Team

  • All
  • Executive Board
  • Regional Directors
  • Impact Groups
  • Alumni
  • Adrian Steube
    Adrian Steube
    Regional Director Global Affairs
  • Marlene Heid
    Marlene Heid
    Executive Board, Social Media Management
  • Anne Laible
    Anne Laible
    Alumni: Executive Board
  • Carlotta Schilling
    Carlotta Schilling
    Alumni: Regional Co-Director Latin America & Caribbean
  • Charlotte Freihse
    Charlotte Freihse
    Alumni: Press and Public Relations
  • David Schlutz
    David Schlutz
    Founder, Alumni
  • Alexandra Scherrer
    Alexandra Scherrer
    Regional Co-Director Asia-Pacific
  • Florian Winkler
    Florian Winkler
    Alumni: Executive Board, Finances
  • Gelila Enbaye
    Gelila Enbaye
    Alumni: Regional Director Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Gregor Christiansmeyer
    Gregor Christiansmeyer
    Alumni: Impact Group Diplomacy and Democracy
  • Prof. Dr. Hanna Pfeifer
    Prof. Dr. Hanna Pfeifer
    Founder, Alumni
  • Tom Zeising
    Tom Zeising
    Executive Board, Head of Impact Groups & Regional Director North America
  • Hannes Vogel
    Hannes Vogel
    Executive Board, Regional Director EU & Europe
  • Alexander Khorenko
    Alexander Khorenko
    Executive Board, Regional Director MENA
  • Johanna Hartz-Goiteom
    Johanna Hartz-Goiteom
    Alumni: Chief Editor
  • Johannes Klein
    Johannes Klein
    Alumni: Executive Board, Chief Editor
  • Jessica Kininger
    Jessica Kininger
    Alumni: Executive Board - Website and Social Media
  • Julien Strandt
    Julien Strandt
    Alumni: Regional Co-Director EU & Europe
  • Dr. Kilian Spandler
    Dr. Kilian Spandler
    Alumni: Executive Board, Members
  • Dr. Alexander Pyka
    Dr. Alexander Pyka
    Founder, Alumni: Impact Group Foreign Policy Talks
Alexandra Scherrer
Regional Co-Director Asia-Pacific

Alexandra is currently pursuing a double degree in Economics, Political Science, and English at the University of Heidelberg, the University of Bristol, and Leiden University.
She has worked as a research assistant at the FEST Heidelberg, with a focus on conflict research and the changes to European defense policies as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War, and as a tutor for statistics at the Institute of Political Science in Heidelberg. She is on the board of the Heidelberg MUN Society, where she is responsible for finance and member administration. During her time in the United Kingdom, she has volunteered in the preservation and study of historic monuments through the English Heritage Trust.

 

She speaks German, English, French, Spanish and Dutch.

Adrian Steube
Regional Director Global Affairs

Adrian is currently studying for a Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Trier. He completed his Bachelor’s in Political Science and History at the University of Kassel and is currently a scholarship holder at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. His main areas of interest are foreign policy, security policy, international organizations, and artificial intelligence.

Marlene Heid
Executive Board, Social Media Management

Marlene currently studies English and Political Science at the University of Heidelberg with the goal of becoming a teacher. She embraces cultural diversity and loves travelling. Currently she tutors students in English and German and also assists first-grade students with a migrational background that need support in learning German as their second language.

Tom Zeising
Executive Board, Head of Impact Groups & Regional Director North America

Tom is a PhD Candidate in Environmental Economics, researching the triangular relationship between development, the environment, and human health at the Research Centre for Environmental Economics at Heidelberg University. He did his Bachelor’s in Bayreuth and completed his Master’s in Heidelberg and Warsaw. Working as a diplomatic consultant in Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur, he immersed himself in the world of international relations and never broke away again. He is a research fellow in the Doctoral Program “Security and Development in the 21st Century” by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and is particularly interested in the unintended results on the environment of intentional action by international players.
Tom speaks German, English, Russian, Arabic, Swahili, and a bit of Japanese and Bahasa Malayu. He currently learns Spanish.

