Team

Portrait Alenka Bonnard

Alenka Bonnard

Co-director and co-founder

A lawyer by training, specialized in the evaluation of public policy, Alenka carried out her studies in Lausanne, Geneva, Berlin and Paris. She benefits from many years of experience in strategy and innovation consulting for large companies, foundations and various public entities. Together with Danny Bürkli she supervises the activities and partnerships of the staatslabor and is responsible for strategy and development. Alenka is particularly interested in issues of citizen participation, innovation culture, and service and public policy design.

Porträtfoto Alex

Alex Zgraggen

Head of training courses

Alex studied business administration and business innovation in St.Gallen and Singapore. During his Master's degree, he developed and led workshops for Smartfeld. After his master's degree, Alex gained several years of experience in an international consultancy. He is passionate about bringing people together to collaboratively drive forward projects and innovations, whether in the form of training and workshops, organising events or as Head of Sport at FC Weissenstein.

Caroline Ritzmann

Caroline Ritzmann

Social Media and Communcations Specialist

Caroline studied International Affairs in St. Gallen and Canada. Alongside her studies, she gained experience in project management and communication while working in management consulting and economic development.  Caroline is particularly interested in how clear and effective communication can contribute to a citizen-centric and inclusive public administration.

Porträtfoto Céline

Céline Aebischer

Office and Event Managerin

Céline completed her Bachelor's degree in Tourism at the HES-SO in Sierre. During her studies, she gained experience in project and event management and was able to learn a lot about the latest developments in digitalization and society. Céline is always motivated to continue her education and acquire new knowledge. This attitude was particularly developed when she spent several months traveling, volunteering and getting to know new cultures.

Portraitfoto Danny

Danny Bürkli

Co-director and co-founder
Danny studied political science in Zurich, Geneva and the USA. After his studies he worked in Berlin for a leading international strategy consultancy. He was part of the founding team of the Centre for Public Impact, a global organization dedicated to effective government. He helped establish and grow the organization as part of its leadership team. Danny has a keen interest in complex systems theory and in emerging public administration paradigms. He jointly leads the staatslabor team together with Alenka Bonnard.
Portraitfoto Dario

Dario Meloni

Head of Advisory, member of the executive board

Dario Meloni studied psychology and sociology in Zurich, Bern and Amsterdam. He has several years of experience in advising corporations and the public administration, especially in the field of behavioural sciences. Before his role as a consultant, he worked in the federal administration and at ETH Zurich. Dario is particularly interested in how public administrations can align their services, processes and policies to the needs of citizens and society.

Portraitfoto Dimitria Interlici

Dimitria Interlici

Public Affairs and Business Development

Dimitria is a political scientist by training. She studied in Constance, Brussels, Waterloo/ Canada, and Pavia. Before joining the staatslabor, she interned at the European Parliament, and the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Furthermore, Dimitria consulted for Global Affairs Canada as part of her studies in Canada. She aims at breaking up institutional silos, designing public processes as efficiently as possible, as well as making them impact- and purpose-driven for users, such as citizens.

Giulia Colella

Giulia Colella

Project manager

After graduating with a Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen, Giulia pursued her Master in Leadership and Organizational Psychology in Oslo and Rome. Parallel to her studies, Giulia worked as an intern at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and in a strategy consulting company. She is interested in organizational development, ethics, and social justice. 

Portraitfoto Ivo Scherrer

Ivo Scherrer

Senior project manager and Fellow

Ivo studied International Economics in Paris, Geneva, and St. Gallen and has specialised in energy markets, climate policy, and sustainable digitalisation strategies. Amongst others, he has worked for the OECD and ETH. He’s a co-founder of the grassroots think tanks foraus and Argo. In the scope of his work for staatslabor, Ivo is particularly interested in how the public sector can leverage the collective intelligence of its employees as well as of the residents of Switzerland to tackle complex political and social challenges.

