Biography Maarit Palovirta is the Senior Manager, Regional Affairs Europe. She joined the Internet Society in November 2013 where she focuses on promoting Internet Development and access in Europe through stakeholder engagement, advocacy and initiatives. Maarit is a senior business development and public affairs professional with a great track record in government advocacy. She has extensive experience in strategy and public policy issues with multiple stakeholders in the EU and CIS countries. She worked with CISCO as a Business Development Manager, Public Sector EMEA. She also has worked with well-known Public Affairs consultancies (as eg. Interel) She obtained a MA in Advanced European Studies with Economics, College of Europe (Poland). She also holds a BA (Hons) European Studies, from the London School of Economics & King's College, London, UK. Maarit is Finnish and, beyond her mother tongue, she is fluent in English and French. She has very good understanding of Swedish and German, and is a beginner in Russian. She is based in Brussels (BE).