Who we are

Chair
Juliane created Lie Detectors in 2017. She designed its award-winning concept, training approach and policy positions. Today, she leads the organisation’s strategic development. Juliane also advises governments, policymakers and the EU on countering disinformation and polarization. She has co-authored EU recommendations as part of the 2025 and 2022 Digital Literacy Expert Groups and the 2018 High-Level Expert Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation. Before founding Lie Detectors, Juliane worked as an award-winning journalist and editor for outlets including The Wall Street Journal Europe, Newsweek, Reuters, MLex and Spiegel Online, specialising in international economy. She graduated from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Edinburgh.

Board Member
Alec is a specialist in competition law with more than three decades of multi-jurisdiction legal experience. His work has included advising on digital rights and platform regulation as well as the development of EU legislation such as the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act. He is currently senior counsel at Dechert LLP, an international law firm advising business leaders across sectors, including real estate and technology. He was previously a partner at the firm. Alec also served as managing partner at the Brussels Office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LP, and for 26 years was the Global Head of Antitrust Practice at Linklaters LLP in Brussels.

Board Member
Nicola is an expert in European and media policy.  She represented the European Broadcasting Union for 25 years, serving as Head of Institutional and International Relations and leading the EBU’s policy office in Brussels. In these roles, she worked closely with UN agencies, EU institutions and international media and journalist organisations. She began her career at the European Commission, where she managed an information and communication programme for the Mediterranean region. She has chaired the Board of Management of the European Internet Forum since 2018. Nicola holds a master’s degree from the University of Bonn in Islamic studies, history and French.

Board Member
Dr Kari Kivinen is the Education Outreach Expert at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) Observatory. He has more than 30 years' experience working in teaching and the management of international and multicultural schools in Finland, Luxembourg and Belgium. Since 2017, he has led the Finnish NGO Faktabaari EDU project and edited publications including the Digital Information Literacy Guide (2022), the Guide to Artificial Intelligence (2024), and the AI Guide for Teachers (2025). He is a member of several expert groups, including the DG EAC Digital Education Content (DEC) Expert Group, the Tackling Disinformation and Promoting Digital Literacy Steering Committee and the AI Literacy Framework Expert Group.

Treasurer and Board Member
Bruce brings extensive experience in corporate media, international business as well as start-ups and scale-ups to the Lie Detectors board. As CEO of ForumEurope, he leads an international team that deliver events across five continents to address key issues at critical moments in the policy cycle. Bruce has more than 30 years’ experience in international business management, immersed in technology, data and content-driven businesses, and driving growth in Asia, Europe and the Americas. He has worked with teams at Reuters, Dow Jones, MLex and Sifted. Outside work, Bruce can be found on his smallholding mending fences and trying to drive his vintage tractor in a straight line.

Founding Association Member
Willi was a highly valued advisor to Lie Detectors. He helped shape the organisastion’s founding strategy and early partnerships, bringing visibility to Lie Detectors from its inception. After a distinguished career in journalism, Willi became one of Lie Detectors’ most prolific and well-liked classroom mentors. His insights continue to contribute to the organisation’s development. He is greatly missed.

Founding Association Member
With 25 years’ senior management experience in nonprofit organisations and as a founding association member, Magda helped shape Lie Detectors’ first financial plan and budget. As programme director at Greenpeace’s European Unit, she has knowledge of EU institutions and policymaking alongside deep experience in the civil society sector. Her work spans strategy development, campaigning, project design, fundraising, finance and governance.

Association Member
Karin is the managing director of the UK-based audience analytics consultancy Datapraxis. She founded and ran the aid-transparency campaigning organization Publish What You Fund. She also chaired and stepped in as interim CEO at the Open Knowledge Foundation. Karin started her career as an aid and public finance expert, including as a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute.

Association Member
Anne has 30 years of legal, regulatory, trade, government affairs and communications experience in the EU arena. With her combination of legal and journalistic expertise, she has been fundamental to Lie Detectors’ governance and pro bono support structure. Anne was ranked in Chambers & Partners Global Guide 2018 for her “fine awareness of the economic and political implications of any deal.”

Executive Director & Founder
Juliane created Lie Detectors in 2017. Today, she leads the organisation’s strategic development. Juliane also advises governments, policymakers and the EU on countering disinformation and polarization. Before founding Lie Detectors, Juliane worked as a journalist and editor for outlets including The Wall Street Journal Europe, Reuters, MLex and Spiegel Online. She graduated from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Edinburgh.

