Our team

Stefanie came up with the idea for the app in 2017 and went on to win the German Federal Government’s Hackathon in 2020 with her concept. She founded the supporting non-profit organization Gewaltfrei in die Zukunft e.V. and serves as its Chairwoman. For years, she has been tirelessly driving the realization of this ambitious and complex project. Her responsibilities include setting the strategic course for the app’s implementation across federal states, coordinating collaboration with interdisciplinary partners at both governmental and civil society levels, advising the federal government, and leading the public communication around the innovation initiative.

Pola operates at the intersection between project management and the project’s various specialized departments. She ensures that the long-term strategy for the app’s nationwide rollout aligns seamlessly with operational workflows and day-to-day processes. Her focus areas include team and organizational development, as well as human resources management. In addition, she works closely with Stefanie Knaab on the political strategy to ensure the project’s long-term institutionalization and impact.

Marta is responsible for financial and grant management as well as overall administrative coordination. Her duties include budget planning and monitoring, as well as reporting to funding bodies. She ensures compliance with legal regulations, funding and public procurement requirements, and the guidelines set by funders. She coordinates and optimizes all administrative processes and interfaces.

Marcela serves as the central communications interface, ensuring the efficient handling of all inquiries addressed to Stefanie Knaab as well as structured calendar management. In addition, she is responsible for the planning and organization of events and supports public relations activities.

The Distribution and Communication team is responsible for public relations work in the project and is also responsible for coordinating the protected distribution of the app. They take care of accompanying materials, conduct training courses, manage GfZ's social media channels and are responsible for communication with external stakeholders. The team can be reached at verteilung@gewaltfrei-in-die-zukunft.de.

The research team is responsible for the accompanying social science and legal research. To this end, the team works with cooperation partners and experts from the help system at various points. In order to design our app as well as possible for those affected, they are investigating help-seeking processes and the associated barriers as well as the evidence situation in criminal proceedings relating to domestic violence. To this end, they conduct expert interviews, focus groups and a criminal file analysis. You can reach them at forschung@gewaltfrei-in-die-zukunft.de.