Catie Thorburn, a social entrepreneur, is the President of Generation Europe Foundation which she established in 1995. She has been the driving force behind the creation of the Generation Europe’s activities, including the Europa diary which has been published in 28 countries in over 2.4 million copies.
Prior to this she created and ran a small multinational in the field of multilingual document production and took it (Lexitech Inc) onto the New York Stock Exchange in 1986 (Nasdaq), was a Consultant for Eurexpansion (Expansion, Dow Jones and Handelsblatt publishers) at Europe Information Service and thereafter was a Board Member of the “Club de Bruxelles”, a leading European think-tank. She is Scottish and is fluent in English and French.
Elise has been involved with GEF as a board member since 2008 and has recently joined the team to work on the Youth Summit and the development of new projects adapting to GEF’s mission and vision of becoming a more global actor.
Born and educated in Belgium and the UK, she obtained a Bachelor’s degree from York University in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Her work experience started in the field working with humanitarian ngo’s such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for over 4 years and was followed by 6 years as an advisor to the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs on conflict prevention and humanitarian aid worldwide and governance, reform and bilateral relations with Africa. She is fluent in French, English and Spanish and speaks Dutch and has good understanding of Italian and German.
Dominique has been in charge of pre-press at Generation Europe since 1998 and has been responsible for the graphic design of the Generation Europe Diaries since 2001. As such, she has experience of working in a variety of languages, and is well versed in the art of creating graphic designs that are appropriate to a wide range of cultural and linguistic contexts, as well as being appreciated by young people.
Prior to this she worked in a publishing house where she was responsible for pre-press work and proofing. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve in Germanic studies and also holds a degree in Book Science (specialized in publishing). She is Belgian, and speaks French, Dutch and English.
Cristina joined Generation Europe Foundation’s management board in 2009 and is now responsible for the management, implementation and legal aspects of our various projects. She also provides legal and technical advice on EU funding.
Born and educated in Switzerland, she obtained a Master’s degree in Italy in political science, attended Konstanz University in Germany, received a scholarship to study constitutional law and federalism in Freiburg, and then received a Ph.D. at Trento University in European Studies. Following an internship at the Council of the European Union (Directorate Justice and Home Affairs), she worked for 6 years in the legal office of the European Commission’s Anti-Fraud Office – OLAF. In March 2008, she joined the cabinet of a German Member of the European Parliament as legal advisor, until the end of her second political mandate (May 2009). She is fluent in Italian and French and also speaks English, German and Spanish.
Arnaud joined the GE team again in August 2009 following a sabbatical in South America. His involvement with Generation Europe Foundation dates back to 2004 when he first joined the team as new projects assistant. Over the years he acquired a solid experience in the management of diverse communication projects as well as international project development. As webmaster and as account manager in the field of press relations, as well as through his studies and previous jobs, he has gained extensive writing experience across a broad range of issues and through a variety of media.
His work experience is built on a background in international issues and human rights, as well as a very good knowledge of the European institutions and the European media. Arnaud holds a bachelor degree in International Relations and an MA in Transnational Communications. He speaks fluent French, Dutch and English, and has a very good knowledge of Spanish.
Daniel's first exposure to the Generation Europe Foundation came as a freelance writer for the 2009-2010 Europa Diary. He then joined the team on a full-time basis in September 2009 to take the editorial helm of the 2010-2011 edition.
After graduating from Boston College (2006) with a degree in political science and history, Daniel obtained an MA from the College of Europe (2007). Although it was only a one-year study programme, he stayed in Bruges a further two years, employed at the College's office for external projects and partnerships. There, he worked as a project manager on a number of service contracts for the European institutions, particularly related to communication and training. Daniel speaks English and French.
Stéphanie Racette has been working with Generation Europe since 1998. She is responsible for the logistics and implementation of Generation Europe's various projects.
Born in Canada and raised in the United States and Brussels, her background is by definition one of multi-cultural communication. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree from the American University in Washington, D.C. (1993), for which she completed a 6-month stage at Europolitique/European Report, and a Master’s Degree from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium (1994), she worked as Project Manager first in the entrepreneurial, then in the IT, multimedia and telecommunications sectors where she established and implemented communications strategies, undertook fund-raising activities, prepared conferences, and conducted research on European policy and programmes. She is fluent in English and French, and speaks German, Dutch and Spanish.
Annika joined Generation Europe Foundation in 2009 after a traineeship at the European Commission's DG Enlargement. She is responsible for the coordination of the Europa Diary and the ‘Mind Your Rights’ pilot project and assists in pan-European survey management.
Annika is a political sciences graduate and holds a BA degree in European Studies from Osnabrück University (2006) and a MA in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe (2008), but also completed international programmes in Romania, France and the US. Her experience in youth work and project management originates from many years of active involvement in international youth organisations. She is fluent in English, French and German and also speaks Spanish and Romanian.
David Scott Thorburn has been managing Generation Europe Foundation UK for several years and is now responsible for a combination of logistics and operational management projects at Generation Europe Foundation in Brussels.
As a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and former British Army Officer, he has developed, planned, trained, directed, managed and reported on operations in several countries. David has also worked in the cellular telecommunications business, has managed logistics, stocks and supplies for a luxury goods retailer and has been an equity partner in an international procurement consortium.
Yann joined Generation Europe in October 2009. Since April, he joined the Summit team and has been working on the design and the functionality of the website. He will be managing the online community and gardening the website.
Yann recently launched Switch, an non-profit organisation promoting social development in southern countries through documentary films and other mutlimedia tools. Yann holds a master degree in Communications & Development. He speaks fluent French, Dutch and English.
