Ambassador (ret.) Vitoria Nuland, former Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, and Dr. Evelyn Farkas, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, will address the challenges facing the new US administration with respect to its relationship with Russia. Ambassador (ret.) Nicholas Burns, Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations and Faculty Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project, will moderate.

Ambassador Victoria Nuland is former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. As Assistant Secretary she was responsible for diplomatic relations with 50 countries in Europe and Eurasia, as well as with NATO, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Previously, Ambassador Nuland served as State Department Spokesperson. A career Foreign Service officer, Ambassador Nuland was Special Envoy for Conventional Armed Forces in Europe from February 2010 until June 2011, and before that, she served on the faculty of the National War College. Ambassador Nuland was the 18th United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from 2005 to 2008. As NATO Ambassador, she focused heavily on strengthening Allied support for the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, on NATO-Russia issues, and on the Alliance’s global partnerships and continued enlargement. Her awards include: the State Department Distinguished Honor award and several Superior Honor awards; the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service; the Secretary of Defense’s Distinguished Civilian Service medal; and decorations from the Governments of Italy, Lithuania, and Albania.

Dr. Evelyn N. Farkas is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative, Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, and Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. She served from 2012 to 2015 as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, responsible for policy toward Russia, the Black Sea, Balkans, and Caucasus regions and conventional arms control. From 2010 to 2012 she served as senior advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe/Commander, US European Command, and as special advisor for the Secretary of Defense for the NATO Summit. Prior to that she was a senior fellow at the American Security Project, where she focused on stability and special operations, counterproliferation, and US-Asia policy. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a recipient of the Joint Meritorious Civilian Service Award.