Poland is the largest, most powerful country on the threatened eastern flank of NATO and the European Union and also the closest of US allies. Poland is critical to the future of Ukraine, the security of Europe, and the U.S.-European relationship. Where is the US-Polish relationship heading and how is it challenged by divided politics in both countries?

Ambassador Jones served as US Ambassador to Poland, US Ambassador to Malaysia, Chief of Mission in Pakistan, as well as assignments in Moscow, Vienna, Sarajevo, Skopje, Manila, and Bogota, during a 33-year diplomatic career. 

He is widely regarded as one of the Foreign Service's only senior experts on both Europe and East Asia.

In Washington, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is a board member of the US-Philippines society, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and American Academy of Diplomacy. He is the recipient of the Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award for Peace Building, the Presidential Meritorious Service Award and the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Honor Award.

“U.S.AID; One Year Later” featuring Michelle Barrett, Senior International Development Executive. Michelle will offer a rare, insider’s perspective on the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission leadership during the pivotal period from January to September 2025. She will reflect on her career as well as USAID’s longstanding role in advancing U.S. national security and global stability

Kristjan Prikk has served as Estonia´s  Ambassador to the United States since May 2021. This is his third diplomatic posting to Washington, DC.

Before assuming his current duties, Prikk served for nearly three years as the Permanent Secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Defense. In this role he was responsible for the management of the Ministry and for the coordination of activities of the agencies under the Ministry, including the Estonian Defense Forces, the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, and the Centre for Defense Investments.

Joshua P. Meltzer is a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution. His research focuses on international economic relations and the intersection of technology and trade policy. Along with Cameron Kerry, he co-leads the Forum on Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence (FCAI)—a multistakeholder dialogue with government officials from the U.S., EU, Canada, the U.K., Singapore, Japan, and Australia, as well as AI experts from industry and academia. He also leads the USMCA initiative, which focuses on how the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) can strengthen international cooperation in North America.

Meltzer has testified before the U.S. Congress, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the European Parliament. He was an expert witness in the Schrems II litigation in Europe on data flows and privacy and a consultant to the World Bank on trade and privacy matters. He is a member of the Australian government’s National Data Advisory Council and the OECD’s “Data Free Flow with Trust” expert community. Meltzer teaches digital trade law at Melbourne University Law School and has taught digital trade law as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Law School and ecommerce and digital trade at the diplomatic academy of the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Before joining Brookings, he was a diplomat at the Australian Embassy in Washington D.C. and prior to that an international trade negotiator in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Meltzer has appeared in numerous media outlets, including the Economist, the New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, the Asahi Shimbun, and China Daily. He holds an S.J.D. and LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor and law and commerce degrees from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia