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Deeply honored to have been awarded France's National Order of Merit by Ambassador @FrenchAmbUS Laurent Bili. I receive this not only as a personal distinction, but on behalf of the @gmfus where I've had the privilege of working for the past fifteen years, and on behalf of friends and colleagues across the Atlantic committed to strengthening the relationship between the U.S. and Europe.
This honor is personal, because the transatlantic relationship isn't just the story of my professional life—it shaped my family, my identity, and my understanding of the world from an early age. I grew up in Rye, New York, while my father served as the Dutch Consul General. I attended the French American School in Larchmont with my sister Isabelle, where French and U.S. cultures coexisted; my brother William was born in NY. We grew up with a blend of French intellectual rigor, Dutch pragmatism and humor, and American entrepreneurial spirit. My grandfather ended his career as the Netherlands' NATO permanent representative; my uncle Jaap served as NATO Secretary General from 2004-2009. Theirs was a generation that built and defended the transatlantic alliance; mine, I would come to realize, would be the generation tasked with renegotiating it.
That immersion carried me into my first role: special advisor for transatlantic relations to the French Foreign Ministry's Policy Planning, from 2009-2011, while completing my PhD at Sciences Po Paris. There, I hosted bipartisan congressional delegations through an exchange program GMF created early in the Iraq War—a deliberate effort to sustain the relationship despite divergence at the top.
That conviction—that differences demand we listen harder and keep dialogue open—led me to join GMF in 2011, first as Paris office director, then SVP for Geostrategy, and today its first European president: a role I see as translator, of the U.S. to Europe and Europe to the U.S., without illusion, but always anchored in the reality of the world in which we operate. One lesson stays with me: this relationship cannot be taken for granted. It must be constantly renewed and recalibrated—through institutions, but above all through people.
I'm often asked if the relationship is dead. My answer is no—it's being renegotiated, fast. The 80-year bargain on defense, trade, and tech is being rewritten in real time, under pressure from shifting alliances, a Europe forced to take greater responsibility for its own security and competitiveness, and the race for tech sovereignty. This is not the end. It's the most consequential renegotiation since the Marshall Plan. Writing what comes next is the exciting part of my job and GMF's mission.
This honor strengthens my resolve to keep building bridges, protect the space for dialogue, and ensure the next generation inherits a relationship that is more balanced, agile, and fit for what's ahead. Grateful to Ambassador Bili, to France, and to the entire GMF community.
This honor is personal, because the transatlantic relationship isn't just the story of my professional life—it shaped my family, my identity, and my understanding of the world from an early age. I grew up in Rye, New York, while my father served as the Dutch Consul General. I attended the French American School in Larchmont with my sister Isabelle, where French and U.S. cultures coexisted; my brother William was born in NY. We grew up with a blend of French intellectual rigor, Dutch pragmatism and humor, and American entrepreneurial spirit. My grandfather ended his career as the Netherlands' NATO permanent representative; my uncle Jaap served as NATO Secretary General from 2004-2009. Theirs was a generation that built and defended the transatlantic alliance; mine, I would come to realize, would be the generation tasked with renegotiating it.
That immersion carried me into my first role: special advisor for transatlantic relations to the French Foreign Ministry's Policy Planning, from 2009-2011, while completing my PhD at Sciences Po Paris. There, I hosted bipartisan congressional delegations through an exchange program GMF created early in the Iraq War—a deliberate effort to sustain the relationship despite divergence at the top.
That conviction—that differences demand we listen harder and keep dialogue open—led me to join GMF in 2011, first as Paris office director, then SVP for Geostrategy, and today its first European president: a role I see as translator, of the U.S. to Europe and Europe to the U.S., without illusion, but always anchored in the reality of the world in which we operate. One lesson stays with me: this relationship cannot be taken for granted. It must be constantly renewed and recalibrated—through institutions, but above all through people.
I'm often asked if the relationship is dead. My answer is no—it's being renegotiated, fast. The 80-year bargain on defense, trade, and tech is being rewritten in real time, under pressure from shifting alliances, a Europe forced to take greater responsibility for its own security and competitiveness, and the race for tech sovereignty. This is not the end. It's the most consequential renegotiation since the Marshall Plan. Writing what comes next is the exciting part of my job and GMF's mission.
This honor strengthens my resolve to keep building bridges, protect the space for dialogue, and ensure the next generation inherits a relationship that is more balanced, agile, and fit for what's ahead. Grateful to Ambassador Bili, to France, and to the entire GMF community.
GMF President @AdeHoopScheffer was awarded the French National Order of Merit by @FrenchAmbUS Laurent Bili for her storied career shaping foreign affairs in France and around the world.View quoted post on X
