Intersectional Research for Democratic Societies

I grew up in Berne, Switzerland, with my grandmother, a seamstress who had spent her life fostering children at risk of becoming indentured child labourers. Her sense of justice and uncommon life shaped my feminist values and interest in progressive social change.

I trained in transnational gender studies and sociology at the University of Leeds (UK), at a department known for engaged scholarship and collaborative, community-driven research methods.

Since graduating with my PhD in 2016, I have held positions in Germany and Switzerland. I currently serve as head of research at the Institute of Sociocultural Community Development at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU), where I am also a lead investigator and a work package leader on the Horizon Europe project “RESIST - Fostering Queer Feminist Intersectional Resistances against Transnational Anti-Gender Politics”.

My research is both empirical and theoretical and has informed my teaching as well as my contributions to The Third Mission. Over the years, my priority has been to work with feminist, anti-racist and LGBTIQ+ civil society, turning critical knowledge into action through policy advice, participatory action research, and accessible public events.

In 2021, I was honoured to receive an Emma Goldman Award for contributing to inequality research in Europe. I have also been selected as an inaugural member of the Swiss Young Academy (2020-2025), a network dedicated to strengthening dialogue between science and society.