Personal Profile

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL CAREER

2014-2019
Research Fellow at the Gutenberg Research College

Since September 2002
Professor, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Germany, Institute of Education (Social Work)

2008 -2017
Director of the Research Training Group “Transnational Social Support”

2004-2015
Director of the Research and Councelling Agency on Debt and Overindebtedness at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany)

1999-2003
“Privatdozentin” (Private University Lecturer), Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany, Institute of Education (Social Work)

1999
Habilitation, Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany, Institute of Education (Social Work)

1998-2003
Professor, University of Applied Science of Darmstadt, Germany, Department of Social Work

1990-1997
Assistant Professor, Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany, Institute of Education (Social Work)

1990
Ph.D., Technical University of Berlin, Germany, Institute of Education, (Social Work)

1983-1990
Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Fundation (Germany) in Peru. Consultant to the “Centro Latinoamericano de Trabajo Social“ (Latin American Centre of Social Work) (academic unit of the Latin American Association of Schools of Social Work), the “Centro al Apoyo al Sector Informal“ (Centre of Support for the Informal Sector) and the “Instituto Andino de Estudios Sociales “ (Andian Institute for Social Studies)

1982
Diplom-Pädagogin, Technical University of Berlin, Germany, Institute of Education (Social Work)

1981
Master of Arts, University of Chicago, USA, School of Social Service Administration; Fulbright Scholarship

COLLABORATION AND MEMBERSHIP IN ACADEMIC ORGANISATIONS

  • Member of the Board of Directors of the Research Centre „Social Dependencies and Social Networks“ at the Universities Mainz and Trier, Germany, funded by the Research Ministry Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
  • Speaker of the Board of Directors, Commission of Social Work, German Society of Educational Sciences (1999-2006)
  • Director of the Institute of Educational Sciences, University of Mainz, Germany (2006)
  • Member of the Advisory Committee, Ministry for Work, Family, and Health, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
  • Member of the Interdisciplinary Working Group „Poverty and Deds“, University of Mainz, Germany
  • Member of the Centre for Intercultural Studies, University of Mainz, Germany
  • Member of the German Society for Gerontology and Geriatrics
  • Member of the German Society for Educational Sciences, Social Work Section

EDITORIAL BOARD

  • Transnational Social Review – A Journal for Social Work (Editor of the Journal)
  • Zeitschrift für Sozialpädagogik (Journal for Social Pedagogy) (Co-editor)
  • Book Series “Soziale Arbeit Aktuell” (Present Issues of Social Work) (Co-editor)
  • Book Series “Studienbücher Soziale Arbeit” (Introductions to Social Work) (Co-editor)
  • Cuadernos de Trabajo Social (Social Work Journal), Spain (Advisory Board)
  • Medien und Altern (Advisory Board)
  • Der Pädagogische Blick, Juventa Verlag, Germany (Co-editor) (until 2003)

Reviewer of various social work and social science journals