Meet our team
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Project Manager, Open Hearts SpacePoland
Antonina Stasiuk
Antonina, born and raised in Poland, holds a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and a master’s degree in Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology. In her academic work, her primary area of interest is the subject of loneliness, adolescence, and girlhood. In her professional work, she has always been involved in projects related to community building.
Contacting GSBTB and asking if can help with the Open Hearts Space (which was back then called Open Art Shelter) project seemed to be a natural step for her after arriving in Berlin. She started off as a volunteer and is now the Manager of the Open Hearts Space.
Photo by Anna Rapoport
Ben Osborn
Project Co-Manager, Open Music LabUnited KingdomBen Osborn
Words and music-maker, educator and activist
Ben Osborn is a writer, songwriter, composer and sound designer from Oxford, UK, now based in Berlin, Germany. Coming from a poetic folk song tradition, his work draws also from electronica and classical music to create a space in which highly personal and deeply political stories can be told. He regularly collaborates with visual artists, dancers, theatre companies, filmmakers, podcasters, musicians and composers and has created works with institutions such as the Young Vic, Bristol Old Vic, National Theatre, National Portrait Gallery (UK), Folkteatern (Sweden), Literaturhaus Berlin, Kunsthaus Dortmund (Germany), Festival Lyric de Aix-En-Provence (France) and Teatro Orteuv (Mexico) among others, and has won several awards for his soundtracks, sound designs and songs. He gives writing and composition workshops in a variety of cultural and education institutions and is a visiting lecturer at Mountview University (UK).
Since 2017, Ben has been one of the directors of Give Something Back to Berlin’s Open Music Lab: an activist-led musical cooperative and collaborative learning space for refugees, migrants and others from marginalised communities. He previously worked for the HOPE not hate anti-racism campaign and the UCU trade union.
Joe Marshall
Project Manager, Open Music SchoolNew ZealandJoe Marshall
Community advocate and music lover
Joe started volunteering as a teacher at the Open Music School in 2017 and enjoyed how the classes have their own special way of connecting people. He has great enthusiasm for the improvement of social and environmental conditions in local communities, and holds an M.Sc. in environmental planning with a focus on the value in communities of open spaces, such as urban garden initiatives. He sees similarities at the Open Music School: A project which can only evolve and grow with the participation and influence of those it serves.
Originally from Aotearoa (New Zealand), he has contributed as a researcher, facilitator and manager to many projects and inititavies in different parts of the world. A music fan and musician, Joe is also often tinkering with his own creative projects.
Contact Joe for all things regarding the Open Music School!
Maddalena Tartarini
Working studentItalyMaddalena Tartarini
Maddalena is a student from Italy who decided to study a three-year degree in political science in Berlin. She loves speaking many languages, for now she is fluent in Italian, English, German and Spanish and has been studying Arabic for about two years. She did a university exchange in Oman in order to deepen her knowledge of Arabic and to get to know a new and different culture. She is interested in politics, travelling and music. She is a sunny girl, always smiling, who loves dancing, eating or just spending time with people.
Maddalena wants to pursue a career in the political, social and cultural field and is therefore interested in working at Give Something Back to Berlin. She is our student worker in Communications, Community and Admin.
Matheus Soares Lopes
Project assistant - InternBelgium & BrazilMatheus Soares Lopes
Matheus is a recent graduate in Social Work from Brussels, Belgium. After discovering the Erasmus+ program he embarked on the adventure of discovering the social cultural work scene of Berlin with GSBTB. He will be assisting in almost all projects of GSBTB from October 2023 till March 2024, so expect to see him around quite a bit.
He is passionate about art, high culture, pop culture, society, community building and languages. GSBTB blends a lot of his interests together and he is thrilled to spend six months intensely assisting the projects of GSBTB.
Mine Nang
Co-Director, Community and ProgrammingAfghanistan & GermanyMine Nang
Having studied in Maastricht, Istanbul and Lund, Mine holds a BA in European Studies and a MA in Middle Eastern Studies. After gaining work experience abroad, she settled in Berlin in 2017. Since then she has been working in political communication, project management and fundraising for non-profits. She is passionate about politics, bringing people together and creating space of belonging for marginalized communities in Berlin.