 

Alexander Khorenko
Executive Board, Regional Director MENA

Alexander currently studies law at the University Mannheim with focus on the Law of Intellectual Property. He successfully completed his Bachelor’s degree with his thesis on the Open Source Software and the impact of the Copyleft Effect. During his studies he participated in two long-term exchanges with Norway and Spain, that enabled him to value different cultures and broaden his knowledge about different law systems. Alexander speaks Russian, German, English, French, Spanish and Norwegian (Bokmål).

Dr. Alexander Pyka
Founder, Alumni: Impact Group Foreign Policy Talks

Dr. Alexander Pyka is Co-Founder of CISS and Programme Coordinator of the Impact Group Foreign Policy Talks. He was a member of the executive Board until 2016.

Alexander works at the public international law division at the German Federal Foreign Office. He wrote his doctoral thesis about the international sanctions regime against Iran while working as personal adviser to a former head of government. Alexander studied Law at Bucerius Law School, Germany and Tel Aviv University, Israel, as a scholar of the German National Academic Foundation. In 2013, he was selected “Global Leader of Tomorrow” by the St. Gallen Symposium, “Top 99 under 33 Foreign Policy Leader” by the Diplomatic Courier in Washington D.C. and “Global Shaper” by the World Economic Forum, Davos. Alexander speaks German, English, French and Spanish.

Anne Laible
Alumni: Executive Board

Anne Laible is an executive board member and responsible for CISS’s HR.

Anne follows a Bachelor in International Cultural and Business Studies at Passau University. Her thematic focus lies on Latin American culture and politics as well as development economics. Anne gained practical experience as a volunteer of the “weltwärts” programme in a primary school with a nutritional program in Peru and as intern at the German-Peruvian Cultural Institute (part of the Goethe Institute Peru) and the regional hub for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security in Panama. Anne speaks German, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Carlotta Schilling
Alumni: Regional Co-Director Latin America & Caribbean

Carlotta Schilling is Regional Co-Director for Latin America & Caribbean.

Carlotta currently studies International Relations and Economics in her bachelor’s degree at the University of Erfurt and during an exchange semester at the Université Catholique de Lille, France. She works as a student assistant at the Institutional Economics and Economic Policy department and is involved in the student council of her faculty where she is responsible for public relations. Carlotta interned at the German Foreign Ministry in the Crisis Prevention, Stabilization and Post-Conflict Reconstruction unit with a focus on the MENA region, and at the Körber foundation where she gained further experience in project management related to her work for the EUSTORY network. Before Carlotta started studying, she worked as a “weltwärts” volunteer in a day-care center and with a mobile school for street children in Nicaragua, where she also taught German classes at a language academy. Carlotta speaks German, English, French and Spanish.

Charlotte Freihse
Alumni: Press and Public Relations

Charlotte Freihse is responsible for press and public relations at CISS.

Charlotte is currently in the second year of the master’s programme Peace and Conflict Studies at Otto-von-Guericke University with a focus on Digital Technologies in Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies and Economics from University of Cologne and studied one semester at Universidad de Cartagena in Colombia. Parallel to her studies, Charlotte has gained practical experience through working for the magazines Handelsblatt and Wirtschaftswoche, the department of communications at the German Chamber of Commerce in Madrid and the German public service broadcasters NDR and ARD. She has been a student consultant for international mobility at University of Magdeburg before she started working as a freelancer for the radio station NDR Info and NDR Kultur at Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) in Hamburg.  Charlotte speaks German, English, Spanish and Italian.

David Schlutz
Founder, Alumni

David Schlutz is Co-Founder of CISS and was member of the Executive Board until 2016.

David works as a consultant for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Kigali, Rwanda. In summer 2015, he graduated from London School of Economics with a Master in Public Policy and from Hertie School of Governance Berlin with a Master of Public Administration. He wrote his dissertation in collaboration with the World Bank in the field of corruption prevention. Previously, he worked as a consultant for the GIZ’s Sustainable Economic Development Program in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He holds  a B.A. degree in European Studies from Otto-von-Guericke-University in Magdeburg, Germany, where he put his research focus on the post-Soviet space. As an undergraduate, he spent a semester abroad at the St. Petersburg State University’s Faculty for International Relations. He interned with the protocol division of “Netzwerk Quadriga”, with the division for Nuclear Disarmament at the German Federal Foreign Office and the Anticorruption and Integrity Program at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. David David speaks German, English, French and Russian.

