Alumni

Dr. Nils Geib was a research assistant at our professorship from 2020 to 2024. His research focused on the topics of nonprofit management and leadership. In June 2024, he completed his PhD on the topic of “Leadership Continuity at Stake – Succession Management in Nonprofit Organizations.”

Dr. Carolin Saltzmann was a research assistant at our professorship from 2020-2023. Her research focused on topics of Management and Marketing of Blood Donations as well as Health Marketing in the context of our research cooperation with the DRK Blutspendedienst Nord/Ost. In April 2023, she completed her PhD on the topic „Relationship Marketing in Blood Donation: Donor Recruitment, Retention and Recovery“.

Dr. Saltzmann is currently working as Head of Security Research at the German Red Cross-General Office in Berlin. 

Dr. Peter Schubert was a research associate at our professorship from 2017-2021. His research focused on topics of financial and stakeholder management in nonprofit organizations. In July 2020, he completed his PhD on the topic "The Overhead Debate in Nonprofit Finance: Conceptual and Empirical Extensions to the Nonprofit Starvation Cycle."

In August 2021, Dr. Schubert moved to Berlin as a project manager at ZiviZ gGmbH in the Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany.

René Burfeindt was a part-time research assistant at our professorship from 2020-2021. He conducted research in the field of social innovation and nonprofit management. During his part-time employment at the university, he continued to work for the DRK management (Hamburg mediservice gGmbH).

In June 2021, Mr. Burfeindt transferred to the DRK General Secretariat in Berlin, where he is now Head of the National Aid Society Division.

Dr. Meikel Soliman was a research assistant at our chair from 2017-2019. In March 2020, he received his doctorate on "Taking a Behavioral Science Approach to Understand Blood Donation Behavior - Empirical Evidence and Implications for Blood Donor Marketing”.

Dr. Soliman now works as a postdoctoral researcher and lab manager for the Leuphana University Lüneburg.

Dr. Aaron Kreimer was a research assistant at our chair from 2016-2019. In December 2019, he received his doctorate on "Management of Refugee Integration: Exploring Multiple Dimensions of Refugee Well-Being”.

Dr. Kreimer subsequently worked as a consultant for health promotion at the GKV-Spitzenverband.

Dr. Carolin Waldner was a research assistant at our chair from 2016-2019. In November 2019, she received her doctorate on "Reputation Formation of Nonprofit and Social Entrepreneurial Organizations: Towards A Stakeholder Perspective". Her doctoral supervisor was Prof. Dr. Jurgen Willems, who was responsible for the DFG project NPO Reputation at the University of Hamburg.

From 2020-2022, Dr. Waldner worked as a PostDoc at the Chair of Sustainability Management at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. She is now Assistant Professor for Sustainability at the ESCP Business School in Berlin.

Prof. Dr. Jurgen Willems worked as a postdoctoral researcher at our chair from 2013 to 2019 and as such was responsible for the project “Reputation Management for Nonprofit Organizations“, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). In January 2019, he successfully completed his habilitation with a lecture on Public Servant Stereotypes: Cognitive associations about public service professions titled "Leadership, Performance, and Reputation: A multi-paradigm and multi-method empirical view on the public and nonprofit sectors". The synopsis as well as the articles of the habilitation can be found here.

In spring 2019, Professor Willems followed his call to the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration.

Dr. Jutta Bodem-Schrötgens was a research assistant hair from 2014-2017. In March 2017, she received her doctorate on "The Next Generation of Philanthropy - Social Investments as a Paradigm Shift in Nonprofit Financing".

Dr. Bodem-Schrötgens now works as project manager for McKinsey.

Dr. Larissa Sundermann was a research assistant at our chair from 2013-2016. In September 2019, she received her doctorate on "Nonprofit Donor Relationship Management - An Evaluation of Blood Donor Relationship Marketing Strategies".

Dr. Sundermann is now the head of study management in economics at the HSO School of Economics and Information Technology in Zurich.

Dr. Annika Becker was a research assistant at our chair from 2013-2016. In August 2016, she received her doctorate on "The Public's Trust in Nonprofit Organizations".

Dr. Becker now works as a lecturer for Strategy, Organization and Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations at the Institute of Business and Regional Economics IBR of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Switzerland).

Dr. Marius Mews was a research assistant at our chair from 2011-2014. In April 2014, he received his doctorate on the topic "Managing Reputation, Incentives and Target Groups - Empirical Research on Nonprofit Blood Donation Organizations".

Dr. Mews now works in funding and research for PIKSL- In der Gemeinde leben gGmbH.

Dr. Sigrun Leipnitz was a research assistant at our chair from 2010-2014. In October 2013, she received her doctorate on Nonprofit Marketing Research - Insights and Strategies for the Recruitment and Retention of Blood Donors".

Dr. Leipnitz now works as a consultant for donor research at the DRK-Blutspendedienst Nord-Ost (German Red Cross Blood Donation Service North-East).

Dr. Viktoria Holland-Cunz, née Schuchardt was a research assistant at our chair from 2010-2013. In January 2013, she received her doctorate on "Strategic Cause-Related Marketing and Cooperate Social Responsibility Partnerships".

Dr. Holland-Cunz now works as head of CEO for Henkel, Düsseldorf.

Dr. Christian Scherhag was a research assistant at our chair from 2009-2012. In April 2012, he received his doctorate on"Evaluating Relationship Fundraising Strategies of Nonprofit Organizations".

Dr. Scherhag now works as head of international affairs for Hamburg-Aviation.

Professor Dr. Isabella-Marie Nolte was a research assistant at our chair from 2009-2012. In March 2012, she received her doctorate on "Management von Public-Nonprofit-Partnerschaften im Katastrophenmanagement".

Dr. Nolte now works as a professor for the Department of Public Management at the Harz University of Applied Sciences.