Research | Policy | Strategy

I love science, I care about serving society, and I bring a strategic mindset to complex challenges. I am a population geographer and demographer by training — and a generalist by disposition. My work spans research, policy, and governance. I am currently based in Wiesbaden, Germany.

My background is in migration and demographic change, but my work has always reached beyond research. I combine analytical thinking with a practical approach to data, communication, and policy advice. Over more than 20 years, I have worked at the intersection of science, policy, and organisational strategy — advising government, publishing internationally, and leading projects and teams.

I grew up in Germany, studied human geography in Regensburg and Tübingen, and completed my PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2010. I then worked at the Vienna Institute of Demography in Austria on global migration statistics and population projections until 2016. From 2016 to 2017, I was Assistant Professor in Population Geography at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. In 2017, I returned to Germany to lead the research division on migration and mobility at the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), serving as a member of the board of directors and managing a team of fifteen for seven years.

From October 2024 to March 2025, I was seconded to the Ministry of Science, Research, and Culture of the State of Brandenburg as Head of Department for Non-University Research. I represented the ministry in institute boards and advisory bodies, coordinated Brandenburg’s policy on research institutes, and worked closely with institute directors from the Leibniz, Helmholtz, Fraunhofer, and Max Planck associations. In April 2025, I returned to the BiB, where I now support the institute’s leadership on strategic innovation projects, including the integration of AI into policy-relevant research. I am looking for new opportunities at the interface of science, policy, and strategic leadership.