About

I am a youth and community programs facilitator and consultant specializing in participatory, rights-based practice with young people. My work focuses on helping organizations redesign adult roles, decision-making structures, and everyday practices so youth participation is meaningful rather than symbolic. My work with youth aims to build confidence through self-expression, and to foster a sense of belonging and community.

I grew up outside New York City where I worked on a B.A. in studio art and a CELTA certificate (Cambridge English Language Teaching to Adults) before moving to Berlin in 2009. After working as a teacher and translator for 8 years, I wanted to support Berlin’s growing refugee population. From 2015 until I returned to New York at the end of 2025, I worked as a child and youth counselor in temporary residential facility for refugees, led publicly funded civic participation projects in underserved neighborhoods, and directed youth programs in large public housing developments. Alongside this work, I earned an M.A. in Childhood Studies and Children’s Rights.

With the aim of helping the institutions where children live and go to school become safer, more inclusive, and more participatory, I founded an independent consultancy providing staff training, workshops, and program design support. I am interested in how power operates in adult-youth relationships, and how shifting that power thoughtfully can lead to better outcomes for young people and more sustainable working conditions for adults. This involves amplifying young voices, especially by way of creative expression. At the same time, I help adults get out of their own way to make room for young people to play a more active role in decisions that affect their lives.

I am currently based in New York City and work with organizations locally and internationally.

Selected Media & Projects

Gallery — snapshots from projects and workshops I’ve facilitated

Publications — selected articles I’ve published

My Participatory Framework — a brief overview of the theory underpinning my work

Contact Theory — a live radio show and podcast I produced with young people who moved to Berlin critically reflect on being foreign

Schön dass ihr da seid! e.V. — a nonprofit I co-founded to bring together refugees and locals in Berlin