The Team

Amandine Berger
Manager INGO Accountability Charter

Amandine is managing the INGO Accountability Charter during Åsa’s maternity leave (April 2012 - February 2013). Amandine comes from Paris, France. Prior to working at the Center, she worked in the UK as a project manager for two European programmes in the fields of education and vocational training. Amandine also worked for the European Commission and Eurydice, the network on education systems in Europe. Amandine studied law and European policies at La Sorbonne in Paris, the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Aix en Provence, and Universidad La Complutense in Madrid.

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 12

E-Mail: [email protected]

Joachim Fünfgelt
Project Assistant

Joachim joined the Center in November 2012 and works as Project Assistant on the organization and implementation of the global CSO conference “Advancing the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda”. Joachim holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Leuphana University of Lüneburg with a thesis on economic aspects of individual responsibility for sustainability. He furthermore graduated with a M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Freiburg with a focus on Environmental and Resource Economics. Before joining the Center Joachim worked as Research Associate in the Sustainability Economics Group at the Leuphana University Lüneburg.

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 21

E-Mail: [email protected]

Burkhard Gnärig
Executive Director

At the beginning of 2007, Burkhard founded the Berlin Civil Society Center together with Peter Eigen and shortly thereafter, became Executive Director of the Center. Burkhard has over 20 years experience of international cooperation and management of civil society organisations (CSOs). From 1998 to 2007 he was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Save the Children Alliance, located in London. Before this, Burkhard was CEO of Greenpeace Germany and terre des hommes Germany. As a field director in Papua New Guinea, Burkhard also worked for the German Development Service. Burkhard has been Board Chair and Board Member of various CSOs in Italy, Switzerland, India, Korea and Japan, and has actively participated in a number of major UN conferences, as well as at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Fiona Harris
Intern with the INGO Accountability Charter

Fiona joined the Center in November 2012 and will be with us until the end of May. She works as an intern assisting in the administration of the INGO Accountability Charter. Fiona is from the UK and studied English Law and French Law at the University of Manchester and Université Jean Moulin (Lyon III, France).

Email: [email protected]

Linda Heyer
PA to Executive Director

Linda joined the Center in January 2012 as Personal Assistant to the Executive Director. At the University of Passau Linda studied Languages, Cultural and Business Studies and focused on multilateral development cooperation including the regions of Southeast Asia and China. Throughout her studies, she undertook various travels to Asia. There she studied at Xiamen University in the People’s Republic of China and interned with a local Thai NGO focused on the advocacy and support of civic groups. Furthermore, Linda used to work as a volunteer at ‘Die Tafel’ (the German food bank) distributing excess food to people in need.

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 11

Email: [email protected]

Carolin Lenzen
Project Assistant

Carolin joined the Center in January 2012 and works as Project Assistant in the Programme Team. Carolin studied Social Sciences at the University of Marburg and graduated with an MA in International Studies: Peace and Conflict Studies in Frankfurt (Main) with a focus on the protection of human rights. Throughout her studies she did various internships for different organisations including the American NGO United Way. Before joining the Center she interned with the GIZ and the Kindernothilfe Germany both with a focus on the topics Health and Children.

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 14

Email: [email protected]

Åsa Månsson
Manager INGO Accountability Charter

Åsa joined the Center in April 2009 as PA to the Executive Director. Since mid 2010, when the Berlin Civil Society Center took over the Secretariat role of the INGO Accountability Charter, Åsa is manager of the every-day administration and organisation of the Charter (please click here for more information). Originally from Sweden, Åsa studied European Studies and Sociology at the universities in Gothenburg (Sweden) and Berlin. She finished her studies in August 2008 with a master thesis focusing on the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in European governance. Åsa gained her first work experience within a small consultancy, mainly focusing on the evaluation of social projects within the public and civil society sector.

Åsa will be on maternity leave from April 2012 to February 2013. For all concerns regarding the INGO Accountability Charter, please contact Amandine Berger (see above).

