Contact
Centrets ansatte
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Simon Kjær Hansen, Head of Centre Up until 2021, Simon (b. 1977) was Global Director of the global organisation C40 Cities. Before that, he was Vice Director of the Technical and Environmental Administration in the City of Copenhagen responsible for i.a. urban planning and housing and urban regeneration. He has also worked as government officer with the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Office of the British Government. As External Lecturer at the University of Copenhagen, Simon has taught a subject on cities and urban policy. He has studied political science at the University of Copenhagen and the New School University in New York. Call Simon: +45 35 32 35 17 |
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Anne Thomsen, Centre Administrator Anne is sounding board to the Head of Centre (Simon) on all aspects of administration and day-to-day management of the secretariat, including financial management, onboarding etc. Anne previously worked as PA to the Head of Department at the Department of Political Science and Centre Administrator at the Centre for Military Studies, and she has been employed in both private and public-sector organisations and an NGO. Anne holds a BA from Copenhagen Business School and is currently doing a Master in International Business Communication at the University of Southern Denmark. Call Anne: +45 35 32 40 83 |
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Sigrid Marie Lassen, Manager of Networks Sigrid is responsible for building and organising networks of researchers and practitioners within a series of subjects and for organising activities which communicate and debate new research insight. Sigrid holds an MSc in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen and a Master of Urban Planning from SciencesPo in Paris. She has previously worked on foreign policy, human rights and green urban development. Call Sigrid: +45 93 56 53 35 |
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Mikkel Bisgaard Petersen, Manager of Partnerships Mikkel is responsible for strengthening the Centre’s external relations, establishing official partnerships and contributing to the Centre’s strategy. He previously worked for the international organisation C40 Cities, the City of Copenhagen and the anti-corruption NGO Transparency International. He holds an MA in Global Studies and Social Sciences from Roskilde University and he has studied and worked in Berlin, Barcelona and London. Call Mikkel: +45 35 32 56 43 |
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Brigitte Dragsted ph.d., Manager of Research and Development Brigitte manages internal research and development processes such as designing formats for monitoring and learning as well as facilitating the development of the centre’s business plan. Brigitte also works part time as a postdoctoral researcher on an interdisciplinary research project about the effects of the new consent based sexual assault legislation in Denmark on the work of the criminal justice system. Brigitte has trained as an anthropologist and holds a PhD degree from the Department of Politics and Society at Aalborg University. She previously worked on analysis and evaluation within the fields of international development and human rights. Call Brigitte: +45 60 66 30 72 |
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Upeka Abeynayake, Senior Consultant, Partnerships & Development Upeka works with partnerships and is responsible for the centre's seed funding programme, where selected research-practice projects annually receive funding from the centre. Upeka is an ethnologist from the University of Copenhagen and has until 2023 worked with branding, export and growth of the Danish creative industries for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Business and Industry, the Confederation of Danish Industry, the Danish Chamber of Commerce and Realdania. She has also designed and established the House of Creative Denmark in BLOX and has been a cultural centre developer for the City of Copenhagen's Culture and Leisure Administration. Previously, Upeka has been a member of the Danish Council for Human Rights and special advisor to UN Human Rights. Call Upeka: +45 31 19 49 69
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Maja Ejrnæs, Program Manager Maja is Project Manager of the research and communication project Copenhagen Change Academy and the network Copenhagen Impact Lab. Maja focusses on method design and on generating and communicating knowledge about research-practice cooperation. Maja has trained as an anthropologist at the University of Copenhagen specialising in practice-based research, and she has extensive experience with process facilitation and interdisciplinary cooperation. Maja previously worked at the intersection between youth, art and mental health. Call Maja: +45 23 68 03 66
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Lise Tjørring, Research Consultant Lise is responsible for the new experimental laboratory format Impact Lab 2.0, where the Queen Mary Centre in collaboration with VELUX FONDEN invites 10-15 researchers and practitioners to work together on a common problem within the theme of democratic sustainability. Lise is also responsible for the rural-urban project and the development and delivery of PhD courses in impact and community engagement. Lise has a research background specialising in energy and environmental anthropology. She has done a business PhD in collaboration with an energy company and has subsequently been a postdoc at the humanistic business research project HumanImpact and at the Centre for Applied Ecological Thinking. Call Lise: +45 21 86 19 17 |
