E-News July: Directorate welcomes new Executive Administrator

On Monday we welcomed our newest member of staff Cornelia Ehlers to the office in Grafenau. Cornelia is our new Executive Administrator and will be responsible for organising the administration side of things for the Federation from now on. In the next few months Cornelia will be concentrating on analysing office procedures and data storage systems and getting to know the structures and procedures within the office to be able to suggest some improvements. She will also be working closely with EUROPARC’s Council members.

Cornelia, welcome to the Bavarian Forest. Maybe you could start by telling our members something about the following:

a. Your background
I grew up in a tiny little village in Upper Bavaria from where I started to explore Europe and later the world after I had finished one year of voluntary service in a school for handicapped children.
I studied Political Science in Munich and Copenhagen and after a round-the-world-trip I joined the international student organization AIESEC in Munich where I was on the executive board in charge of incoming trainees from all over the world in 2005.

In 2007 I went out to discover parts of the forgotten continent (Africa) during a traineeship in Cameroon. Here the idea for a project on renewable energy for rural development and environmental education arose, which I have been working on for the last two years. My tasks were fundraising, donor relations and for the past 12 months project management in Cameroon to set up the pilot phase of the project. The project is now being run by partner organisations in Cameroon.

I have also worked in public relations and publishing houses before but have now decided that sustainable development and nature conservation is the direction I want my career to go in.

b. Your hobbies
If you can call development aid and working for sustainable development in Africa as well as working for a dialogue between African and European cultures a hobby – then yes this is my hobby. Oh my god – I now sound like a complete nerd. Well let’s try to amend this: I also love travelling; spending time with my family; biking; hiking; being outdoors; reading and I want to take up photography in the months to come.

c. Your outlook on/motto for life
There is one citation that has driven me in whatever I have done in the past years. It’s from Edmund Burke and reads: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

d. Your green credentials away from work
Well I buy organic food, try not to waste water, recycle, try to avoid plastics and for now I cycle everywhere – but I have to be honest I am contemplating buying a car soon and I do fly quite a bit.

You have founded and run your own NGO in Cameroon and have worked there over the last year. What will you bring with you from this and other experiences you may have had to the EUROPARC Federation?
Actually the NGO (GREEN STEP e.V.) was founded in Germany and I founded it along with Johannes Hertlein and many friends and family.

I bring quite a bit of understanding for work in international contexts with me and of course the interest in environmental education, nature conservation and renewable energy for sustainable development. From my work experiences in PR agencies and publishing houses I have a lot of knowledge on office management systems, which I will need most for my set tasks. I also had to deal quite a bit with knowledge management and administrational procedure change during my previous jobs and I hope to be able to bring in some of these skills too. In addition, having set up our NGO in Germany and having worked in the executive board of AIESEC Munich, I also have some knowledge about the legal structures of NGOs within Germany and on the set up and running of organisations.
So using all of these skills I hope to be able to improve the administrational side of things here at EUROPARC and in doing so help the organisation to function more efficiently, including serving our members more effectively.

What do you expect or hope from your position here with EUROPARC?
Well I hope to learn more about the beautiful protected areas in Europe and about the challenges the people managing those areas face. I hope to be able to serve the Federation and especially its members, Council and President in the way that is expected from me. And I expect to learn more about the great projects of the Federation and the people who make them possible.

What are you looking forward to about working for the Federation?
I am looking forward to working very closely with the Federation Directorate on office management and I hope to contribute to a more efficient and even more productive output of the whole organisation. I am also very much looking forward to meeting EUROPARC’s Sections, Council and Members soon!

As you have just started and are unknown to our members do you have any particular message for our members?
I am keen to get to know all of you as soon as possible – so do not hesitate to contact me and ask any questions you might have or to give any suggestions!

Many thanks for your time. We hope you enjoy working for the Federation.