Thierry Bastelaer

The Belgian economist and baritone singer, Thierry van Bastelaer, studied at the Facultés universitaires 'Notre-Dame de la Paix' (BA & MA in Economics: 1981-1985); and University of Maryland College Park (PhD in Economics: 1989-1994).

Thierry van Bastelaer has worked as Research and Teaching Assistant at Facultés universitaires 'Notre-Dame de la Paix' in Namur Area, Belgium (1986-1988); Research Assistant at The Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. (1991-1993); Graduate Teaching Assistant at University of Maryland in Washington D.C. (1989-1994); Director, Enterprise Development Group at IRIS Center at the University of Maryland in Washington D.C. (1994-2006); Associate Vice-President and Senior Director at Save the Children in Washington D.C. (2006-2010); Adjunct Professor, School of International Service at American University in Washington D.C. (2010-2016) and Georgetown University (2018-Present); Vice-President, Senior Fellow, and Global Markets Director at Abt Associates in Rockville, Maryland (2010-2020).

In addition, Thierry van Bastelaer was a semi-professional singer with with Washington Bach Consort (Director: J. Reilly Lewis) and Cantate Chamber Singers (Director: Gisele Becker). He is the founder and coordinator of the Washington, DC-based Bach: Coffee and Cantata Meetup, which explores all of J.S. Bach's cantatas on their liturgical date, in an informal--and currently virtual--setting. He is teaching classes on Bach's sacred cantatas for the RENESAN and Osher lifelong learning institutes.