At GSBTB, Mine is Co-Director with focus on community and programming. Message her on all questions on the community and engagement!
Ophélie Kauffmann
Project Co-Manager, Open Music LabFranceOphélie Kauffmann
Ophélie is a music lover, DJ, producer, writer, translator, and has worked many different jobs in the music industry throughout her career. With experience in event and artist management, she’s interested in ways to support young artists outside the mainstream, in the hope to build a more equitable music scene. This is what led her to join Open Music Lab in the summer of 2020. She’s an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, gender self-determination, and intersectional justice, and strongly believes in the power of empathy and listening.
Ricarda Bochat
Project Manager, Open Kitchen and Open Language CafésGermanyRicarda Bochat
She/Her
Having done a Master in Fashion Marketing in the UK, Ricarda moved back to her native Germany in 2012. Here she briefly got involved with the cooking group before spending a year in Nepal and India, mainly doing earthquake relief work and teaching English to Tibetan monks. Upon returning in 2015, she took over the role of coordinating the GSBTB Open Kitchen project. Since November 2020 she has also taken on the coordination of the language cafés.
At GSBTB, Ricarda manages the Open Kitchen and Open Language Cafés.
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Development and Communications
Àngela Mora
Communications ManagerSpain and GermanyÀngela Mora
she/her
Passionate about arts & culture, animals and people.Àngela Mora is a Barcelona native who made the move to Berlin enticed by its multiculturalism and artistic scene.
She studied Advertising and PR and after working in corporate environments for a while, she decided to focus on projects with a positive impact. Àngela thrives on fostering connections and building community through cultural exchange and working at GSBTB aligns with her passion for promoting and celebrating diversity.
When she’s not immersed in her work, you can find Àngela indulging her creative side. She enjoys spending her free time exploring Berlin’s museums, taking photos or writing. Recently she discovered her love for ceramics and is eager to dive deeper into this craft.
Christin Bohnke
Fundraising ManagerGermanyChristin Bohnke
Christin has studied and worked in Australia, the UK, Canada, Japan, and China but is always drawn back to Berlin. She brings several years of experience in fundraising, grant writing, and partnership building for NGOs and academic institutions to GSBTB. She also coordinated several multi-national education projects that aimed to widen access to higher education.
Christin holds a PhD in postcolonial studies from the University of Toronto with a focus on the intersection of race and gender in East Asia and Europe. When she’s not fundraising, she loves writing about obscure historical figures and events.
At GSBTB, Christin works as Fundraising Manager, so feel free to contact her with partnership ideas.
Maddalena Tartarini
Working studentItalyMaddalena Tartarini
Maddalena is a student from Italy who decided to study a three-year degree in political science in Berlin. She loves speaking many languages, for now she is fluent in Italian, English, German and Spanish and has been studying Arabic for about two years. She did a university exchange in Oman in order to deepen her knowledge of Arabic and to get to know a new and different culture. She is interested in politics, travelling and music. She is a sunny girl, always smiling, who loves dancing, eating or just spending time with people.
Maddalena wants to pursue a career in the political, social and cultural field and is therefore interested in working at Give Something Back to Berlin. She is our student worker in Communications, Community and Admin.
Ragıp Zık
Co-Director, Development and CommunicationsTurkeyRagıp Zık
Ragıp brings with him over 20 years’ experience in project management, communication, and international cooperation. Working for NGOs in Greece, Italy, and Turkey, Ragıp coordinated multi-partner projects across the Euro-Mediterranean area, the Middle East, and the Caucasus in the past.
Ragıp holds a PhD in Sociology from Freie Universität Berlin and blends his civil society practice with social research. He has taught on nonprofit communications at various universities and occasionally serves as a trainer and consultant in human rights, advocacy, peacebuilding, and youth work. His research on visual activism, social movements, and digital media appeared in academic and non-academic publications and also in artistic formats.
At GSBTB, Ragıp is Co-Director with a focus on development and communications. Reach out to him for strategic partnerships and corporate engagement!