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Bente Sørensen, Officer of Evaluation Bente participates in the work with planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning in the Centre and supports the development of research-practice-projects. Bente holds a Master in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen. She has previously worked with monitoring and evaluation in a Danish NGO, and as project manager in the UN system with international development projects, promotion of human rights (children, adolescents and women´s rights) and SDGs, institutional capacity building and labour administration. Email Bente: bes@samf.ku.dk |
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Anja Skov Granerud, Communication Manager Anja is responsible for the center’s communication and for sharing information about the activities of the center through articles, podcasts, and other channels. In addition, she is responsible for the center’s press work. Anja holds a master’s degree in journalism and cultural encounters from Roskilde University, where she has worked with climate, culture, and welfare. She has experience with journalism and communication from the Danish trade union movement and has written about work environment and the social and psychiatric fields. As a freelance journalist, she has worked with several different media outlets and made both sound productions and written articles. Call Anja: +45 93 56 55 72 |
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Marie Meldgaard Clausen, Event Manager Marie is responsible for coordinating and developing events that communicate the centre’s strategic areas to the public. Marie holds an MA in Experience Economy from the University of Aarhus and has for the past 10 years worked in the cross field between culture, communication, events and experience design at Have Kommunikation, Wonderful Copenhagen and the National Museum of Denmark. Marie is also the founder of TinyChange who educates children for a sustainable future through playful learning and therefore only works part-time for the centre. Call Marie: +45 29 21 61 18 |
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Thor Blond, Research Consultant Thor works on the initiative to enhance opportunities for research-informed policy development. One of his primary tasks is to conduct a qualitative study among politicians and civil servants to gain a deeper understanding of practices, challenges, and untapped opportunities. Thor has an educational background in Social Science from RUC and Sociology from KU, where he specialized in the relations between knowledge, organizations, and politics. Previously, he has worked as a research assistant on projects on these relations and has conducted research policy analysis and advocacy at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Call Thor: +45 61 26 89 50
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Sarah Vaht Steinitz, Research Consultant (Maternity leave) Sarah works at the center's intersection between research and the political system. Previously, she was a partner at Analyse og Tal, where she led projects in tech, democracy, and green transition using qualitative, quantitative, and digital methods. For 10 years, she has been involved in research on societal power and network structures; has published several books on these topics, and engaged in the public debate. Sarah also has experience from the Ministry of Justice's Research Office and the Economic Council of the Labour Movement, where she worked as a communications consultant and as acting press manager. She holds a master's degree in sociology from the University of Copenhagen and an additional qualification in journalism. Call Sarah: +45 28 68 34 60
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Andrea Veggerby Lind, Project Manager Andrea is project manager on the ClimAct pilot project and is responsible for conducting the project’s surveys on public opinion and engagement around climate change. Andrea has a background in psychology and cognitive science and holds a PhD from the Department of Communication at the University of Copenhagen. Her research on climate communication has focused on the connection between political identity and attitudes toward climate change. Email Andrea: avl@samf.ku.dk
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Sebastian Tue Pedersen Ove, Officer of Networks |
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Liv Skak Bruun, Officer of Networks Liv leads the Tech and Digitalisation track of our Policy Fellowship. She is currently on her master’s degree in political science at Copenhagen University, where she specializes in Political Behavior and takes great interest in how our society steers through current changes and challenges. Furthermore, she has interned at the Danish Embassy in Australia, where she worked with economic diplomacy and the Foreign Ministry's work in climate diplomacy in the region of Oceania and Australia. Call Liv: +45 35 33 07 19 |
