Introducing Impact Hub Berlin’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Board!
Impact Hub Berlin is excited to announce the members of our brand new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion advisory board — an intersectional group of FINTA* founders who will help us work towards access, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging within our entrepreneurship support programmes and networks.
What is a DEI advisory board?
A DEI advisory board is a group who assist and council organisations on matters concerning diversity, equity and inclusion. They are made up of people facing and fighting discrimination who can provide valuable and unique guidance on questions and concerns that arise for marginalised communities in our systems. They advocate for more access and equity and push for changes that need to be made in order to build safe(r) and more supportive spaces for marginalised communities.
Why did we want a DEI advisory board?
As part of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ecosystem funded through our ecosystem partner SEND e.V. and in collaboration with tbd*, we are currently building an incubator that supports FINTA* (Female, Intersex, Non-Binary, Trans and Agender) founders in the field of participation and empowerment.
To make the incubator and our other ecosystem activities as accessible, inclusive and equitable as possible, we have entered a co-creation process with our advisory board to get the support and advice of an intersectional group consisting of FINTA*. Our goal is to learn how to build safe(r) spaces and inclusive and equitable support programmes for social entrepreneurs.
How did we choose our advisory board?
We were looking for intersectional representation when choosing our DEI advisory board:
- We wanted an intersectional advisory board made up of FINTA* (Female, Intersex, Non-Binary, Trans and Agender) …
- … with a connection to the (social) entrepreneurship and DEI field.
- We were looking for diverse perspectives, and tried to have them represented more than once.
- We wanted to work with people who are not only personally affected by discrimination, but who have also worked with other marginalised groups in the past.
Who did we find?
We are very excited to work with a six-person advisory board who can bring their personal, academic and professional experiences as PoC women, (trans) non-binary persons, mothers, people with physical and mental disabilities as well as neurodivergent people. All of our board members are founders themselves and part of our IHB and tbd* networks.
In order to make sure that we include voices and experiences not represented in the board at this moment – such as voices from other age groups, voices from the Asian, Turkish and Arab community in Germany or people affected by anti-slavic sentiments – we will work with further organisations as outreach and content partners. Please get in touch if you would like to get involved!
Meet our DEI advisory board
Wadzanai Motsi-Khatai (she/her)
- Former Programme Manager at the Center for Intersectional Justice
- Former Community Manager at CRCLR
- Founder of the Sangano Black Business Hub in Berlin, a collective initiative from diaspora and Afro-German entrepreneurs in Germany
- Senior Project Manager Team Lead at Hotjar, a user interaction analysing tool for websites
- Brings in the perspective and experience of Black woman, a mother and female founder
- Has an academic view on intersectional justice and Black entrepreneurship
Henriette Schwarzer (she/her)
- Founder of Solution Worker!, a digital support & consultant service for founders and freelancers
- Speaker for Inclusion & New Work
- Consults founders with visible and invisible disabilities through found-it and inKlub
- Brings in her experience as a disabled woman without arms, a female founder and mother
Dr. Fox Mega (they/them)
- Founder of Dr. Mega Consulting (DMC), a purpose-driven consultancy focused on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), who have worked with e.g. DB, Ableton and Scholz&Friends
- Founder of Embodied Intuition for Transformational Leadership
- Academic background in Neuroscience, Gender and Diversity Research
- Brings in their experience as a queer, trans non-binary and neuro-divergent person and founder
- Fox will be supported by their team from DMC
LinkedIn | Website | Blog | Video Podcast
Kave Bulambo (she/her)
- Founder & Head of Talent of TalentDiverse EU, a recruitment agency seeking to connect women and BIPOC talent with organisations
- Founder of Black in Tech Berlin, a community and support system for Black developers and Black tech professionals
- Expert Jury Member for the EU Prize for Women Innovators by the European Commission
- Has worked as a talent acquisition manager with several companies including SmartRecruiters
- Brings in her experience as a Black woman with a migration background, mother and female founder
Amrei Feuerstack (she/her)
- Founder of found it, a support organisation based in Wuppertal to empower disabled people to become entrepreneurs
- Founder of Feuerstack Events, an marketing management service provider
- Brings in her experience as a queer disabled and neuro-divergent woman and female founder
Hedda Ofoole-Knoll (she / no pronouns)
- CEO at tbd* with a focus on belonging and anti-discrimination. tbd* is a job portal for people who want to work for social and sustainable-driven organisations and who want to get inspired on how to implement belonging, wellbeing and common good at work
- PhD focused on sustainable supply chains
- Brings in Hedda’s innovative perspective as a queer black mother and network in the anti-discrimination and social entrepreneurship field
How will our advisory board support us?
Through our monthly advisory board meetings, they will consult with us on our work. This includes feedback on:
- Needs of our target group
- Inclusive language
- Our application and selection process
- Structure of the incubator
- Mentors and coaches
- How to create safe(r) spaces for the cohort
Our advisory board will also support as outreach partners and act as jury members throughout the selection process.
About our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Ecosystem
Impact Hub Berlin’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion ecosystem is one of our four ecosystems committed to fostering innovation and enabling collaboration across organisations, cultures and generations to solve the challenges facing the world today.
We facilitate various activities to help all stakeholders collaborate better and grow game-changing innovations. Key activities include community management, trend research, reports, conferences, events, accelerator programmes, networking, and more.
The goal of our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion ecosystem is to transform how we think about social, economic and political equity. Our impact entrepreneurs are invested in creating new products or innovative services that ensure nobody is left behind — to help build a more inclusive and equitable future. The only way forward is a just, sustainable society that can be realised by including everyone in its design.
There are many challenges to be addressed when talking about inclusion, diversity, equity and access. They are all equally urgent and important. At Impact Hub Berlin, we have identified four areas of opportunity in which many of our members are active and where we can contribute support through our network, programmes and access to finance. These areas are:
- FINTA* Empowerment: Reducing inequality based on gender and empowering individuals who identify as FINTA*
- Migration & Integration: Creating opportunities with and for people with migration & refugee stories.
- Accessibility: Creating accessibility and equity with and for people with visible and invisible disabilities.
- Democracy & Participation: Strengthening an accessible, inclusive and equitable democracy where everyone belongs.
We are also committed to constant learning, exchanging ideas and welcoming challenges from experts and partners to improve the important work within the ecosystem.
Recent activities within our DEI Ecosystem
We run regular workshops and events to connect the members of our DEI community with partners, investors and fellow innovators dedicated to our mission. Recent activities have include:
- Meet the Changemakers with Berlin Global Village which highlighted the work being done by the members of our DEI ecosystem.
- Film screening “Beyond Men and Masculinity” with our member Flavia Ladino from The Future Is Humane.
- DEI Workshop for our team with DEI consultant Fadi Saleh and DEI survey with Safir Boukhalfa (ongoing).
- Empathy Workshop with IHB member Melody Song which explored how empathy is a crucial skill that helps in overcoming differences and understanding people around us with different needs.
Two “startup preschools” for founders with a migration history with our members Norhan Othman and Nicolai Strøm-Olsen from Startup Migrants.