Managing Director
Christian jointly manages the day-to-day work of Lie Detectors while shaping its strategy. He focuses on management structure, work processes and resources. Christian previously promoted citizen-centred policies and knowledge transfer between regional governments as Secretary General of the Assembly of European Regions. Christian has also worked as a spokesperson at the EU Commission. He holds a master’s degree in linguistics.

Senior Advisor – Education Strategy & Development
Dr Annemieke Akkermans leads Lie Detectors’ drive to integrate media literacy into all teacher-training curricula. She also leads IT and media studies at Berlin’s Nelson Mandela School and has worked at the State Institute for School and Media in Berlin-Brandenburg (LISUM). She has held senior management roles in international broadcasting and earned degrees in communication science and pedagogy.

Operations Associate
Nele supports Lie Detectors’ systems and processes, including logistics, IT, internal reporting and administrative tasks. She holds a master’s degree in literature from Ghent University as well as a degree in conflict and development studies. She has conducted fieldwork on citizen journalism. Nele speaks Dutch, French, English and German.

Educational Development Officer
Julia supports the international rollout of teacher training courses. In addition to designing and organising successful training events, she contributes to the development of Lie Detectors’ educational materials. Julia holds a master’s degree in the management of social and health organisations. She has previously worked for social and educational NGOs in Germany and Chile.

Programme Associate
Valentin supports our French-language programming. He holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Rennes 1 and two master’s degrees from the Catholic University of Louvain - one in EU studies and another in international humanitarian action.

Austria Programme Associate
Clemens works with the Head of Austrian Programmes to deliver Lie Detectors’ training in Austria. He previously gained experience in national and EU diplomacy. He holds two master’s degrees: one in European affairs from Sciences Po Paris and one in political science from Freie Universität Berlin. He speaks English, German and Spanish as well as basic French, Dutch and Italian.

International Programme Director & Head of the Berlin Office
Annkatrin oversees Lie Detectors’ international country programmes, ensuring consistency and quality in the planning and delivery of training modules. From our Berlin office, she regularly represents Lie Detectors in discussions with German national institutions and funding organisations. She is also co-chair of Germany’s Journalismus macht Schule alliance. An experienced non-profit professional, AnnKatrin holds a master’s degree in political science.

Head of Germany Programme
Anika oversees our operations in Germany. Based in the Berlin office, she also leads efforts to strengthen and expand our networks and activities across Germany. Anika previously worked as a freelance journalist for leading German media outlets. She later managed media relations and school outreach programme at the US Consulate in Leipzig. She is a graduate of the Henri Nannen School of Journalism.

Senior Operations Officer
Ruxandra supports the Operations Director in ensuring efficient, effective operations across Lie Detectors, with a focus on finance and human resources. She joined Lie Detectors with over eight years’ experience in similar roles, using strong analysis and communication skills to solve day-to-day problems. She holds a master’s degree in finance and banking from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest.

Poland Programme Associate
Mateusz supports Lie Detectors training and programming in Poland. He holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration and a master’s degree in public management from the University of Szczecin. Before joining Lie Detectors, Mateusz was a Blue Book trainee at the European Commission.

Projects Officer
Valentina manages Lie Detectors’ funded projects and grants at both EU and national levels. She brings more than six years of experience in project management, particularly in the youth and education sector. She previously worked as Head of Programmes for the European Federation for Intercultural Learning. Valentina holds a master’s in international studies from the Vienna School of International Studies.

Trainee
Cindy supports the delivery and administration of our German programming. She is currently studying philosophy and computer science at the Free University of Berlin.

Germany Programme Associate
Leonard is based in Lie Detectors' Berlin office, where he coordinates classroom visits and teacher training across Germany. His interest in promoting media literacy is rooted in his academic background: a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Groningen and a master's degree in political science from Trinity College Dublin. He speaks German and English.

Belgium Programme Associate
Andres works with the Head of Belgium Programmes to deliver Lie Detectors’ training across Belgium. He holds a master’s degree in communications and public relations from the Catholic University of Louvain. He speaks French, Spanish and English.

Trainee
Marica supports the delivery and administration of our German programming. She has a background in project management and administrative work. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Göttingen and is currently pursuing a master’s in governance and public policy at the University of Passau.