Laura Herren Portrait

Laura Herren

Associate

Laura holds a Master of Public Administration from the  University College London. She previously gained experience in the international trade division at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. In addition, her work in Nepal has given her experience in the international development sector. Laura is passionate about becoming a 'tri-sector athlete,' aiming to bridge the public, private, and civil sectors to tackle today’s pressing challenges. Her key interests include digitalization and the transformative potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Portraitfoto Lisa Brombach

Lisa Brombach

Project manager

Lisa studied communication and media research and sociology in Zurich and information and knowledge management in Sydney. During her studies, she had the opportunity to work in journalism and marketing and to gain experience as a project assistant, among other roles. After graduation, she worked in the Swiss Federal Administration and at ETH Zurich. There she worked on inter- and transdisciplinarity and the Swiss science-policy interface. Beyond this, she is especially interested in policy development and the advancement of digital solutions.

Lynn Reinhart

Lynn Reinhart

Senior Project Manager

Lynn studied International Relations and International Security in St. Gallen, Paris and London. She has several years of experience as a project manager in Switzerland and abroad and has also worked in the Federal Administration. Lynn is interested in change and development processes and enjoys accompanying a variety of organizations in these. She finds it particularly exciting to try out new tools and methods and to learn new things in the process.

Portraitfoto Marit Stalder

Marit Stalder

Community Management Intern

Marit is completing her Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management at the EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne. Before and during her studies, she gained valuable experience working with an NGO in Ghana and through various internships in the hospitality industry. From an early age, Marit had the opportunity to explore different cultures and languages, which significantly shaped her openness and curiosity. She is always eager to discover new things and has a particular interest in the practical application of modern work methods. She is also interested in issues of diplomacy and social justice.

Portraitfoto Max

Maximilian Stern

Vice-president and co-founder

A political scientist specialized in economics and European law, Maximilian co-founded and directed several think tanks and organizations which are part of today's Swiss national political landscape. Currently based in Zurich, he offers counsel on their innovation strategy to a variety of clients in Switzerland and abroad, while also participating in numerous non-profit projects. At staatslabor, he is in charge of various key projects and deals with strategic issues. Maximilian is particularly interested in the digitalization of democratic processes.

Milena

Milena Rutz

Senior Fellow

Milena Rutz studied psychology at the Universities of Bern and Basel and has been applying her expertise to a wide variety of innovation and digital projects for over 15 years. Her experience from working in a idea factory, a digital agency and the scientific university context, as well as her methodological know-how, form the foundation for her multifaceted consulting and innovation work at staatslabor. Milena Rutz is on fire for the design of digital products, innovation processes and collaboration.

Portraitfoto Nicola

Nicola Forster

President and co-founder

After studying law in Zurich, Montpellier and Lausanne, Nicola co-founded and presided over the leading Swiss foreign policy think tank foraus for ten years. He is a moderator and counsels various government departments, international organizations and foundations on their innovation processes. In addition, he presides over Science et Cité, is board member of Akademien Schweiz, member of the Swiss UNESCO Commission and politically active. As president of the staatslabor, Nicola contributes to staatslabor's strategy and content and is particularly interested in the societal impact of public innovation

Portraitfoto Sabine

Sabine Zeilinger

Senior Fellow

Sabine Zeilinger studied communication and sociology in Zurich, has a master's degree in corporate communication and is currently completing a mediation training. She has many years of experience in communication, transformation, leadership and has worked on various major projects with complex issues and numerous stakeholders for NGOs, the Swiss government and the Swiss Post. Most recently, she worked as Head of Communication and member of the Executive Board at the Swiss Red Cross. She is interested in new collaboration and leadership models and topics such as diversity & inclusion, equality, sustainability and transformation.

Portraitfoto von Stephan Kyburz

Stephan Kyburz

Data Scientist and Senior Fellow

Stephan studied economics and business administration in Zurich and Shanghai and obtained a doctorate in economics from the University of Bern in 2016. As a postdoctoral researcher, he worked at the Center for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He then worked at the Think-Tank Center for Global Development and the Department of Government at the LSE. Stephan has many years of experience in the development of empirical econometric analyses (R, Python, Stata) and the application of geographic information systems GIS (ArcGIS, QGIS). He is also the host and producer of the podcast "Rules of the Game - discussing democratic institutions".