Program Director

Franziska is a PhD candidate in Information Systems, with a focus in Digital Entrepreneurship and Diversity at Freie Universität Berlin. She is an Entrepreneurial Architect with over five years of work experience in tech startups, finance, strategic communications, and business development.

With a Bachelor in Finance from Stuttgart, Germany, Franziska worked at financial institutions in Germany and Silicon Valley as a press spokeswoman, financial analyst, and in strategic communications. In 2015, Franziska moved to New Jersey, and earned a master’s degree in Business Communications at Rider University. During this time abroad, Franziska published a book chapter on gender quotas, volunteered as the President of the Rider Women Leadership Council's Mentoring Program, and completed an internship at Morgan Stanley in San Francisco. After graduating, she worked at tech startups in New York and Princeton as a product manager and marketing expert while teaching a bachelor's course in Digital Communications at Rutgers University.

After four years in the United States, she spent four months in Indonesia to study mindfulness. She has been living in Berlin since 2019, worked at a consulting firm, and managed a female founders accelerator. She is also a meditation, mindfulness, and yoga teacher. Before joining Humanize, Franziska taught entrepreneurship education at Europa-Universität Flensburg.