Online Alumni Panel: State of Democracy

Mark Dempsey (EMPA 2021)

• Mark Dempsey is an experienced digital, media and EU regulatory policy specialist with 20+ years in public, private and third sectors in multiple jurisdictions including Ireland, UK, Belgium, Germany, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and India. Since April 2023, Mark has been with ARTICLE 19, a global non-profit focused on inter alia, freedom-of-expression and access to information where he leads their advocacy at the EU institutions with a particular focus on the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the Digital Services Act (DSA), the AI Act and the Anti-SLAPPs Directive.  Prior to ARTICLE 19 led a project on data protection for the European Commission which provided assistance to governments of GDPR-like legislation in ‘third countries’. Between 2019 -2021, Mark completed an EMPA at the Hertie School in Berlin where he took the digital concentration and completed his thesis on the impact of the ‘Brussels Effect’ of GDPR in Kenya. Before Hertie, Mark had a varied career as a Regional Director for a US development finance NGO working across the MENFA region, an EU policy advisor for the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and at the outset of his career as a treasury dealer French bank BNP Paribas.

Wiebke Dorfs (MIA 2022)

• Wiebke Dorfs serves as Chief of Staff and Policy Advisor to MP Armand Zorn at the German Parliament, where she focuses on digital policy and the governance of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. She has been actively involved in negotiations for the EU AI Act and in implementing the Digital Services Act, aimed at reducing harmful and hateful content on online platforms. Passionate about the intersection of technology and democracy, Wiebke has firsthand experience with the multiple current challenges to democratic processes. Prior to joining the Bundestag, she worked at the Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, the German AI Association, and in political consulting. She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the Hertie School, with studies at Georgetown University, and a degree in International Business from Maastricht University.

Rukaiya el-Rufai (MPP 2008)

• Rukaiya El-Rufai is the Special Advisor to the President on the National Economic Council (NEC) and Climate Change in Nigeria, domiciled at the Office of the Vice President. She holds an MPA in Public Policy and Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Hertie School. With over 15 years of industry and consulting experience, Rukaiya has worked with public and private sector clients on sustainability and climate change. She's a chartered accountant and a regular speaker at conferences.
   

Julieta Mejía Ibáñez (MPP 2010)

• Julieta Mejia is an internationalist and a Mexican politician who served as a member of the Mexican parliament and has kept her agenda focusing on actions to reduce the impact of climate change, women's rights and combating corruption. From 2017 to 2021 she served as a deputy in the state of Nayarit and registered the best productivity rate. She got the approval of the law that prohibits single-use plastics where she was recognized in national media and social media in such a great way, that the Mexico Office of the United Nations Environment Program wrote to her to recognize this achievement. She has distinguished herself as a social activist. Stands out the labor with hundreds of families to protect children rights, the organization of many reforestation campaigns among other actions related to protecting the environment. Last summer she was the first woman in her political party to ran for Senate in the state of Nayarit, where she got more than 100,000 votes.

Afanwi Niba (EMPA 2018)

• Afanwi Niba is a Project Director at the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), where he leads a joint initiative with UNHCR addressing forced displacement in Cameroon. He holds degrees from the University of Hamburg, Smith College Northampton (USA), and an Executive Master of Public Administration from the Hertie School, specializing in intersectoral management. Before joining GIZ, Afanwi held positions at the Leuphana University Lüneburg and the START Foundation, a project of the Hertie Foundation, amongst others. Since 2017, Afanwi has worked with GIZ on various projects across Africa, with significant experience in Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon.

Moderator: Ximena Docarmo (MPP 2024)

• Ximena Docarmo is the Head of Learning and Co-Director of the Accelerator at the Apolitical Foundation, the world’s only global launchpad for non-partisan political leadership incubators. She authored Toolbox for Strategic Political Training and Understanding the Cycle of Political Engagement and How to Leverage It. As a political trainer, she specializes in adult education, focusing on political leadership. Originally from Peru, she worked for over a decade in international cooperation and led the Multi-Party Political Training School for Young Politicians from 2015 to 2022. Her expertise includes supporting individuals and organizations in impact capacity building. She is a co-founder of InnovaLab and contributes to Latin American platforms on the role of AI in politics in the region.