Our FES-Team in Washington DC

Pia Bungarten is FES Representative to the U.S. and Canada
pia [at] fesdc.org

Pia Bungarten joined the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) Washington in 2009 as the Representative to the U.S. and Canada. Prior to her current assignment, she was at FES headquarters in Berlin, serving first as head of the Department of Western Industrialized Countries, then as Director of the Division of International Dialogue.

Pia Bungarten's work focuses on foreign policy and international cooperation. Her area of expertise is transatlantic relations, where she has substantial experience including her work as director of the New York office of the FES. She also initiated the Global Atlanticists Network, a bipartisan network of German and U.S. lawmakers and key policy advisors. The network furthers the U.S.-EU strategy debate on key international and domestic policies, ranging from nuclear proliferation and Middle East policy to immigration and integration issues.

Pia Bungarten holds a B.A. in American Studies from Amherst College, an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Munich and an M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Monika Parson is Financial Officer
m.parson [at] fesdc.org

Monika Parson joined the FES as Financial Officer in December 2002. Previously, she has worked for the Marsh McLennan Companies in Washington, DC. Prior to coming to the United States, she has worked for the state government of North Rhine Westphalia in Düsseldorf for eleven years. Monika has also lived and worked in cities such as Tokyo, Stockholm, and London for several years.

Michael Czogalla is Program Officer
m.czogalla [at] fesdc.org

Programs on Disarmament & Non-Proliferation and Forum Current Issues

Michael Czogalla joined the Washington office of the FES in October 2004. He is originally from Magdeburg, Germany and received his M.A. in American Studies, German Studies, and Political Science focusing on international relations and cultural studies from Leipzig University, Germany. Michael has taught German Studies at the University of Lincoln, Nebraska and published the book: "Behind the Laughter" - Die Simpsons im Kontext der amerikanischen Populärkultur, which looks at american religious aspects and family values.

Knut Panknin is Program Officer
k.panknin [at] fesdc.org

Programs on Conflict and Democratization: Middle East, South Asia and Beyond, Economic and Labor relations, and Forum Current Issues

Knut Panknin joined the FES as a Program Officer in June 2004. He received his M.A. in Political Science - focusing on U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Linguistics, and Philosophy from the Georg August University in Göttingen, Germany. Prior to his position at the FES, he worked in a European study program at the Center for European and North American Studies at the University of Göttingen.

Sebastian Ehreiser is Program Officer
s.ehreiser [at] fesdc.org

Programs on E3 - Energy, Environment, Economy and Forum Current Issues

Sebastian Ehreiser joined the Washington office of the FES in September 2010. He completed his Master’s Degree in European Studies from the Center for European Integration Studies at the University of Bonn, where he focused on transatlantic energy policy and comparative advocacy techniques in the EU and the U.S. Sebastian previously received his Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and German from Wake Forest University, followed by a year in Leipzig, Germany as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant.

Julia Hurrelmann is Program Officer (Canada)
canada [at] fesdc.org

Canada Programs: Emphasize Canada's role in the transatlantic dialogue by comparing social and political systems and processes, identifying relevant topics, and organizing high-level discussions for German and Canadian stakeholders (i.e. on Afghanistan, Energy and the Environment).

Julia Hurrelmann has been the Canada Liaison Officer for the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's Washington Office since February 2011. She received her M.A. in Criminology from the University of Hamburg. Working as a criminologist, she specialized on the issue of stalking and harassment. In 2006 and 2007, she served as the Executive Director of a federation of charitable organizations supporting the unemployed in Bremen, Germany. She also worked as a coordinator with the Anxiety Disorders Association of Ontario.