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Operations and Administration
Christin Bohnke
Fundraising ManagerGermanyChristin Bohnke
Christin has studied and worked in Australia, the UK, Canada, Japan, and China but is always drawn back to Berlin. She brings several years of experience in fundraising, grant writing, and partnership building for NGOs and academic institutions to GSBTB. She also coordinated several multi-national education projects that aimed to widen access to higher education.
Christin holds a PhD in postcolonial studies from the University of Toronto with a focus on the intersection of race and gender in East Asia and Europe. When she’s not fundraising, she loves writing about obscure historical figures and events.
At GSBTB, Christin works as Fundraising Manager, so feel free to contact her with partnership ideas.
Maddalena Tartarini
Working studentItalyMaddalena Tartarini
Maddalena is a student from Italy who decided to study a three-year degree in political science in Berlin. She loves speaking many languages, for now she is fluent in Italian, English, German and Spanish and has been studying Arabic for about two years. She did a university exchange in Oman in order to deepen her knowledge of Arabic and to get to know a new and different culture. She is interested in politics, travelling and music. She is a sunny girl, always smiling, who loves dancing, eating or just spending time with people.
Maddalena wants to pursue a career in the political, social and cultural field and is therefore interested in working at Give Something Back to Berlin. She is our student worker in Communications, Community and Admin.
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Leadership
Mine Nang
Co-Director, Community and ProgrammingAfghanistan & GermanyMine Nang
Having studied in Maastricht, Istanbul and Lund, Mine holds a BA in European Studies and a MA in Middle Eastern Studies. After gaining work experience abroad, she settled in Berlin in 2017. Since then she has been working in political communication, project management and fundraising for non-profits. She is passionate about politics, bringing people together and creating space of belonging for marginalized communities in Berlin.
At GSBTB, Mine is Co-Director with focus on community and programming. Message her on all questions on the community and engagement!
Ragıp Zık
Co-Director, Development and CommunicationsTurkeyRagıp Zık
Ragıp brings with him over 20 years’ experience in project management, communication, and international cooperation. Working for NGOs in Greece, Italy, and Turkey, Ragıp coordinated multi-partner projects across the Euro-Mediterranean area, the Middle East, and the Caucasus in the past.
Ragıp holds a PhD in Sociology from Freie Universität Berlin and blends his civil society practice with social research. He has taught on nonprofit communications at various universities and occasionally serves as a trainer and consultant in human rights, advocacy, peacebuilding, and youth work. His research on visual activism, social movements, and digital media appeared in academic and non-academic publications and also in artistic formats.
At GSBTB, Ragıp is Co-Director with a focus on development and communications. Reach out to him for strategic partnerships and corporate engagement!
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Board
Barbara Vid
MemberHungaryBarbara Vid
Consultant and executive coach empowering positive transformation
Barbara has been supporting companies, leaders, and civil organisations in unlocking their greatest potential for over 25 years. With a background in brand building, communications, service design, change management, and leadership development, she has co-founded consulting firms and NGOs, led interdisciplinary teams and numerous local and international projects.
Originally from Budapest, she moved to Berlin in 2019. Since then, she has focused on empowering purpose-driven startups, NGOs, and social initiatives to multiply their positive impact, as well as companies to shift priorities and put people and the planet before profit. Barbara believes in win-win-win scenarios and collaboration as the key to co-creating a sustainable future.
Dana Dimant
MemberIsraelDana Dimant
Human rights activist
Dana moved to Berlin from Israel in the summer of 2017. A human rights activist for people with disabilities, writer, film director, Dana also works as a consultant in the field of inclusion and neurodivsity. She serves as a board member in number of organisations including the the Israeli NGO “reserved sits” for accessibility of theatre for neurodivers children.
Edris Vavi
MemberEastern Kurdistan (Ku: Rojhilat)Edris Vavi
He/Him
Kurdish activist and a multilingual talent
Edris is a Kurdish activist and a multilingual talent, having settled in Berlin in 2015. Grewing up in – geographically north-west Iran – he is a child of the mountains and deeply connected to the roots of his Kurdish Identity and the Kurdish Community in Exile (in Berlin).
