Contact

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
Email Simon: shansen@samf.ku.dk

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
Email Sigrid: sml@samf.ku.dk

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
Email Mikkel: mbp@samf.ku.dk

Brigitte Dragsted PhD, 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
Email Brigitte: brigittedr@samf.ku.dk

Sofie Hviid, Manager of Communication and Events
Sofie is responsible for the centre’s communication and for increasing the visibility of the centre. Sofie has trained as a journalist at Roskilde University and specialised in climate communication. She has experience as a journalist from several large media companies, worked as a self-employed consultant for a number of years and cooperated with organisations, companies and regions on climate projects. She is a partner at Klimajournalisterne and therefore only works part-time for the centre.

Call Sofie: +45 26 71 93 36
Email Sofie: sofiehviid@samf.ku.dk

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
Email Anne: at@samf.ku.dk

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
Email Maja: mde@samf.ku.dk 

Lise Tjørring, Research Consultant
Lise is part of the research and communication project Copenhagen Change Academy, where she develops methods for research-practice collaborations. Currently, she is involved in collecting and analyzing qualitative data on research-practice collaborations in an international context and developing target group specific tools.

Lise has a research background with a specialization in energy and environmental anthropology. She has completed an industrial PhD in collaboration with an energy company after which she has been a postdoc at the research project HumanImpact and at the Center for Applied Ecological Thinking.

Call Lise: +45 21 86 19 17
Email Lise: alt@samf.ku.dk 

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 a grant from the centre. Upeka is an ethnologist from the University of Copenhagen and until 2023 has worked with the circular economy, branding and export of the Danish creative industries for e.g. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Danish Industry and Danish Business. In addition, she has designed and established the House of Creative Denmark in BLOX and was a cultural center developer in the Municipality of Copenhagen. Previously, Upeka was a member of the Council for Human Rights and an adviser to UN Human Rights.

Call Upeka: +45 31 19 49 69
Email Upeka: upab@samf.ku.dk

Malthe Høy Jensen, Officer of Networks

Malthe is part of the networks team, where he coordinates and develops networks between researchers and practitioners within subjects such as the green transition and digitalization. Malthe holds a Master’s degree in Applied Philosophy with a specialization in culture and language analysis, focusing on how behavior and discourses can translate into learning processes in transdisciplinary environments. He is educated from Aalborg University and Columbia University in New York, and he has previously worked with learning cultures and co-production in the field of education.

Call Malthe: +45 60 74 86 84
Email Malthe: mhj@samf.ku.dk

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.

Call Ida: +45 25 92 38 89
Email Ida: nmt174@samf.ku.dk

Line Lund Kristoffersen, Student Assistant
Line supports MaryCentret's work in organizing and establishing networks between researchers and practitioners, especially under the themes of tech and the green transition. On a daily basis, she studies political science at the University of Copenhagen, through which she has taken a semester of her bachelor's degree at Sciences Po in Paris. Alongside her position at MaryCentret, she works as a project coordinator for CSCD's academy for young people with a special interest in diplomacy. She was previously a student on the management course at the Ministry of Food, where she gained an insight into the workings of the central administration.

Call Line: +45 28 59 57 43
Email Line: vrt897@samf.ku.dk

Jonathan Eilert Raaberg, Student Assistant
Jonathan studies anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. He has a special interest in climate change, democracy and citizen involvement and is concurrently working in a project that seeks to find better ways to involve citizens in the implementation of renewable energy plants. Jonathan has earlier done an internship with the Danish Social Innovation Academy and has taken part in establishing the musical student union on campus.

Call Jonathan: +45 42 18 82 22
Email Jonathan: tdr902@samf.ku.dk

Viktoria Windfeld Hinge, Student Assistant

Viktoria supports the development of the centre's partnerships and external relations, as well as the centre's seed funding program. In addition to her position in the center, she is an active voice in the climate debate through Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse and involved in Krogerup Højskoles Elevfond, which advocates for diversity and inclusivity in Danish Folkehøjskoler. Currently, Viktoria is pursuing a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of Copenhagen.

Call Viktoria: +45 31 44 38 14

E-mail Viktoria: xtl777@samf.ku.dk