Staff

Ole von Uexkull, Executive Director

Ole leads and coordinates the work of the Foundation. His main tasks are strategy development, representation, fundraising, financial management and research. He has evaluated candidates for the Right Livelihood Award in more than 30 countries around the globe.

Ole holds Masters degrees in Environmental Science (Lund University) and European Studies (Freie Universität, Humboldt Universität, and Technische Universität Berlin). After his studies, he won a fellowship for the Postgraduate Programme in International Affairs of the Robert Bosch Foundation, the German National Academic Foundation, and the German Foreign Office.

Ole has worked at the German Parliament in Berlin, the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris, and the European Parliament in Brussels.

Kajsa Övergaard, Foundation Manager

E-mail: kajsa(at)rightlivelihood.org

Kajsa manages the work at the office and coordinates the programme for the Laureates when they come to Stockholm to receive the Award. She is also the contact person for Swedish media.

She  holds a BA (Cultural Anthropology/Third World Studies/Tropical Environmental Studies) from the universities of Uppsala and Stockholm and has previously worked at the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, the Nordic Africa Institute, Life Link, Swedish Save the Children and the Swedish Development Forum.

Since the mid-80s, she has arranged numerous conferences and meetings all over the world in cooperation with individuals, research institutions and NGOs both in Sweden and abroad.

Katharina Andersen, Communications Assistant

E-mail: katharina(at)rightlivelihood.org

Katharina supports the team with contact management and communications. She holds a B.A. in Media and Cultural Studies with an intercultural focus from Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf. Furthermore she is a trained midwife and has worked in this area.

Birgit Jaeckel, Consultant to the Foundation

Birgit is a freelance consultant to the Foundation responsible for communication materials and press. Birgit joined the Foundation first as an intern in 2005. She lives in Germany and holds a Masters degree combined honours in Prehistory, Palaeontology and Ancient History from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

Birgit is a professional writer. Her first novel was published in Germany in April 2007.

Wiebke Gardewin, Research Intern

Wiebke works as an intern at the Foundation, providing assistance with research on the incoming nominations and with the preparation of the Right Livelihood Award's 30th Anniversary Conference, as well as with other upcoming tasks. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and a M.Sc. in International and European Relations, both from German and Swedish universities.