MY STORY

Who I Am

I am an internationally recognized expert in global AI governance, responsible AI, GovTech, and the geopolitics of technology. My work sits at the intersection of policy, innovation, and ethics, where I support governments, international organizations, and companies in shaping technology for the public good.

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My Journey

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Chapter I – Building Public-Interest Technology at Scale

 

My career began with a focus on designing and building public-interest technology across its core layers: products, financial architecture, and policy frameworks.

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Products.
At the product level, I built and led a specialized team of digital product experts in Germany’s data- and AI-driven crisis early warning unit, PREVIEW. Together, we applied advanced big data analytics and AI tools to support crisis prevention, peace-building, and humanitarian decision-making – translating complex data into actionable insights for policymakers. In parallel, I spearheaded high-profile global technology policy initiatives, including a German Ministerial Conference on Science Diplomacy and Climate Action, connecting technological innovation with international policy agendas.

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Finance & Institutions.
At the level of financial and institutional architecture, I designed and launched the UN Complex Risk Analytics Fund (CRAF’d) in New York – a $50+ million trust fund dedicated to advancing high-quality open data and open-source technologies for crisis prevention. With more than 150 institutional partners, CRAF’d connects a global ecosystem today, aligning UN entities, governments, research institutions, and technologists around shared data infrastructure for peace and security. I also conceived and launched the Data Innovation Lab, a pioneering platform designed to accelerate AI policy development and the co-creation of cutting-edge AI and data tools for diplomacy, bridging the gap between technology development and policy practice.

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Diplomacy & Governance.
At the policy and governance layer, I worked at the forefront of technology diplomacy with the German Federal Foreign Office. Over several years, I helped shape global AI policy and digital cooperation across major international fora, including the United Nations, European Union, OECD, G7/G20, and the International Network of AI Safety Institutes. I played a pivotal role in negotiations around the UN Global Digital Compact and the AI Modalities Resolution, contributing to efforts to align emerging technologies with international norms, human rights, and democratic governance.

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At this stage of my career, my motivation was clear: to design, build, and scale democratic, public-interest technology systems capable of operating at global scale.

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Chapter II – The Human Bottleneck

 

Over time, a deeper insight emerged.

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Across governments, international organizations, and multilateral negotiations, I observed that even the most advanced technologies, financing mechanisms, and policy frameworks often under-performed when the human and organizational capacity required to use them effectively had not yet fully developed.

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Leaders were increasingly being asked to govern AI, data, and digital power in environments marked by rapid technological change, ethical complexity, and high uncertainty. The challenge was not a lack of tools, resources, or international agreements, but the speed at which expectations for leadership had outpaced existing models of preparation and support.

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This realization grew out of sustained, hands-on experience building teams, platforms, and institutions across the full stack of public-interest technology – not from critique at a distance, but from working alongside leaders navigating these transitions in real time.

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Ultimately, technology governance tends to succeed or fail not at the level of code or regulation alone, but at the level of human judgment, institutional capability, and collective decision-making.

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Chapter III – Building Leadership Capacity

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Today, my work focuses on building the human capacity that technology governance depends on.

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I work with leaders, professionals, and organizations to develop the future skills required in an AI-driven world: systems thinking, ethical judgment, strategic foresight, and the ability to operate across institutional, cultural, and geopolitical boundaries. This includes supporting organizational transformation, designing leadership programs, and mentoring individuals to become public-interest technology leaders themselves.

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Alongside this work, I remain deeply engaged in global policy ecosystems. I serve as a Fellow at the Technical University of Munich (TUM Think Tank) and the Global Solutions Initiative, advising on G7 and G20 digital policy, and as a member of Women for Ethical AI at UNESCO. I also contribute to the UNESCO–G20 Technology Assistance Facility, advancing international cooperation on technology governance.

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My perspective is shaped by extensive international experience across Europe and North America, as well as projects in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Earlier in my career, I built expertise across diplomacy, security policy, and sustainable development with the US. Department of State at the US. Consulate General in Munich, the Munich Security Conference, and the German Agency for Development Cooperation (GIZ). I have also worked in leading research labs in both the US. and Europe.

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My journey into emerging technologies began during my graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where I first encountered both the transformative societal potential of Silicon Valley innovation – and the existential, systemic risks that arise when technology is not designed openly or aligned with the public interest.

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Looking Ahead

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The future of AI, digital governance, and the world of work will not be determined by technology alone, but by the quality of human leadership, judgment, and institutional capacity guiding it. As AI reshapes how we work, think, and collaborate, the human edge in leadership – empathy, ethical reasoning, creativity, and systems thinking – becomes more critical than ever.

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My work focuses on how AI and emerging technologies are transforming human cognition, collaboration, and organizational culture, and on developing the future skills this transformation demands: interpreting complex data, navigating ethical trade-offs, fostering trust in human–machine teams, and leading organizations in ways that align technological innovation with the public interest.

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