Meet the Team

Stefanie Schiffer

Founder and Director of the European Exchange gGmbH in Berlin. Stefanie Schiffer studied Slavonic languages and Eastern European History in Tübingen and Munich. She has a broad experience in cooperation with civil society organisations in Eastern Europe. She has been a founding member and initiator of several civil society cooperation programs and international platforms as the EU Russia Civil Society Forum, the EPDE, the Kyiv Dialogue and the Initiative Quorum. She has been an advisor to the board of the Marion Dönhoff foundation and to the filia Frauenstiftung, a member of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung and a board member to the organization Human Rights in Belarus e.V.

Thomas Vogel

Thomas Vogel became Co-Director at the European Exchange in April 2024. He had been working for six years at the German Federal Foreign Office on OSCE, Security Policy, Eastern Europe and Russia. Before that, he worked as a Foreign Policy Adviser at the European Parliament focusing on democracy support, the rule of law and the civil society in EU Neighbourhood countries. Before joining the European Exchange, Thomas worked as a director for an organisation implementing security sector reforms globally on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office, the UN and the GIZ. He studied communications and linguistics at the Leipzig University and the University of Bergamo (IT).   

Adam Busuleanu

Adam holds degrees in Politics and Journalism from Poland and Eastern European Studies from Germany, with a focus on alternative movements in communist Poland and election monitoring in post-Soviet countries. With over 20 years of experience in election monitoring, he has served in various roles, including as a long- and short-term election observer, core team member, and leader of research and capacity-building projects. Adam has also worked as a trainer, supporting the development of civil society structures in Eastern Europe. He was actively involved in founding the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) in 2012 and initiated the EPDE’s annual FURIC conference in 2023. Currently, he focuses on enhancing citizen election monitoring methods and strengthening cooperation between citizen observers and key stakeholders.

Lukasz Kondraciuk

Lukasz joined the European Exchange in 2024 as a Program Manager for EPDE. Before that, he worked at the International Republican Institute since 2013 and served in a number of role, most recently as Countering Foreign Authoritarian Influence Advisor. Under that new global portfolio, he provided IRI with technical expertise and assistance in developing program ideas and activities for emerging projects on topics related explicitly to authoritarian and other malign foreign influence and interference and its impact on democracy and governance. Lukasz was also IRI’s representative in Germany, developing and cultivating strong relationships with key stakeholders in the country and the region. Until mid-2021, he served as a Program Officer and then Country Director on one of IRI’s closed society country programs. Moreover, in 2018, Lukasz served as IRI’s acting Director for the Institute’s office in Warsaw, Poland, for eight months. Before joining IRI, Lukasz worked for the Foundation for Polish-Ukrainian Cooperation in Warsaw. He holds a master’s degree in Linguistics and a postgraduate diploma in Diplomacy and Foreign Service from the Warsaw School of Economics. In addition to his native Polish, he is proficient in Russian and English and has a foundational proficiency in German and Ukrainian.

Matthias Meier

Matthias Meier joined the European Exchange team in 2022 as Advocacy and Communication Manager for Kyiv Dialogue and the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE). He completed a degree in Philology from Leipzig University (2012-2016) looking into communication strategies of Russian state media in Germany. He holds a master’s degree in East European studies from Freie Universität Berlin (2017-2020) focusing on institutional change and reforms in Ukraine. Previously he worked in German-Ukrainian think tank projects at the Berlin based Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP) and as project manager of several campaigns in the run-up to the German federal elections 2021.

Natalia Sobczuk

Natalia Sobczuk joined the European Exchange team in 2023 as Project Manager for the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE). She graduated from the Free University of Berlin with a master's degree in East European Studies where she focused on culture and literature. In addition to her work at EPDE, she is the co-founder of the feminist initiative In Feminis Veritas and spokesperson of the Berlin/Brandenburg regional youth chapter of the German Association for Eastern European Studies (Junge DGO). This involvement has led her to participate in numerous creative projects within the Berlin scene and to actively contribute to strengthening civil society dialogue.

Daryna Sterina

Daryna Sterina is the Project Manager for the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE).

She is a native Ukrainian from Dnipro and grew up in Germany, Berlin. Daryna holds a a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Dresden and a Master's degree in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent (UK). During her academic education, she spent time studying in Turkey and participated in a research school in Azerbaijan. Before joining the European Exchange, Daryna worked as a project coordinator of an international European project focussing on strengthening democracy and fostering participation of migrants. She had various internships with human rights organisations, including the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Amnesty International, where she continues to be active as a volunteer.

Valeriia Moiseieva

Valeriia grew up, studied, and amassed over 10 years of work experience in Kyiv, Ukraine. Through her work with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and leading Ukrainian NGOs and initiatives such as Centre UA, #MediaHub, Chesno, Stop Censorship she gained experience in coordinating and administering all project-related processes.

Before the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she worked as an SMM Manager for a German start-up. Since April 2023, Valeriia has joined the team of the Kyiv Dialogue in Berlin as event coordinator.

Jean Bou Antoun

Born in Lebanon and raised in Paris, Jean brings a strong background in finance within the NGO sector. He has extensive experience with a wide range of donor regulations and financial requirements, including budgeting, reporting, contractual compliance, and financial analysis for institutional donors such as the EU, BMZ, GFFO, BMUV, KfW, and USAID. He is also proficient in drafting internal financial guidelines and policies for medium- to large-scale projects implemented with multiple partners or within consortia.

Jean began his career in banking and real estate before transitioning into corporate finance. He later entered the NGO sector, where he accumulated over 10 years of experience managing public funds at one of Germany’s largest political foundations. Based in Beirut, he served as Finance Manager for the Middle East and North Africa region, while also assuming project management responsibilities across several countries in the region.

Jean relocated to Berlin to join the headquarters, where he became the focal point for EU-funded projects, particularly those implemented in Francophone Africa. His role included financial controlling, on-site monitoring, and oversight of project implementation across Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, he has worked as a Consortium Finance Manager and consultant for humanitarian organizations, supporting large-scale climate and environmental projects in East Africa.

Jean holds a degree in Banking and Finance and an MBA specializing in financial feasibility studies, with academic thesis in Paris, London, and Beirut. He has also completed two years of study in international law. He is fluent in three UN languages: French, English, and Arabic—and has intermediate proficiency in both German and Spanish.

Since January 2025, Jean has been serving as Head of Finance at European Exchange, where he oversees financial monitoring and control of complex, multi-donor projects. His role includes ensuring compliance with diverse donor requirements and providing strategic financial oversight across a broad project portfolio.

Nika Chugoshvili

Born in Kvareli and raised in the small village of Gavazi, Georgia, Nika brings a strong background in logistics, communication, and event management. After completing a high school exchange program in the United States, he earned a BA with honors in International Relations from Caucasus University and an MA in Public Policy Administration from Ilia State University.

Nika has worked across diverse sectors, including entrepreneurship and business startups in Georgia. As Community Manager for the Young European Ambassadors – Georgian chapter under the EU Neighbours East programme, he gained valuable experience in youth engagement, community work, project management and communications. He has also led community-based initiatives in Gavazi, securing U.S. and EU funding to organize extracurricular and informal education activities for local schoolchildren.

Since April 2025, Nika has been part of the team at the European Exchange in Berlin, working as an Intern in Communications and Event Management, where he continues to build expertise in coordinating impactful events and public outreach.