Florian Schöler
Alumni: Executive Board (Member Management)

Florian Schöler is an executive board member and responsible for CISS’s member management.

He currently works as a legal clerk in the diplomatic protocol division of the German parliament in Berlin. He has finished an LL.M. in international criminal law at the University of Amsterdam and Columbia Law School in New York. He spent most of his time studying for the German law diploma at Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz, from where he also worked for an international law firm in Frankfurt. He has previously spent a year studying in Glasgow and interned with both the German Foreign Office in Saigon as well as with a small law firm in Lima. He has been active in various NGOs for over a decade, providing manpower and later legal advice to political integration projects, legal counselling for refugees and private sea rescue. He spent some time teaching English in Colombia before he started studying. Florian speaks German, English, French and Spanish.

Florian Winkler
Alumni: Executive Board, Finances

Florian Winkler is a member of the Executive Board and responsible for CISS’s finances.

Florian is currently a MSc candidate in International Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Prior to his graduate studies, he worked as a project manager at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the German development agency, supporting Germany’s G20 presidency in 2017, and as a research assistant the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he focused on international relations and international political economy. During his studies, he spent a semester abroad at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he also worked as a research assistant on international trade. Previously, Florian was an intern with GPPi and gained work experience at the German Mission to the United Nations in New York, the German Bundestag and the foreign affairs department of Germany’s federal press and information office. He grew up in Singapore, the United States and Germany and implemented social projects in Cambodia and India during high school. Florian speaks German, English and Spanish.

Gelila Enbaye
Alumni: Regional Director Sub-Saharan Africa

Gelila is Regional Director Sub-Saharan Africa.

Gelila is a dual master’s student at Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics studying International Security/International Relations. Before, she pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of Mannheim in Political Science and Sociology and spent a semester abroad at Sciences Po Paris in Reims. As a student, she gained practical experience as a research assistant at the Chair of Political Science IV (University of Mannheim) and as an intern at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington D.C.. In a gap year, Gelila spent time interning at the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in Abidjan/Côte d’Ivoire and at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. Later, she worked as a visiting associate with the consulting company africon GmbH focusing on sales and project management. Gelila speaks German, English, Tigrinya, French and is learning Arabic.

Gregor Christiansmeyer
Alumni: Impact Group Diplomacy and Democracy

Gregor is a graduate student of Global Politics and Modern Global History of Europe at the University of Göttingen. His thematic focus lies on European integration with a special interest in public spheres. He is coordinating the editors team of the young European blog project HistoryCampus.org and gained practical insights during a year of internships among others at the German Federal Academy for Security Policy and in the External Action department of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union. Gregor speaks German, English, Italian, Spanish and has basic knowledge of Dutch and Polish.

Prof. Dr. Hanna Pfeifer
Founder, Alumni

Prof Dr Hanna Pfeifer is Co-Founder of CISS and was a member of the Executive Board until 2016.

Since July 2020, Hanna is Assistant Professor of Political Science with a Focus on Radicalisation and Violence Research at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt.
From 2016-2020, she worked as a research associate in International Relations at the Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg where she also gained her PhD (2017). In 2018, she was a visiting scholar at the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. From 2012-2016, she was a research associate at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and, from 2011 to 2012, in the Rottendorf-Project “Global Solidarity” at the Munich School of Philosophy. She holds a Master of Arts (2012) in Political Science, Philosophy and Mathematics from the University of Munich. She spent one year of her studies at Sciences Po Paris in the master’s programme Sécurité Internationale. She specialised in Middle Eastern politics, International Relations theories and political theory. Hanna was a doctoral fellow at the Orient Institute Beirut, Lebanon, and stayed in Sanaa, Yemen, as well as Aleppo and Damascus, Syria, for internships and language classes.

Hannes Vogel
Executive Board, Regional Director EU & Europe

Hannes Vogel studied physics in Berlin and Stockholm. He is particularly fascinated by the complexity of our world – from the smallest crystals to societies and the whole universe. Hannes shares his enthusiasm for science, culture and technology with others. In doing so, it is important for him to take off his blinders and look beyond the boundaries of his own discipline. Professionally, Hannes supports companies that are pushing for clean energy as a consultant. As a member of the Young Forum of the German UNESCO Commission, he participates in discussions on German foreign culture, education and science politics.