Stephanie McDonough
Deputy Executive Director

Jana Merkelbach
Project Officer

Jana joined the Center in April 2011 and works as Project Officer in the Programme Team. Jana graduated from a European Master in Childhood Studies and Children’s Rights at the Free University of Berlin. For her thesis she conducted field research within a local Namibian NGO on context-specific and participative child protection. She furthermore studied Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Aix en Provence, France. Throughout her studies Jana interned with Amnesty International Germany and local NGOs in Namibia focused on leadership development as well as child support. She was moreover Project Manager of the conference “Model European Union Konstanz 2008”.

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 15

Email: [email protected]

Daniela O’Halloran
Finance and Administration Officer

Daniela joined us in May 2010 as our Financial and Administration Officer part-time after recently relocating from Dublin to Berlin. She is currently externally studying for a B. Sc. Sociology Degree at the University of London. In Ireland she worked for a non-profit organisation called “Integrating Ireland”. Together with her husband, who is also active in the non-profit sector, she launched an online exchange network that enables companies to donate office furniture and services to organisations working in the voluntary field for which they were awarded by “Social Entrepreneurs Ireland”.

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 10

Email: [email protected]

Anne Pasquet
Project Assistant

Anne joined the Center in January 2012 as a Project Assistant in the Programme Team. Anne comes from Paris, France. She studied History and Political Science at La Sorbonne in Paris and at the Universities of Aix-en-Provence (France) and Tübingen (Germany). She graduated with an MA in Peace Studies and International Politics at the University of Tübingen (Germany) with a focus on reconciliation in the countries of Southeastern Europe. Throughout her master studies, Anne worked as a volunteer for a scholarship programme in support of university students in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Prior to working at the Center, she interned with NGOs in Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 14

Email: [email protected]

Victoria Redmond
PA to Deputy Executive Director

Victoria joined the Center in February 2012 and works as the PA to the Deputy Executive Director. Victoria comes from Ireland. Before starting at the Center she studied Law and German at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) and Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen (Germany). Last year she completed her Masters in Peace and Security Studies with the University of Hamburg and the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy Hamburg (Germany).

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 20

Email: [email protected]

Karenina Schröder
Project Director

Karenina joined the Center in August 2010. She supports the Executive Director with the running of the Berlin Civil Society Center. Her main responsibilities are the devising of strategies for the organisational development of the Center, facilitating the acceptance and implementation of the INGO Accountability Charter in the NGO sector. For the past six years Karenina has served on the Board of Transparency International Germany (TI G), where she was responsible for the strategic organisational development at TI G and was the coordinator of the Advisory Council. She also founded and managed the working group “Transparency in the Non-Profit Sector” and the “Academic Working Group of TI G”. Karenina studied art history, philosophy and history and worked for 10 years in various positions in the art sector, before doing her Master of Business Administration in 2002.

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 13

E-Mail: [email protected]

Sarah Strack
Project Coordinator
Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 17

E-Mail: [email protected]

Julia Wandke
Project Assistant

Julia joined the Berlin Civil Society Center in November 2012. She works as Project Assistant on the organisation and implementation of the global conference of CSOs “Advancing the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda”. Julia graduated with a M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Konstanz with a focus on International Economic Relations. During her studies she worked as an intern on the topics of poverty reduction, economic policy and sustainable development for the BMZ and GIZ in Germany, Benin and Egypt.

Phone: +49 (0) 30 20 62 46 97 21

E-Mail: [email protected]

Helene Wolf
Project Manager

Helene joined the Center in May 2011 as Project Manager of the Programme Team and is responsible for the organisation and implementation of the Center’s convening programme. After graduating with an MA in EU Politics and Government from the London School of Economics she worked as a Research Officer at the International Crisis Group’s headquarters in Brussels. Most recently she was a Junior Consultant at a strategic communications consultancy in Berlin. Helene also studied Cultural Studies at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) and in Wroclaw, Poland.

Helene will be on maternity leave from August 2012 to May 2013. For all concerns regarding the organisation and implementation of the Center’s convening programme, please contact Jana Merkelbach (see above).