Staff

John D. Stephens, Gerhard E. Lenski, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology; Director, Center for European Studies, European Union Center of Excellence, and Trans-Atlantic Masters program; received his B.A. (1970) from Harvard University and his Ph.D. (1976) from Yale University. His main interests are comparative politics and political economy, with area foci on Europe, the Antipodes, Latin America, and the Caribbean. He teaches European politics and the political economy of advanced industrial societies. He is the author of The Transition from Capitalism to Socialism (1979) and coauthor of Democratic Socialism in Jamaica (with Evelyne Huber, 1986), Capitalist Development and Democracy (with Evelyne Huber and Dietrich Rueschemeyer, 1992; Outstanding Book Award, Political Sociology Section, ASA), Development and Crisis of the Welfare State (with Evelyne Huber, 2001; Best Book Award, Political Economy Section, APSA), and Democracy and the Left: Social Policy and Inequality in Latin America (with Evelyne Huber, 2012, Outstanding Book Award, Sociology of Development Section, ASA; Best Book Award, Political Economy of the World System Section, ASA). He has also contributed articles to, among others, The American Political Science Review, American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, The British Journal of Sociology, Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Journal of European Social Policy, and World Politics. He is currently working on a study of social investment policy in Europe and Latin America.

Katie Lindner joined us in 2015 from the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin where she spent many years managing and organizing programs including TAM, Euromasters, German-Turkish Masters as well as the international doctoral program at the Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences. She focused on such aspects as program development, student and career services, international recruitment, and collaboration with international partners. Katie has a BA in International Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MA in Trans-Atlantic Studies (TAM Program) from the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Before moving to Berlin, she worked at the International Visitors Council in RTP, which is where she discovered her love of organizing programs and international education. In 2015, she moved back to Chapel Hill with her husband and three children after sixteen years in Berlin, and has been enjoying the North Carolina sunshine immensely.

Inspiration: The creativity, drive, and the accomplishments of the TAM students and grads. I know it sounds cheesy-fake, but it’s true.

In free time: I love to hike with my husband, daughter, and our three dogs.

Committed to: the inter-institutional partnerships and experiential learning involved in TAM. The opportunities TAM provides to young people are life-changing, and it is fascinating to be involved in such an innovative international educational project. I love working with the TAM applicants, students and alumni!

Global experience: Allison studied abroad as an undergrad at Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, in Giessen, Germany and returned to Germany to complete her Master’s in European-American Studies at Universität Regensburg, in Regensburg Germany. She wrote her master’s thesis on data privacy and differences in privacy cultures between Europe and the US.

She’s an avid Model European Union (MEU) participant and organizer. She participated in MEU Mainz 2017, the inaugural MEU Scotland 2017, MEU Brussels 2018, and was part of the organizing team for the inaugural MEU Paris 2018.

In addition, Allison has interned with the Atlantic Academy in Kaiserslautern, Germany, volunteered for the Federation of German-American Clubs, and interned with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington D.C., and the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. She speaks fluent German and beginner Turkish.

Favorite European food: Spaghetti Eis (German ice cream treat that looks like Spaghetti)

Favorite thing about CES: The amazing opportunities it offers students, and also teachers, to bring a little bit of Europe to North Carolina.

Favorite European food: My favorite European food is roast duck with knedl’a (a Slovak steamed bread/dumpling). Knedl’a is good with just about anything, but duck is my favorite.

Global experience: Apart from a brief study tour in High School to the UK & Ireland (I think it was like 2 weeks?), most of my experience with Europe has been in Slovakia. I was fortunate enough to get an internship at a non-profit guest house in rural Slovakia (very rural – the village I was in had probably 20 people). The house catered to other non-profit workers throughout Europe – primarily Easter Europe. Many of the guests were American/Canadian expats but we also had visitors who were native to the region. It was interesting to get to learn about their work, especially those working with “outsider” groups like the Roma.

Prior work: I came to CES from the National Park Service at Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Ocracoke Island), though I worked much longer at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.

Favorite thing about CES: My favorite thing about CES is definitely the students. Our team is pretty awesome too, but all the students I’ve met have been so eager to both see and take on the world in equal measure. It’s hard not to like that determined optimism.

Favorite European food: Döner kebab (yum!). My favorite is with pickles and French fries.

Favorite thing about CES: The students! They’re so bright and willing to take on anything⁠—it’s refreshing.