Johanna Hartz-Goiteom
Alumni: Chief Editor

Johanna Hartz-Goiteom is Chief Editor for CISS’s Think Tank.

Johanna is currently in the second year of the double degree master’s program Public Affairs and Management at HEC Paris and Freie Universität Berlin. She received her bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Mannheim and studied one semester at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. She wrote her bachelor thesis about the educational attainment of children with a migration background in Germany.

Johanna has gained practical experience though internships with consultancies, the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce in Mumbai, the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin and the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. Johanna speaks German, English, Spanish and is learning French.

Johannes Klein
Alumni: Executive Board, Chief Editor

Johannes Klein is member of the Executive Board and Chief Editor for CISS’s Think Tank.

Johannes currently completes his Carlo-Schmid fellowship at the Governance Directorate of the OECD in Paris. Prior to this he graduated in EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges and studied at Master and Bachelor level International Relations in Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil. Next to internships at the German Federal Foreign Office, with various NGOs in Europe and Latin America, the EU and the German Bundestag, he worked as CISS’s Director for ‘Global Affairs’ and is a member of the Executive Board. Johannes speaks German, English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.

Jessica Kininger
Alumni: Executive Board - Website and Social Media

Jessica Kininger is an executive board member and responsible for Website and Social Media.

Jessica studied Regional Studies Asia/Africa and Economics at the Humboldt University in Berlin and Kasetsart University in Bangkok. Her focus was on society and transformation in Southeast Asia. She conducted fieldwork in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. She has worked in various foundations and NGOs in the field of communication and has experiences in project and event management as well as in public relations and online communication. She is currently studying Language and Communication at TU Berlin. Jessica speaks German, English, Thai, Lao and Spanish.

 

Julien Strandt
Alumni: Regional Co-Director EU & Europe

Julien Strandt is Regional Co-Director for EU & Europe.

Julien is currently enrolled in a triple master programme, studying International and European Governance as well as International Affairs. He spends his time between the University of Münster in Germany, Sciences Po Lille in France, and the European campus of the Johns Hopkins University in Italy. During his bachelor, also in Lille and Münster, he specialised in international security and defence matters, writing his thesis about the future of European defence. Julien has gained practical knowledge through internships with the Economic Council in Germany, the Centre for International Crisis and Conflict Studies in Belgium, and at the French Parliament. He speaks German, French, English, Italian, and is learning Russian.

Katharina Lange
Alumni: Executive Board - Finances

Katharina Lange is an executive board member and responsible for CISS’s finances.

Katharina currently works as Project Manager & Community Coordinator at the Institute for Social Banking in Berlin. Her background in banking goes back to her education as a bank clerk. During her studies in Development Economics & International Studies at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, she focused on African culture and economy as well as sustainable development. She successfully completed her Master’s degree with her thesis on the role of sustainable lending in helping to achieve the long-term development goals in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her diverse long-term stays abroad in France as well as South and East Africa enable her to value the different cultures. Katharina speaks German, English, French and is learning Swahili.

 

Dr. Kilian Spandler
Alumni: Executive Board, Members

Dr. Kilian Spandler was a member of CISS’s Executive Board from 2016 to 2019. Prior to that, he was Regional Director for Southeast Asia.

Kilian is a Researcher at the School of Global Studies of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His academic work focuses on the relation between regional and global governance with a special focus on Southeast Asia. His book ‘Regional Organizations in International Society’ explores the history of ASEAN and the EU. He has researched and taught International Relations at several institutions in Germany, Indonesia, Sweden and the United States. Kilian completed his PhD in International Relations at the University of Tübingen in 2016. Together with Lukas Rudolph and Steffen Murau, he founded CISS’s Impact Group “EU-ASEAN Perspectives”. Kilian speaks German, English and French, and has some basic knowledge in Indonesian and Swedish.

Vanessa Böttger
Regional Director North America

Vanessa Böttger is the CISS Regional Director for North America.

Vanessa is currently pursuing her master’s degree in North American Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Copenhagen. Specialising in political science and economics, she gains extensive knowledge of the United States and Canada. Her academic interests further include global trade as well as the future of Sino-American and transatlantic relations.

Prior to this, Vanessa completed her bachelor’s degree in Economic Policy at the University of Applied Sciences Berlin. Additionally, she gained practical experience being an intern in international institutions. She worked with the Representative of German Industry and Trade (RGIT) in Washington, D.C. and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Berlin. Currently, Vanessa interns with the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (SGC) where she works in the trade promotion department.