International Programme Officer
Sinem Şahin supports Lie Detectors’ training programming across Europe, with a focus on the rollout of new training activities. She mentors teams embarking on newer geographic regions of our work. Sinem also participates in Lie Detectors’ cooperation with researchers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English studies and in French studies. She speaks English, German, Dutch, French and Turkish.

Head of Austria Programmes
David leads Lie Detectors’ programme in Austria, heading the national team’s work on developing our training modules. He is responsible for implementing the programme’s annual strategic plans, managing media partnerships with local collaborators, and fostering our Austrian network of journalists and teachers. David holds a master’s degree in communication science from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels and speaks English, German, French and Greek.

Senior Executive Assistant
Dušica supports the Executive Director with planning and scheduling of external engagements. She also plays a key role in shaping Lie Detectors’ public-facing priorities. Before joining Lie Detectors, Dušica worked on organisational development and operational management in a range of emergency aid and media development organisations. She holds a master’s degree in social innovation management from WU Vienna.

Outreach and Communications Officer
Johanna supports Lie Detectors’ engagement with civil society, media and policymakers. She tracks policy developments in education and digital rights, advises the senior leadership team and helps keep Lie Detectors communities updated on developments in education and digital reforms. Johanna previously coordinated digital communications for the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU. She has a master’s in communication studies and a bachelor’s in English literature from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She speaks seven languages.

Communications Consultant
Kathlyn contributes to internal communications, audience engagement and content creation at Lie Detectors. She previously crafted international audience strategies and campaigns for cross-border investigative projects at OCCRP and worked in creative copywriting at advertising agencies. She began her career in journalism at McClatchy newspapers and a sports magazine after graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Cologne Network Coordinator
Ann-Kathrin is a freelance reporter for German public radio. A US research trip sensitised her to issues of media quality and ethics, prompting her to organise news literacy workshops and classroom visits upon her return to Germany. After connecting with Lie Detectors, she built a network of participating journalists and schools. Ann-Kathrin regularly delivers training for journalists, schoolchildren and teachers.

Strategic Advisor – Partnerships and Development
Eric has 30 years of media and fundraising expertise. He began his career in German television before pivoting to bid development for journalism, communications and civil-society initiatives. He advises non-profits, for-profit companies and higher education institutions in Europe and around the world. He sees Lie Detectors as crucial to (re-)building and maintain trust in quality journalism from the bottom up.

Hamburg Network Coordinator 
Julia Kuttner is a freelance journalist, contributing to outlets including ARD-aktuell and tagesschau.de. She spent several years working on the social media desk of tagesschau.
A Lie Detectors participant since 2018, Julia established the Hamburg and northern-Germany network of schools and journalists for Lie Detectors. She regularly trains journalists, children and teachers and assists with communications work for Lie Detectors.

Network Coordinator for Lie Detectors in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia
Based in Leipzig, Sven is a freelance reporter for German public broadcaster MDR and a contributor to ARD Aktuell as well as major news programmes Tagesschau and Tagesthemen. One of Lie Detectors’ first participating journalists, he has been visiting schools since 2018 and oversees journalist and school networks in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. He regularly trains journalists, children and teachers.

Austrian Networks Coordinator
Philipp is a journalist and presenter with Austria’s public broadcaster ORF, covering major sporting events as well as news and current affairs. At Lie Detectors, he coordinates journalist engagement and school outreach in Austria. Philipp began his media career at Radio Arabella, where he helped launch the network’s Denk|Raum initiative for young journalists. Philipp also has extensive sports reporting experience.

Multimedia Consultant
Ivan Picart is an e-commerce consultant and digital solutions expert. At Lie Detectors, he focuses on scalable digital process optimisation, website strategy and e-learning production. He previously spent 12 years at the European Journalism Centre overseeing web development and technical management of events and producing data journalists’ e-learning courses. Ivan has extensive experience in livestream production and digital content delivery.

Media Expert & Senior Consultant
Jochen coordinates research and cooperation projects for broadcaster Deutsche Welle. He focuses on social newsgathering, verification of user-generated content and the use of eyewitness media for news reporting. He has held leading roles in EU fact-checking projects, lectures at the Free University Berlin and is a published author on media development. He supports Lie Detectors training and development.