His native is Kurdish Sorani, but he is also fluent in German, English, Farsi and Turkish. He is holding a B.A. in English Language Translation and is professionally trained as language translator for Kurdish Sorani, Farsi and German. Since many years he professionally works with refugees.
For many years he was a frequent participant of the English and the German Sprachcafé. Since 2020 he is working by AWO as Integration guide with refuges from all around the world in Berlin.
Lisa Indlekofer
Member and TreasurerGermanyLisa Indlekofer
Finance hero who loves to hike and run (and just walk in general)
Lisa was the Fundraising, Finance and HR director of GSBTB. Since 2023, she has been supporting GSBTB in the capacity of Treasurer as part of Board of Directors. After getting her Master’s degree in business administration, she moved from Baden-Württemberg to Berlin in 2015 to work as a fundraiser in the NGO sector. She has recently started on a new career path as a freelance financial manager and video editor.
Mahmoud Mandou
MemberSyriaMahmoud Mandou
Mechanical engineer and social worker
Mahmoud is a mechanical engineer who also holds a master’s degree in social work from German Jordanian University. He worked at Start Point which is an organisation focuses on human rights, women empowerment, research, and advocacy in Syria and its neighbour countries. He has been based in Berlin since 2019 worked as a mechanical engineer. He lives at Refugio, volunteers at the Refugio Café and at various projects of Give Something Back to Berlin.
Majid Albunni
Member and Deputy ChairSyriaMajid Albunni
Majid is a media and human rights advocate.
He holds an MA in International Relations and Global Affairs with a focus on civil society in Syria. Majid has worked as an editor for a media project called “Syrnet- Syria Radio Network” established by MiCT (Media in Cooperation and Transition) and funded by the German Foreign Office which aimed to support alternative radios in Syria.
Moreover, Majid has worked as a media/social media editor and coordinator during the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva for the Syrian opposition SNC (Syria Negotiations Commission). Majid has worked as a “Project Intern” with IOM – UN Migration assisting in two projects; Resettlement, and Migrant Entrepreneurship. He has joined the VDSH team in Berlin as a project coordinator for the project (Networking / Knowledge Transfer for Syrian Civil Society actors in Europe) in February 2019.
Muireann ní Sheanlaoich
MemberIrelandMuireann ní Sheanlaoich
Sustainable Development Practitioner passionate about leaving no one behind
Muireann has been working for many years in international development, private sector development, the eliminiation of child labour and ensuring developing initatives are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. Originally from Ireland, she has been visiting Berlin since the year 2000 and has also lived in Rwanda and Georgia. Muireann brings her experience of working with local and international NGOs of various sizes around the word and her experiences in fundraising and communications to support the ongoing work of GSBTB.
Rahul Srivastava
MemberIndiaRahul Srivastava
Lover of food, culture, and technology
Rahul is originally from India. He holds an MBA degree from the European School of Management and Technology Berlin. He joined GSBTB during his studies as a part of the Responsible Leaders Fellowship program before becoming a board member. He brings with him a professional experience of over 11 years in finance, business analysis, and entrepreneurship. He is passionate about working with the local community to find innovative solutions to local problems, and has previously been actively involved with NGOs in India to achieve this. Rahul was driven by the mission and values of GSBTB, and aims to make a meaningful contribution during his time with the organisation by improving processes related to fundraising, internal communication, and monitoring and evaluation.
Silke Georgi
Member and ChairpersonGermany & USASilke Georgi
Silke grew up in the U.S.A. as the daughter of German immigrants, and is a laywer by profession.
Silke started her NGO career straight out of Brandeis University with a BA in Politics with the Lawyers Alliance for Nuclear Arms Control. After re-migrating back to Germany she studied Law at the Freie Universität in Berlin and then moved to the Netherlands where she raised her two children while working with refugees and migrant women. There she helped bring the Stolpersteine Project to the Netherlands and researched the biographies of the 280 Jewish Holocaust victims of Eindhoven, resulting in the book “Ze waren onze buren” (They were our Neighbors).
