Hi! My name is Evan O’Connell and I work in communications, campaigns and policy. I am currently working as a Senior Manager for Media Relations at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, making the case for a globally coordinated COVID-19 vaccine response and for strengthening and protecting routine vaccination programs.

I have worked on US election campaigns (as briefings director for Amy Klobuchar and deputy campaign manager/communications director for Joe Sestak), as a communications consultant (both freelance and with Aspect Consulting, now Leidar) and as an in-house communicator (EY and INRAE).

Born in the US to an American mother and an Irish father, I am a naturalized French citizen. I studied at Sciences Po Paris (the Paris Institute of Political Studies – where I obtained a degree in Central and Eastern European Studies and an MA in Finance) and Charles University in Prague (in the Czech Republic – where I did a year abroad at the Faculty of Social Sciences).

Outside work, I am involved in French politics, as a member of the board of the French expat branch of President Macron’s party Renaissance and a member of the national governing council of center-left pro-Macron movement Territoires de Progrès. I co-founded the “I Support Ukraine”/”Soutien Ukraine” initiative in France in February 2022 to match French volunteers with Ukrainians in need, and I’ve long been involved in civil society groups focused on democracy and human rights in Central and Eastern Europe.

For more info on my professional background, please check out my LinkedIn. You can also visit my Twitter and Mastodon feeds for more of my thoughts on anything and everything.