Vanessa speaks German, English and French and has basic knowledge in Russian, Italian and Danish.

Lance Bradley
Regional Co-Director Eastern Europe to Central Asia

Lance is Regional Co-Director for Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

Lance is a student of International Relations at the University of Tartu in Estonia. In Tartu he has a Russian regional specialization and works alongside Professors and PhD candidates in the De Facto States Research Unit. Before moving to Estonia, Lance studied economics and development at the University of Bayreuth in Germany. In his Bachelors, he completed two semesters abroad: in Yekaterinburg, Russia and Iași, Romania. He wrote his thesis on conflict resolution between Moldova and Transnistria  He is especially interested in topics in civil society and geopolitics. Lance speaks English, German, Russian and is learning Romanian.

Lea Siebel
Regional Co-Director Eastern Europe to Central Asia

Lea is Co-Regional Director for Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

Lea is currently studying an Erasmus Mundus Double Master in European Politics and Society in Prague, Krakow and Leiden. She previously studied European Ethnology at the University of Frankfurt and spent one semester as a Hessen-Wisconsin scholar at the University of Wisconsin in the North of the USA. After internships at the U.S. consulate general in Frankfurt and an NGO in the USA, she supported multiple organizations with fundraising as an UN online volunteer. Aside from her work at CISS, Lea also helps organizing EU simulations in France and Bulgaria. Her interests lie in strengthening democracy and human rights, amplifying the voices of young people in politics and society as well as fostering international knowledge exchange. Lea speaks German, English, Spanish and a bit of Czech. She is also currently learning French and Russian.

Lena Apke
Regional Co-Director Latin America & Caribbean

Lena Apke is Regional Co-Director for Latin America & Caribbean.

Lena is currently working as an intern at the department of sales and foreign trade for the region Latin America for a German automobile company. Prior to this, she graduated with a Bachelor´s degree in International Cultural and Business Studies from the University Passau and studied as an exchange student for one semester in Guadalajara, Mexico. Lena gained practical experience as a volunteer of the German Red Cross in Bolivia and as intern at the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation Peru, the German Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Mexico-City and Germany Trade and Invest in Bonn. Lena speaks German, English, Spanish and learns Portuguese.

Lena Gomer
Regional co-Director MENA

Lena Gomer is CISS’s regional co-director for “Middle East & North Africa” (MENA).

Lena currently completes a master’s degree in Near and Middle Eastern Studies and Intensive Arabic at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Münster in Islamic Studies and Economics. Besides the regional focus of her studies, Lena has collected valuable experiences by living in Jordan for volunteering and an internship at a local organization – the Arab Water Countries Utilities Association (ACWUA). Lena speaks German, English, Arabic and French.

Contact: lena.gomer@ciss.eu

Lukas Rudolph
Founder, Alumni

Lukas Rudolph is Co-Founder of CISS and was member of the Executive Board until 2017.

Lukas is research associate and PhD candidate at the Department of Political Science of the University of Munich (LMU). In his dissertation, he works on questions of Comparative Political Economy, especially on the relationship between elections and institutions. He has a Master of Arts (2012) in Political Science, Intercultural Communication and Law and a Bachelor of Science in Economics. During his studies, he focused on questions of development and International Relations. He worked, amongst others, in development cooperation, science and consulting projects. Lukas speaks German, English, French and Bangla.

Maximilian Fricke
Regional Director North America

Maximilian Fricke is regional director for “North America” and member of the Impact Group Foreign Policy Talks.

Maximilian currently works at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in international energy policy. At the same time he completes a Master´s program in National and International Administration and Policy at the University of Potsdam. He gained additional experience in energy policy lobbying and in the office of a member of the German parliament. Maximilian completed his bachelor´s degree in Business, Economics and Political Studies in Berlin in 2016. After, he started a one-year training program with the German American Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, IL, where he gained extensive knowledge of the United States. Maximilian speaks German, English and French.