Back in Berlin since 2014, she has been involved with GSBTB since 2015, teaching English as a volunteer. She works as a project manager for the NGO Sozialhelden, a disability rights organization in Berlin.
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Members Commitee
Annamaria Olsson
Founder and Member (currently on parental leave)SwedenAnnamaria Olsson
Swedish journalist and writer, living in Berlin since 2008.
Has over 10 years of NGO experience from Sweden, where Annamaria was also Director at SECO, one of the biggest Swedish NGOs. Studied German literature at the Humboldt Universität Berlin and has a BA in Political/Philosophy and Gender Studies from Uppsala University. Attended to courses in Middle Eastern and Holocaust Studies. Wrote her final thesis on political action in Hannah Arendt’s ”The Human Condition” and published her first book in 2014. She developed the concept of GSBTB in May 2012.
At GSBTB, Annamaria is responsible for relationship management and public speaking.
Bahjat Al Mostafa
MemberSyriaBahjat Al Mostafa
Champion of social changeBahjat is a software professional with a passion for the transformative power of NGOs, the non-profit sector, and social enterprises; also an avid reader.Barbara Vid
MemberHungaryBarbara Vid
Consultant and executive coach empowering positive transformation
Barbara has been supporting companies, leaders, and civil organisations in unlocking their greatest potential for over 25 years. With a background in brand building, communications, service design, change management, and leadership development, she has co-founded consulting firms and NGOs, led interdisciplinary teams and numerous local and international projects.
Originally from Budapest, she moved to Berlin in 2019. Since then, she has focused on empowering purpose-driven startups, NGOs, and social initiatives to multiply their positive impact, as well as companies to shift priorities and put people and the planet before profit. Barbara believes in win-win-win scenarios and collaboration as the key to co-creating a sustainable future.
Ben Osborn
Project Co-Manager, Open Music LabUnited KingdomBen Osborn
Words and music-maker, educator and activist
Ben Osborn is a writer, songwriter, composer and sound designer from Oxford, UK, now based in Berlin, Germany. Coming from a poetic folk song tradition, his work draws also from electronica and classical music to create a space in which highly personal and deeply political stories can be told. He regularly collaborates with visual artists, dancers, theatre companies, filmmakers, podcasters, musicians and composers and has created works with institutions such as the Young Vic, Bristol Old Vic, National Theatre, National Portrait Gallery (UK), Folkteatern (Sweden), Literaturhaus Berlin, Kunsthaus Dortmund (Germany), Festival Lyric de Aix-En-Provence (France) and Teatro Orteuv (Mexico) among others, and has won several awards for his soundtracks, sound designs and songs. He gives writing and composition workshops in a variety of cultural and education institutions and is a visiting lecturer at Mountview University (UK).
Since 2017, Ben has been one of the directors of Give Something Back to Berlin’s Open Music Lab: an activist-led musical cooperative and collaborative learning space for refugees, migrants and others from marginalised communities. He previously worked for the HOPE not hate anti-racism campaign and the UCU trade union.
Böbe Barsi
MemberHungaryBöbe Barsi
Journalist and communications expert
Over the past ten years, Böbe worked for media and brands, contributed to magazines, news sites and corporate publications, and wrote stories in English, Spanish, German, and Hungarian. She holds a master’s degree in Communications and Cultural Studies, studied in Hungary, Spain and Argentina, and wrote her theses about the immigration museums of Barcelona and Buenos Aires and how Latin American migrants use the internet in their quest for a new home. She is a magazine enthusiast.
Chris Taylor
MemberUSAChris Taylor
Chris is a musician and has served as a coach and music mentor for youth in both the USA and in Berlin.
After moving to Berlin in 2019, Chris studied at the Alice-Salomon Hochschule and holds an MA in Social Work as a Human Rights Profession. Before he moved to Germany, Chris has worked with youth through athletics and music. He has also performed as a bass player, recorded, composed, and toured with several different bands in the United States and abroad. Aside from performing as a musician, Chris has an interest in helping children and at-risk youth learn to cope with stress and to be successful in their lives through healthy, self-sustaining strategies with community-oriented support systems.