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Asger Hans Thomsen, Research Assistant Asger is employed at the ClimAct project, where he is responsible for "mapping" the climate debate using digital methods. He holds a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Copenhagen, with a career focus on quantitative digital methods, including scraping, peer effects analysis, network visualization, and machine learning. Throughout his professional journey, Asger has gained experience with these methods through various research projects at the Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS) and the DISTRACT project. Call Asger: +45 20 73 67 78
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Maria Frahm Bjørn, Project Coordinator Maria works as project coordinator for Green University that, in the light of the ecological crises, aims to develop new formats for a changemaking university. Maria holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Copenhagen with a specialization in democratic theory and critical ecological thinking. Previously she has worked with teaching, research, and research networks at University of Copenhagen related to issues such as democratic innovation and green transitions. Email Maria: Mafb@samf.ku.dk |
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Ida Reimi Karahashi Rasmussen, Student Assistant Ida helps shape the centre's visual identity and produce videos, photos and graphics to increase the visibility of the centre. She is currently doing a BA in Information Studies at the University of Copenhagen and previously studied at the KBH Film and Fotoskole, where she acquired basic skills in filmmaking, and she has worked as camera assistant for various media production companies. In addition, Ida volunteers at Uniradioen, where she produces films for the station’s web content. Email Ida: nmt174@samf.ku.dk |
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Lærke Jonassen Hass, Student Assistant Lærke supports the network team’s projects, including the Policy Fellowship. She is studying for a Masters in Environment and Development (Agriculture and Ecology) and UCPH, and has an MA(Hons) Sustainable Development (Sociology) from the University of Edinburgh. Between her degrees, she worked for a think tank and an NGO in Scotland, supporting research on the right to food and coordinating a community gardening program. She also did a one-year apprenticeship as a gardener. In her spare time, she is part of a community garden in Frederiksberg. Email til Lærke: tkx333@samf.ku.dk |
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Maya Dyval Bayraktar, Student Assistant Maya is actively involved in multiple projects at the center, focusing on analysis and methodology development. She holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Copenhagen and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in the same field, specializing in political anthropology. Maya has also gained valuable research experience as a student assistant on projects with the Center for Advanced Migration Studies and the Department of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen. Beyond her research work, Maya brings substantial experience in communication. She has worked as a radio journalist on P1, Danmarks Radio, presented programs at the documentary festival CPH:DOX, participated in Zetland's Talent Team, and served as host and producer of the podcast series “Den Store Modtagelse”. Email: wkf814@samf.ku.dk |
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Andrea Fernande Rendtorff, Student Assistant Andrea Fernande is assisting with the ClimAct pilot project, focusing on data processing, visualization, and analysis. Alongside her role at the MaryCenter, she is pursuing a master’s degree in social psychology and learning at Roskilde University and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Copenhagen. She is particularly interested in understanding the emotions and engagement surrounding climate change and the factors that drive them. Previously, she worked as a campaign officer in the Climate Movement in Denmark, where she focused on mobilizing volunteers and driving campaigns. Email Andrea Fernande: zpt496@samf.ku.dk
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Julie Nielsen de Neergaard, Student Assistant Julie assists with management and strategy work, including tasks related to the center’s new business plan. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen and last year was on an exchange program at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea. Alongside her studies, Julie volunteers with the University of Copenhagen’s Global Health Film Days, an initiative aimed at raising awareness of global health challenges through film screenings and debates. Email Julie: jqm106@samf.ku.dk
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Clare Wibroe, Studentermedhjælper Clare assisterer Brigitte i forskningsprojektet om samtykkelovgivningen i strafferetssystemets håndtering af voldtægtssager. Til daglig læser hun kandidaten i Security Risk Management ved Københavns Universitet. Inden da læste hun en bachelor i antropologi, hvor hun tilbragte et semester ved University of Edinburgh. Ved siden af sin stilling i centeret arbejder hun i Beskæftigelsesministeriets afdeling for informationssikkerhed. Ring til Clare: 60 80 70 61 |