GMACCC - Key Persons
Alexander Verbeek is an independent advisor on global issues related to climate, security, water, food, energy and resources. Alexander collaborates with governments, businesses, think tanks and civil society agencies to create solutions for the environmental, security, resource and demographic challenges of the 21st century.
Alexander served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Netherlands Navy -RNLN (1990-1991) and was a diplomat for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1992 until 2016. His last position was Strategic Policy Advisor on Global Issues in the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had postings in Vienna (OSCE), Bonn and London. At MFA headquarters in The Hague, he also worked in the Middle-East Department, twice in the security department and for several years in the Asia department.
Alexander developed the Planetary Security Initiative and led the team that prepared the first Planetary Security Conference in the Peace Palace in The Hague in November 2015. From 2016 until 2018 he was the Chairman of the Board of Advisors of this initiative.
He is a World Fellow at Yale University, a Visiting Fellow at Uppsala University for the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).
In 2015 he became an Associate at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and since 2016 he is an associate at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). In 2018 he became an Associate Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
Job Titles:
- David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy
Alice C. Hill is the David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. Her areas of expertise include climate change, Infrastructure, Food and Water Security, Disasters, and Energy and Environment.
Her work at CFR focuses on the risks, consequences, and responses associated with climate change. She previously served as special assistant to President Barack Obama and senior director for resilience policy on the National Security Council staff where she led the development of national policy to build resilience to catastrophic risks, including climate change and biological threats. Her co-authored book, Building a Resilient Tomorrow: How to Prepare for the Coming Climate Disruption, was published in 2019. In 2020, Yale University awarded her the Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis.
She has been a speaker in several GMACCC and related events including most recently in the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS), ‘Strategic Conversation' series (14 October 2020) and the conference on Climate Security Challenges for NATO (17 September 2020) where she delivered a video message on "Building Transatlantic Climate Resilience: Considerations and Capabilities"
Job Titles:
- Germany / Senior Consultant at the German Ministry of Defense
Colonel Zimmermann (OF-5 Res) works full time as Senior Advisor at the German Ministry of Defense in Bonn, Germany (BMVg IUD II 5) and as Deputy Director at BMVg IUD II 6 (DEU).
He is also a Visiting Professor in the Earth Sciences Department at the City University of New York and a Visiting Professor in the Forestry Department at the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Lima, Peru.
Previously he was Senior Research Scientist, Forest Ecology and Remote Sensing Group Leader the University of Hohenheim and also was Head of the Research and Lessons Learned Division at NATO Energy Security Center of Excellence in Vilnius, Lithuania.
He obtained his PhD in 1990 at the University of Beyreuth and his ResearchGate account reports that he has nearly 180 publications with almost 4,000 citations.
His military career includes having served with the German Paratrooper's Long Range Reconnaissance Special Forces and German MOD and he has also worked at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry concerning carbon emissions as at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory concerning environmental radar remote sensing.
Job Titles:
- Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage
Dr Chad Briggs is Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage and a principal environmental consultant with GlobalINT a private consulting firm that provides risk, foresight, and strategic planning resources to people around the world, with an emphasis on environmental and energy issues. Current and former clients include the US State Department, US Air Force, General Dynamics, Swedish Armed Forces, European Union, US Dept of Energy, and others. For the US military (through USAF's Project Minerva), he helped translate scientific data into strategic and operational risks for Pacific and European/Arctic commands, while for the US Dept of Energy he led a team on assessing abrupt climate impacts on energy and national security.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Scientist
Dr Colonel Zimmerman is an experienced Senior Research Scientist with a demonstrated history of working in research and teaching at international research institutes and universities and is skilled the subjects of Sustainable Natural Resource Management, Environmental Matters, Ecology, Climate Change and Energy Security.
Dr. Jamie Shea was elected as Secretary-General of GMACCC on 7 June 2018.
Among his other affiliations he is professor of strategy and security within the Strategy and Security Institute at the University of Exeter (since September 2018). He is also a senior fellow responsible for security and defense programs at Friends of Europe and a senior advisor with the European Policy Centre, both based in Brussels.
From 1980 to 2018, Jamie was a member of the International Staff of NATO in Brussels. His last position was Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges where he was responsible for taking NATO's work forward in areas such as non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber defense, counterterrorism, and energy security. He oversaw strategic analysis and forecasting as well as the NATO Science for Peace and Security program, which develops and funds capacity-building, and technology projects with NATO's partner countries across the globe.
