GMF President Dr. Karen Donfried on December 4 to discuss how Russia’s interference operations pose a national security threat to the United States and democracies across the transatlantic community. The Alliance for Securing Democracy will also present its initial findings from a new interactive tool that analyzes Russian interference operations over the past two decades.

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

The first woman in U.S. history to be elected both a Governor and a United States Senator, Jeanne Shaheen has been committed to serving the citizens of New Hampshire and is known for her common-sense leadership, hard work and dedication to improving the lives of the middle class. She has served in the United States Senate since 2009 and is a member of the Senate Committees on Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Appropriations, and Small Business and Entrepreneurship. As Ranking Member and the former chair of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs, Senator Shaheen was an outspoken proponent of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), and assisted with securing its ratification which enabled the U.S. to resume critical inspections of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI)

Senator Ron Johnson is the Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and also serves on the Budget, Foreign Relations, and Commerce, Science and Transportation committees. He is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on European and Regional Security Cooperation for the Committee on Foreign Relations. Senator Johnson has served in the Senate since 2010.

Ambassador of Estonia to the United States Jonatan Vseviov

Jonatan Vseviov has served as Estonia’s Ambassador to the United States since August 2018. This is his third diplomatic posting in Washington, DC. Before assuming his current duties, Vseviov worked at the Estonian Ministry of Defense for 10 years, rising to the post of Permanent Secretary. Until his appointment as Permanent Secretary in January 2016, Mr. Vseviov served as the Undersecretary for Defense Planning, the Acting Undersecretary for Defense Policy, and Director of Policy Planning. 

Dr. Karen Donfried

Karen Donfried is President of The German Marshall Fund of the United States. She first joined GMF in 2001 after having served for ten years as a European specialist at the Congressional Research Service. From 2003 to 2005, she was responsible for the Europe portfolio on the U.S. Department of State’s Policy Planning Staff. She returned to GMF from 2005 to 2010, first as senior director of policy programs and then as executive vice president. Before assuming her current role, Donfried was the special assistant to the president and senior director for European affairs on the National Security Council at the White House. Prior to the White House, Donfried served as the national intelligence officer (NIO) for Europe on the National Intelligence Council. As NIO, she directed and drafted strategic analysis to advance senior policymakers’ understanding of Europe.