Marlies is a young professional with a German - American background who is passionate about transatlantic relations and U.S. foreign policy. After graduating from the Freie Universität Berlin in political science, she led the Leadership Program at Aspen Institute Berlin. Marlies recently moved back to the United States where she is currently serving as the Program and Communications Officer at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Washington, DC. She likes to spend her free time boxing and is semi-successfully learning to salsa.