Chris currently volunteers with the GSBTB Open Music School as a bass instructor. Not only does he work for a youth centre in Kreuzburg, Chris also works with teenagers in Brandenburg as a pedagogical assistant for the Institut für Neue Soziale Plastik (Institute for New Social Plastic) fighting against Anti-Semitism.
Dana Dimant
MemberIsraelDana Dimant
Human rights activist
Dana moved to Berlin from Israel in the summer of 2017. A human rights activist for people with disabilities, writer, film director, Dana also works as a consultant in the field of inclusion and neurodivsity. She serves as a board member in number of organisations including the the Israeli NGO “reserved sits” for accessibility of theatre for neurodivers children.
Edris Vavi
MemberEastern Kurdistan (Ku: Rojhilat)Edris Vavi
He/Him
Kurdish activist and a multilingual talent
Edris is a Kurdish activist and a multilingual talent, having settled in Berlin in 2015. Grewing up in – geographically north-west Iran – he is a child of the mountains and deeply connected to the roots of his Kurdish Identity and the Kurdish Community in Exile (in Berlin).
His native is Kurdish Sorani, but he is also fluent in German, English, Farsi and Turkish. He is holding a B.A. in English Language Translation and is professionally trained as language translator for Kurdish Sorani, Farsi and German. Since many years he professionally works with refugees.
For many years he was a frequent participant of the English and the German Sprachcafé. Since 2020 he is working by AWO as Integration guide with refuges from all around the world in Berlin.
Eyad Agha
MemberSyriaEyad Agha
Eyad Ibrahim Agha is a Syrian refugee who came to Germany in 2014.
Having studied Business Informatics back in Syria, he is now enrolled in a Master’s program, studying Information Systems Management at TU Berlin. Alongside this, he also works as a research assistant in the Weizenbaum Institute.
He has lived in Refugio since it was founded in 2015, and actively volunteers his time and efforts in different facets of the project. He also resides as an advisory board member of Give Something Back to Berlin, and is a member of the Ambassadors program of the ReDi School of Digital Integration.
Fayaz Ghaznavi
MemberAfghanistanFayaz Ghaznavi
Fayaz was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, and attended school in Tehran, Iran. He came to Germany in 2015 and joined Give Something Back to Berlin’s Open Language Café program in English to improve his language skills, meet new people and learn more about different cultures.
Since 2015, he has finished high school, obtained a vocational diploma and did a traineeship as an electronics engineer. He starts his bachelor studies in electrical engineering in the winter semester of 2022.
His hobbies are spending time with family and friends and learning new things.
Lauren Stearns
MemberUSALauren Stearns
Passionate about human flourishingHaving studied in the USA, Lauren holds a Bachelors in Psychology and a Masters in Social Work. She is passionate about working with international communities and seeing them thrive. Currently working with a church start-up in Berlin, Lauren spends her time cultivating community and creating safe spaces for people to belong and to ask questions about faith and the meaning of life. Food has also long been a passion of hers, being involved in various food related non-profits over the years. She is a regular volunteer with the Open Kitchen and wants to continue creating a space where people can meaningfully connect over shared meals.
Lisa Indlekofer
Member and TreasurerGermanyLisa Indlekofer
Finance hero who loves to hike and run (and just walk in general)
Lisa was the Fundraising, Finance and HR director of GSBTB. Since 2023, she has been supporting GSBTB in the capacity of Treasurer as part of Board of Directors. After getting her Master’s degree in business administration, she moved from Baden-Württemberg to Berlin in 2015 to work as a fundraiser in the NGO sector. She has recently started on a new career path as a freelance financial manager and video editor.
Mahmoud Mandou
MemberSyriaMahmoud Mandou
Mechanical engineer and social worker
Mahmoud is a mechanical engineer who also holds a master’s degree in social work from German Jordanian University. He worked at Start Point which is an organisation focuses on human rights, women empowerment, research, and advocacy in Syria and its neighbour countries. He has been based in Berlin since 2019 worked as a mechanical engineer. He lives at Refugio, volunteers at the Refugio Café and at various projects of Give Something Back to Berlin.
Majid Albunni
Member and Deputy ChairSyriaMajid Albunni
Majid is a media and human rights advocate.
