French-American Foundation unveils 2025 ‘Young Leaders'
These 'rising stars' have expertise in various fields including defense, law, medicine, finance and technology.
The 2025 cohort will join a network of 600 alumni selected since the 1980s, including former President Bill Clinton, French President Emmanuel Macron, and former Secretary of States Hillary Clinton and Antony Blinken, among others.
'The FAF Young Leaders program brings the best and the brightest from both countries together to assure that our oldest alliance remains vibrant and candid,' said Edward Wallace, chair of the foundation's board of directors.
The program is structured to allow these individuals to participate in two, five-day seminars over two years where they engage with experts for informed, cross-cultural dialogues.
'If these past years have taught us anything, it is that we must continue to invest in our relationships with like-minded friends and allies in order to build a more connected, stable and peaceful world,' said Maya Henry, a foundation board member who was named a Young Leader in 2017.
Since 1976, the French-American Foundation has worked to strengthen the relationship between France and the U.S. by connecting leaders and fostering common solutions for shared problems.
U.S. Ambassador James G. Lowenstein created the foundation after a career in foreign service where he worked on the Marshall Plan in Paris in 1952. He built two French-American Foundations, one in New York and one in Paris. They work independently but have identical objectives and purposes to grow the French American alliance.
Today, with 4,000 plus participants, the foundation continues to promote dialogue regarding issues such as immigration, cybersecurity and health care in an effort to strengthen the transatlantic cooperation.
Notable Young Leaders part of the 2025 U.S. cohort include Michelle Burbage, an associate professor and director of the public health masters program at University of Cincinnati as well as David Coen-Tanugi, a venture builder from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, focused on technological climate solutions and clean energy.
Jeohn Salone Favors, President Biden's former assistant secretary of Department of Homeland Security, is also part of this year's cohort. He assisted in conducting back-channel talks between the U.S. and Iran under former President Obama.
Other U.S. Young Leaders include:
Tristan Gruska — head of utilities and construction at Palantir Tehcnologies.
Camela Logan — research director and product lead at Meta Inc.
Swati Rao Metlapalli — managing director, head of transportation and infrastructure at BNP Paribas's North America Investment Banking
Teymour Shahabi — head of feature and learner strategy at Two Sigma Investment
Tiffany Xingyu Wang — president of Oasis Consortium, and CEO and founder of Songsheet AI
On the other side of the Atlantic, the French Young Leaders include Pascal Confavreux, deputy spokesperson and deputy director of communications for the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Guillaume Dubois, another cohort member, is the Founder & CEO of HappyVore. His company is the biggest plant-based food factory in France.
Julien Jeanneney, professor of public law at the University of Strasbourg, will also join the foundation due to his work examining the French and American legal and political similarities and differences.
Other French Young Leaders include:
Lt. Col. Vérane Quétier — Lieutenant-Colonel, Commander of the Military Space-based Imagery Squadron
Laurent Saint-Martin — Minister Delegate to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in charge of Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad
Angélique Delorme — deputy director of the Museum quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
Fanny Marciano — managing director, head of private side corporate sales for France, BeNeLux and Nordics, JP Morgan
Mathilde Saltiel — Partner, Latham & Watkin
Aurélie Sannier — MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine (Université Paris Cité), specialist in pathology
Read more about the 2025 cohort here.
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