Contact: maximilian.fricke@ciss.eu

Nikita Goch
Regional Co-Director Asia-Pacific

Nikita Goch is Regional Co-Director for Asia-Pacific.
Nikita currently studies Political Science and Law at the University of Munich. He gained practical experience as a volunteer of the German Red Cross at the Vietnamese-German University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where he was mostly engaged in cultural education, as well as in simulation games of the Academy for Foreign Service and the Academy for Military Administration. Nikita speaks English, Spanish, French, Vietnamese, Russian and currently studies Chinese.

Patricia Jaworek
Regional Co-director for “North America”

Patricia is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Transatlantic Affairs at the College of Europe in Natolin and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and especially focuses on the EU’s external relations and the security and defense dimension of transatlantic relations. Her academic interests further include human rights and migration policies as well as the future of European democracy. Prior to this, Patricia studied law at the University of Hamburg and the Lund University in Sweden, specializing in EU and public international law. She has gained practical experience working as a legal consultant in EU competition law in Brussels and interned in the German Embassy in Warsaw.

 

Patricia speaks German, Polish, English, French and has basic knowledge in Spanish and Russian.

Robert Demendi
Regional Co-Director EU & Europe

Robert Demendi is Regional Co-Director for EU & Europe.

Robert is currently pursuing a Masters in “International Relations – European Studies” at the Andrássy University Budapest. His thematic focus is on EU policies, Public Diplomacy and EU foreign and security policy. Robert’s other research interests include the mechanisms of cooperation and power relations between EU institutions and the influence of lobby groups on the European legislative process. In the course of his Master’s studies he was a trainee at the German Federal Foreign Office, in the Economic Department of the “Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union” in Brussels. Prior to this, Robert completed a bachelor’s degree in “Energy and Resource Management” and specialized in European and German energy and climate policy. After completing his bachelor’s degree, he completed two internships in Brussels in the field of public affairs. Robert speaks German, English and has basic knowledge of Spanish.

Sari-Luisa Jung
Impact Group EU-ASEAN Perspectives

Sari-Luisa is programme leader of the Impact Group EU-ASEAN Perspectives.
Sari-Luisa holds a Double Master’s Degree (2019) in Chinese Law and Comparative Law at Nanjing University and the University of Göttingen. Her thematic focus lies on international law and policy research, especially in the areas of human rights and migration policies as well as security policy and development policy issues in general. Sari-Luisa has gained practical experiences through several working positions within the UN in New York, the Delegation of the European Union to the OECD and UNESCO in Paris, the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ), the Permanent Mission of Germany and the international Labour Organization in Geneva and various international law firms for example in Shanghai. Sari-Luisa speaks German, English, French, Finnish, Chinese and is learning Spanish.

Dr. Steffen Murau
Impact Group - Future of the International Monetary System

Dr Steffen Murau is an executive board member and responsible for CISS’s Impact Groups.

He currently works as a postdoctoral fellow at Global Development Policy Center of Boston University. In the academic year 2017-18, he was a fellow at Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. Steffen completed his PhD in International Political Economy at City, University of London in November 2017. From 2013 to 2017, he has been teaching political economy, international relations and economics at City, University of London, University College London (UCL) and Columbia University, New York. Until 2012, he studied political science, philosophy, economics and international law at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. He interned at Deutsche Bundesbank and the German Institute for Security and International Affairs, and implemented a development project in Cameroon with a German NGO. Steffen speaks German, English, French and Arabic.

Website: https://steffenmurau.com/

Thai Linh Nguyen
Regional Co-Director Asia-Pacific

Thai Linh is Regional Co-Director for Asia-Pacific.

Thai Linh holds a graduate degree in Development Economics from the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. Her interest in international economics and political economy sparked her primary research on the financial markets and the US-China trade war. Prior to her graduate studies, she gained a wide range of professional experiences in both public and private sectors. Thai Linh’s undergraduate major was in international relations with a focus on the rise of China and Asia’s middle powers. She went on exchange at the Yonsei University in Seoul as part of her studies and hosted her own talk show in the form of internet radio broadcast on campus. Growing up in Hanoi, Seoul, and Berlin, Thai Linh speaks Vietnamese, English, German and Korean.

Nice to meet you!

Here they are: Everyone actively involved in CISS. Regional directors head one of the regional areas in our Think Tank.

You also find everyone who is currently part of our Impact Groups and the five members of our Executive Board. Most people have more than one role at the same time.

Contact anyone you find here if you have something you want to ask or tell us!