YPFP Brussels Presents: Georgiana Dragomir, Executive Director

Our latest initiative, YPFP Brussels Presents showcases the array of talent our organisation has working behind the scenes to make our organisation a success. Following up on our first interview, YPFP Brussels’ Communications and Marketing team is excited to showcase our next dedicated staff member: Georgiana Dragomir.

As our Executive Directive, Georgiana leads the operations here at YPFP Brussels with the support of a big team of volunteers. Whilst juggling long-term planning and strategic action of the branch with her full-time job at NATO, Georgiana also manages to find time to unleash her adventurous side and partake in activities including ziplining and yoga. Intrigued? Discover more about Georgiana below.

YPFP Brussels Presents:

Georgiana Dragomir, Romanian, Executive Director

What do you do in Brussels (what’s your day job?)

I work for NATO as an International Staff Officer. I initiate and contribute to various policy, plans and partnerships work strands related to defence planning, institutional adaptation of the Alliance and NATO-EU relations.

How long have you been in Brussels? What is your favourite activity to do in Brussels/ Belgium?

I moved to Brussels three and a half years ago and I love it more and more every day. For me, the main reasons for enjoying the capital of Europe so much are its international vibe, the never-ending choice of events, and last, but definitely not least, the amazing people that I had the opportunity to meet here and I wouldn’t want to be without.

One of my favourite activities is to enjoy quality time with friends discussing next travel plans, latest foreign policy news or great book recommendations. As a favourite activity related to YPFP, I very much enjoy seeing the team putting together an event or hearing members’ perspectives and expectations on the subject at hand.

How long have you been a member of YPFP?

Two years. I really wanted to join the team and contribute to the YPFP events so I became a staff member in 2016. Before becoming the Executive Director, I was working in the Programmes Team – lucky me, they are amazing colleagues -, where I was conducting the Ambassador Series, organising events almost every month with Ambassadors to the EU, NATO or Belgium.

It has really been an incredible experience and I recommend it to everyone.

What does your current role entail?

As an ED, I lead the long-term planning and strategic development of the branch while overseeing and coordinating with our four teams and 29 staff members in Brussels and with YPFP DC leadership as well as other YPFP branches and hubs.

In addition, I represent the branch within the wider Brussels community and engage with current and potential future partners.

What made you want to become the executive director of YPFP?  

As an Ambassador Series officer, the most important things that I learned were related to the successful moderation of an event, the organisation or planning of an event from A to Z, and the direct engagement with diplomats from all over the world – all very interesting responsibilities!

So why did I become the ED? Truth be told? I love a good challenge. After feeling that I learned quite a bit from my previous position, I decided to learn some more and challenge myself in a leadership position for an organisation with more than 400 members in Brussels and 15,000 members worldwide.

How I feel about it after almost 9 months? Amazing! Projecting my vision for YPFP Brussels while learning how to best support my colleagues’ initiatives, represent the organization and gain more managerial and teambuilding skills are definitely worth it!

As we near our 10th anniversary, what exciting plans does YPFP Brussels have to celebrate?

YPFP Brussels has grown so much over these 10 years and we are extremely grateful to our members for their infinite curiosity and passion for foreign policy, as well as to our previous and current staff members for devoting their time to this wonderful association.

A celebratory Gala is the best approach to thank everyone, therefore please join us on the 28th September to celebrate together 10 years of debates, skills learned, and beautiful friendships created around YPFP Brussels.

How do you see YPFP Brussels developing over the next ten years?

In the next 10 years, I think that YPFP Brussels has the potential to develop and grow even more, by not only fostering the next generation of foreign policy leaders, but also being the main platform for interactions between young professionals in foreign policy, not only in Brussels but across Europe. A great method of achieving this objective is by building upon our expertise, our cultural diversity and utilising them to address in, an even more common approach, the most challenging topics in foreign policy.

One fun fact about yourself!

I am a strong supporter of lifelong learning and constructive personal challenges – there will always be something new that I am trying to discover. I actually rarely manage to shy away from a challenge: be it moderating a new, thought-provoking meeting, zip-lining in a rainforest at incredible altitude or finishing that great book that has been staring at me for a while.

For more information on YPFP Brussels and our forthcoming events, check out our blog and keep up-to-date through our Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin pages.