He received his B.A. (Hons.) in Modern History and French from the University of Sussex (1977) and his D.Phil. in Modern History from Lincoln College, Oxford (1981).
Dr. Andersen over more than three decades has demonstrated cooperation and partnership with the United States Department of Defense (US DOD) and other global military organizations on stratospheric ozone and climate protection and remains actively involved in both United Nations Treaty and US domestic regulation for ozone and climate. For example, he is co-author of UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) book: 35 Year Anniversary: Protecting the Ozone Layer, which includes the chapter Military Pathfinder Leadership, authored by David King, E. Thomas Morehouse, and Dr Stephen O. Andersen.
While Deputy Director of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Stratospheric Protection Division (SPD) and later as Director of EPA Strategic Climate Projects Stephen officially served as EPA Liaison to DOD where he coordinate compliance with the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol).
For more than 20 years Dr. Stephen O. Andersen worked constructively with the US Department of Defense and its services and with military organizations worldwide to protect the stratospheric ozone layer and climate. Stephen helped the DoD and other military organizations navigate the Montreal Protocol with no disruption of military operations, allowing essential use of ozone-depleting substances for rocket manufacture, streamlining compliance in Germany and the EC, and avoiding treaty non-compliance in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Job Titles:
- Germany / Former Science Officer, NATO Headquarters
Before her retirement in 2020, Dr Susanne Michaelis worked for nearly 24 years at NATO ‘s Scientific Affairs, Public Diplomacy and Emerging Security Challenges Divisions, promoting security cooperation on topics mostly related to environment, climate and energy. She developed concepts, events and projects supported by NATO's Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme, established stakeholder communities and helped integrating the topics in high-level NATO documents.
In 2012, Susanne created ‘NATO Smart Energy', an initiative aimed at reducing the fuel consumption of NATO forces. A highlight of this initiative was the NATO Smart Energy camp that she set-up with contributions by Allied nations in the Capable Logistician exercises 2013, 2015 and 2019. Susanne made a collection of public information available at the NATO-hosted Internet platform "NATO LibGuide Smart Energy".
In 2004, Susanne negotiated the partnership of NATO with the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) under which international organisations coordinate their support to regions prone to environmental disasters. She highlighted the link between environment and security through news stories, exhibitions and video clips. These included a series of interviews with GMACCC members at the NATO workshop on energy and environmental risks facing the Alliance.
Susanne represented NATO in a number of international events and initiatives, such as EDA's Consultation Fora, the Combat Engineering Conferences and climate conferences, including Climat et Défense: quel enjeux? organised by the French government in 2015 as a contribution to COP21.
Susanne obtained her PhD in molecular biology/human genetics at the "Westdeutsches Tumorzentrum Essen".
Her publications include:
Improving Security and Stabilisation Through Environmental Protection. (2017)
NATO Forces and Energy Efficiency. (2017)
Rene Heise works in NATO's Emerging Security Challenges Division.
Previously, he has served as head of Geo-sections at the German Air Force Air Operations Command, and as acting Chief Meteorological and Oceanographic Officer and Section Head at the NATO Allied Command Operations.
As Staff Officer at the German Air Force he was responsible for the Geo support for missions and operations as well as for further development especially for forecasting tools on space weather effects.
With a wide range of professional experience on the tactical, operational and military-strategic levels, he experienced the requirements concerning military operations and humanitarian aid missions. In theatre (SFOR, ISAF, OEF, OHQ EUFOR Congo) he observed directly the impact of climate change and dependencies on the operations.
He has a degree in Meteorology and Geophysics (Humboldt-University Berlin) and has been engaged in exploration and study of atmospheric processes since the undergraduate days.
As a head of GEO- expedition, he managed outstanding measurement campaigns over the Andes (first measurements of atmospheric turbulence up to the lower edge of stratosphere) and Himalaya (pioneer flights with a motor-glider and producing of an accurate 3D Model (20cm resolution) of Mount Everest) in cooperation with the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
As a glider pilot, Rene is regularly observing the effects of climate changes (glacier monitoring, strengthening of the jet stream, and dehydration of landscapes) with a bird's eye view. René is also vice-president and board member of Europe Air Sports and of the German Air Sport Federation.
Rene became a member of GMACCC in October 2019.