EU Calls on Member States to Accept Refugees
Jessica Hart
Director, Finance and Operations
Ms. Jessica Hart is a nonprofit management professional with more than eighteen years of experience leading finance, operations, and strategic communications at the American-German Institute, where she currently serves as Director of Finance and Operations. She is a key advisor to the President and guides organizational strategy, financial stewardship, and long-term sustainability.
Jessica oversees all financial operations, including budgeting, audits, and regulatory compliance, while managing a $2 million annual budget. She partners closely with the President and the Board of Trustees to align financial planning with institutional goals and drive effective fundraising strategies. Jessica also leads organizational operations, including human resources, internal systems, and cross-departmental coordination, ensuring efficiency and accountability across the Institute.
Prior to her current position, Jessica led communications at AGI, where she developed and implemented the organization’s first comprehensive content strategy. She oversaw publications, media relations, and digital engagement, including launching a successful podcast and executing major branding and website initiatives. She has held roles spanning editorial leadership, financial management, and program coordination, producing policy publications and managing international conferences across the United States and Europe.
Jessica holds a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which included a year of study in Berlin. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Political Science and International Studies from The Ohio State University. She is proficient in German and brings a strong background in transatlantic relations to her work.
In addition to her professional responsibilities, Jessica is an active community leader, serving on the Executive Committee of Families for Safe Streets and the Steering Committee of DC Families for Safe Streets.
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In today’s State of the European Union speech, European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker called on the EU’s member states to accept the migrants crossing into Europe and detailing a plan for distributing people across countries based on economic opportunity and size. The plan comes after calls from German Chancellor Angela Merkel for other European leaders to step up in addressing the humanitarian crisis.
Read more from The New York Times: European Official Calls for Continent to Take In 160,000 Migrants.
Read more from Bloomberg: EU’s Executive Arm Proposes Distributing Refugees Across Region.
