About Us

Rachel leads the Centre’s programmes. She joined the Centre in January 2023, initially leading the Futures and Innovation programme before becoming Director of Programmes. Rachel has more than 15 years of experience working for civil society organisations on a national and international level, working for various ICSOs in international development and human rights in both London and Berlin. Rachel has an interest in digital technology and its impacts on civil society, futures thinking, and finding innovative participatory ways of working for CSOs. Rachel holds an honours degree in Political Science from Newcastle University and an executive post-grad certificate in Digital Governance from the Hertie School of Governance. 

Eva joined the team as Project Manager in February 2020. She leads on the Centre’s civic space work – the Solidarity Action Network (SANE) aimed at strengthening resilience of and solidarity among civil society actors, and the International Civic Forum (ICF), our annual civic space platform to network and identify opportunities for collaboration. Prior to joining the Centre she worked at the Robert Bosch Stiftung (Foundation) in Stuttgart where she managed the foundation’s projects focusing on civil society and governance in Turkey, the Western Balkans, and North Africa. Before that she coordinated international summer schools on past and contemporary social movements at the Institute for Social Movements of the Ruhr University Bochum. She graduated from the German-Turkish Masters Program in Social Sciences (GeT MA) at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara and Humboldt University in Berlin.

Myriam joined the Centre as Project Manager in February 2022. She coordinates the “Accelerating Inclusive Power Shift” project, which aims to foster equitable partnerships and more inclusive governance models in the development and humanitarian sectors. Prior to joining the Centre, she worked on EU development policy in Brussels for CONCORD and Humanity & Inclusion and with CBM in Italy. Myriam holds a MA in International Development from the Catholic University of Milan and a BA in Intercultural Communication from the University of Milan.

Peter joined the Centre in January 2013, back then as a trainee. He completed the traineeship in the advocacy & campaigning office of World Vision Germany. Peter now coordinates the Leave No One Behind project as global partnership lead and contributes to the development of various other strategic formats. Before joining the Centre, Peter worked for various organisations and think tanks in the development sector, being an expert in multi-stakeholder processes. He studied at the University of Bonn and graduated with an MA in Political Science with a focus on multi-actor advocacy for climate policy.

Alexandra is working as Programme and Events Officer in the Solidarity Action Network and Scanning the Horizon projects of the Centre. She joined the Centre in January 2022 as the Executive Assistant and changed into the Programme Team in December 2023. Her role at the Centre involves addressing anti-rights actors, overseeing futures and foresight initiatives within the Scanning community, managing the SANE Resource Hub, and organising events. She is strongly engaged in voluntary work with different international as well as local organisations with a background in Political Science and International Relations. She holds a MA in International Relations from Leiden University next to her BA in Political Science and History from the University of Tübingen. She has lived in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands as well as Jordan and is currently living in Berlin.

Ayman is the Project Manager for the Leave No One Behind partnership, at the International Civil Society Centre, joining the Centre in late 2024. With a multidisciplinary background in journalism, development, advocacy and strategic communications, he brings a wide range of experience to this role. He holds a master’s in Conflict Resolution from the Heller School at Brandeis University and a master’s degree in public policy from Princeton’ University’s School of Public and International Affairs. Ayman works towards democratizing policymaking by increasing citizen participation in decision-making and empowering communities to leverage technology for social change.

David joined the Centre in October 2024, to help drive and implement the communications and marketing strategy for the Centre’s 2025-2027 new strategy. David has over 15 years professional experience in the not-for-profit, university, and public sector. Originally trained and practiced as a Landscape Architect, David has worked around the world in public engagement, urban design, community development, and creative communications. Prior to joining the Centre, David worked for many years driving the impactful communications for programmes at The Bartlett, University College London, with a focus on the global South. Passionate and humble about driving positive and equitable change, David specialises in collaborative processes which bring people and organisations together to proactively make a valuable impact on our common future. 

For all Centre communication needs, please reach out to David at dheymann@icscentre.org

Ryan joined the Centre in July 2018 as Events Officer and supports organisation and delivery of the Centre’s events programme. Prior to joining the Centre, Ryan worked for the youth democracy charity “Bite the Ballot” coordinating a European wide competition aimed at increasing youth engagement and turnout in the 2014 European elections, the project culminated in an event at the European Parliament and was named national winner of European Charlemagne Youth Prize for the United Kingdom. He then took a position as Events Coordinator at Oldham Council where he developed his expertise in event management and was the lead officer responsible for managing a wide range of events on behalf of the authority. Ryan holds a degree in International Relations from the University of Leeds and spent a year studying at Tischner European University in Kraków through participation in the Erasmus programme.

Liz joined the Centre in September 2023. She has over ten years experience in visual communications and storytelling. Having worked for Impact Hub Berlin and on many freelance communication projects with New Climate, Climate Action Tracker, BMZ, GIZ, and Ember. She has spent the last seven years focusing her work on social impact projects and communicating with purpose. She has an MSc in Creative Commercial Communications at the Technical University Dublin, where she originally hails.

Liz is currently on leave. Please contact David Heymann (Interim Communication Manager) dheymann@icscentre.org

Karl joined the Centre in June 2019 after a professional career in institutions of German technical co-operation and as humanitarian manager in the United Nations. He spent years in conflict zones, such as the Gaza Strip, the Great Lakes region in Central Africa, and in the Sahel. He led multi-sectoral teams on data management, refugee registration and biometrics. At the ICS Centre he works pro bono on issues relating to artificial intelligence, digital transformation, identity and trust as well as their impact on civil society in general and ICSOs in particular. Karl, born in 1960 in Germany, is a graduate of the Political Science faculty of the Free University of Berlin and studied Public International Law at Cambridge University.