He holds an MA in International Relations and Global Affairs with a focus on civil society in Syria. Majid has worked as an editor for a media project called “Syrnet- Syria Radio Network” established by MiCT (Media in Cooperation and Transition) and funded by the German Foreign Office which aimed to support alternative radios in Syria.
Moreover, Majid has worked as a media/social media editor and coordinator during the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva for the Syrian opposition SNC (Syria Negotiations Commission). Majid has worked as a “Project Intern” with IOM – UN Migration assisting in two projects; Resettlement, and Migrant Entrepreneurship. He has joined the VDSH team in Berlin as a project coordinator for the project (Networking / Knowledge Transfer for Syrian Civil Society actors in Europe) in February 2019.
Malte Koppe
MemberGermanyMalte Koppe
(he/him)
Impact Manager at 7Mind – keeping business ethical, sustainable and responsible
From NGO to Administration to Big Tech to Startup.
From Germany to Poland to Ireland … and back to Berlin.
Muireann ní Sheanlaoich
MemberIrelandMuireann ní Sheanlaoich
Sustainable Development Practitioner passionate about leaving no one behind
Muireann has been working for many years in international development, private sector development, the eliminiation of child labour and ensuring developing initatives are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. Originally from Ireland, she has been visiting Berlin since the year 2000 and has also lived in Rwanda and Georgia. Muireann brings her experience of working with local and international NGOs of various sizes around the word and her experiences in fundraising and communications to support the ongoing work of GSBTB.
Rahul Srivastava
MemberIndiaRahul Srivastava
Lover of food, culture, and technology
Rahul is originally from India. He holds an MBA degree from the European School of Management and Technology Berlin. He joined GSBTB during his studies as a part of the Responsible Leaders Fellowship program before becoming a board member. He brings with him a professional experience of over 11 years in finance, business analysis, and entrepreneurship. He is passionate about working with the local community to find innovative solutions to local problems, and has previously been actively involved with NGOs in India to achieve this. Rahul was driven by the mission and values of GSBTB, and aims to make a meaningful contribution during his time with the organisation by improving processes related to fundraising, internal communication, and monitoring and evaluation.
Silke Georgi
Member and ChairpersonGermany & USASilke Georgi
Silke grew up in the U.S.A. as the daughter of German immigrants, and is a laywer by profession.
Silke started her NGO career straight out of Brandeis University with a BA in Politics with the Lawyers Alliance for Nuclear Arms Control. After re-migrating back to Germany she studied Law at the Freie Universität in Berlin and then moved to the Netherlands where she raised her two children while working with refugees and migrant women. There she helped bring the Stolpersteine Project to the Netherlands and researched the biographies of the 280 Jewish Holocaust victims of Eindhoven, resulting in the book “Ze waren onze buren” (They were our Neighbors).
Back in Berlin since 2014, she has been involved with GSBTB since 2015, teaching English as a volunteer. She works as a project manager for the NGO Sozialhelden, a disability rights organization in Berlin.
Yasmeen Almalki
MemberIraqYasmeen Almalki
Student and passionate painter
Yasmeen is from the beautiful city of Basra in Iraq. He has been living in Germany for more than 6 years. She continues her studies to become a child educator which allowed her to go on an internship at Berlin Metropolitan School for the whole year and she loved it!
Yasmeen is passionate about art, basketball and wandering. She joined GSBTB in 2017 as a volunteer interpreter from Arabic into English during drawing activities. Since then she has been part of the Open Hearts Space project and draws (and interprets) for Open Art Space on Tuesdays 🙂
Wilma Prior
MemberSwedenWilma Prior
Wilma is a volunteer cook and climate activist working on sustainable and creative cooking projects.
Wilma has studied cooking in Sweden for 3 years. Afterwards, she worked in Spain and in the US where she learned about food and culture. She moved to Berlin in 2019 to explore the diversity of cultures and communities present in the city. She got in touch with the Open Kitchen shortly after her arrival and became a regular participant and volunteer.
Not only does she follow sustainable and ethical standards in her cooking but also in her choice of everyday products.