During the four weeks, experienced trainers and facilitators will provide you with knowledge, skills and practical experience required in the day-to-day conservation project management work. They are professionals and practitioners of either conservation related organisations or institutions, private trainers with a background from the conservation scene and also from the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main or a variety of other institutions.
Martin Davies has dedicated his life to helping make conservation efforts effective. He worked for 35 years for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in both its national and international divisions. He has extensive experience in securing funding for conservation projects. Since his retirement Martin Davies has run his own company, specialising in helping with conservation project planning and in training aspiring young conservationists.
In partnernship with Nick Folkard of the RSPB, Martin Davies will provide a six-day course for Frankfurt Spring School students examining crucial techniques to plan, manage and fund a conservation project
As head of the project development and support unit for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Nick Folkard is an expert in project planning, fundraising and capacity building.
In partnership with Martin Davies of the Parides Ecological and Training Consultancy, Nick Folkard will provide a six-day course for Frankfurt Spring School students examining crucial techniques to plan, manage and fund a conservation project.
Biljana Aljinović is an independent consultant on biodiversity conservation and natural resource management, trainer and facilitator. She has extensive experience in practical conservation work around the globe, advocacy and capacity building.
During the Frankfurt Spring School, Biljana will support the six KfW Foundation Fellows during the elaboration of their project proposals.
Ignacio Jiménez is a Spanish biologist with three decades of experience in conservation. He worked with multiple species in Central America, Madagascar, and protected areas in El Salvador, Brazil and Uruguay.
Between 2005 and 2015 he worked for Tompkins Conservation to design and coordinate the largest reintroduction program in the Americas.
He’s authored more than thirty scientific papers, a book and a TED talk, has lectured at numerous universities including Yale and Duke. His main theme of interest focuses on how to improve conservation programs and organizations.
During the Frankfurt Spring School Ignacio will teach participants about challenges in conservation.
Dr. Julia Gorricho is a Colombian anthropologist with over 18 years of global experience across Latin America, Africa, and Europe—including work with organizations such as WWF and Blue Action Fund. She specializes in conflict-sensitive, rights-based, and community-led conservation in contexts shaped by climate change and conflict. Her work spans environmental and social risk assessment, project finance, and the application of international standards, including the World Bank Environmental and Social Standards, alongside deep engagement in environmental peacebuilding and inclusive dialogue.
Grounded in a lifelong connection to nature and a love for the outdoors, she brings curiosity, courage, and integrity to forging cross-sector alliances that centre Indigenous Peoples, women, and local communities while advancing meaningful biodiversity protection.
Lars Løvold is a Social Anthropologist with 18 months’ fieldwork experience among two indigenous tribes in the Brazilian Amazon.
From 1990 to 2018 he was the Director of RFN, helping the organization grow from a small initiative to an internationally leading organization within rights-based rainforest protection.
Since 2018 he is a full-time Special Advisor for the organization, working on resource mobilization, the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, and other special projects.
During the Frankfurt Spring School Lars will teach participants about challenges in conservation.
Ariet studied forest and nature conservation with a focus on wildlife ecology at Wageningen University. After graduating, she worked at Smart Parks, a Dutch NGO, working on how technology could better protect rhinos and other threatened species across Africa.
She now works as a Program Manager at a philanthropic foundation in the Netherlands, working on protecting Europe‘s last wilderness areas through strategic grantmaking. This role combines her ecology background with strategic conservation funding to help preserve some of the continent’s most important wild places.
Wolfgang Lüchtrath is an expert for personal impact and effectivenes. Since 2007 he is helping decision-makers, executives, experts and teams to be successful by being themselves. He is deeply convinced that every human is unique.
As founder of THE KOENIGS, a theater company specialized in improvisational theater in business and public contexts, he performed at more than 1000 events.
Wolfgang Lüchtrath will show the Frankfurt Spring School participants this year how they can use their voice, language and body language effectively to transmit a message.
Stephanie finds lots of positive energy in her passion for people development. As an accredited business trainer and executive coach she supports individuals to unlock their excellence and transfer it into the workplace. Her interventions are powerful, creative and fun.
Prior to this, she followed her passion for nature: working in the south African bush as a wilderness guide, managing a training academy for aspirant safari guides and working for FZS.
During Frankfurt Spring School Stephanie will share insights about the basics of leadership – to inspire participants to become the leader others want to follow.
Dr. Christof Schenck is the executive director of Frankfurt Zoological Society. His position is the result of a prestigious career in conservation and research. He has produced crucial and influential work in some of the most remote project areas in the world.
Today, Christof Schenck oversees FZS conservation efforts across 18 countries, shaping the societies strategy and growth.
Michael Brombacher is the leader of Frankfurt Zoological Society’s European Department. From 16 years of work experience in conservation, he uses his advanced skillset to help safeguard large-scale wilderness projects across Europe and Central-Asia.
As part of this year’s Frankfurt Spring School, Michael will lead interactive sessions on recruitment and interview strategies, and share his experiences from years spent in the project areas of the Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Florian Becker-Gitschel has held the position of Head of Finance at Frankfurt Zoological Society since 2011, as well as administrating a repertoire of independent foundations and trusts.
In a series of talks and practical sessions Florian Becker-Gitschel will share his expert knowledge of financial management and reporting, providing the essential skills to Frankfurt Spring School students necessary to execute this critical role.
Having worked several years in communications for German development cooperation (GIZ), Kristina joined the Europe Department at FZS in 2025, assisting with all things concerning Donor Communication and Fundraising.
She will give you an insight on how to approach new donors and how to make sure donors are kept informed and involved on a long-term basis.
Using her rich background in Biology and Science Communication, Dagmar Andres-Brümmer has led the Frankfurt Zoological Society communications department for the last 18 years.
Participants of this year’s Frankfurt Spring School can expect an in-depth insight into the world of communications strategy and PR from Dagmar Andres-Brümmer herself in a day-long interactive session.
An expert in online communications, Nils has been responsible for the digital communications of Frankfurt Zoological Society since 2015, having worked as multimedia content editor, requirements engineer and project lead at the Hessian Broadcasting Corporation in the years prior.
Nils will share his knowledge and experience as part of the Frankfurt Spring School communications module.
Prof Piepenbring’s research interests and expertise include the diversity, ecology, morphology and systematics of plant parasitic microfungi, tropical mycology, fungal diversity, and tropical botany. A passionate teacher, she aims to contribute to the understanding of ecosystem function, habitat conservation, sustainable forest product usage and furthering of education at universities in developing countries.
Meike Piepenbring will lead the excursion to the Science Garden and will present Goethe University’s contributions to conservation.
Diane Detoeuf works for the Wildlife Conservation Society as a Social Science Technical Advisor. She is now based in France, in the division of the global Rights & Communities and Conservation Technology teams to support various field programs being implemented by WCS in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Her work focuses on monitoring and evaluation tools for measuring human well-being and local governance, developing theories of change, and using technologies for social sciences.
During the Frankfurt Spring School, Diane will provide a one-hour digital talk about livelihoods and governance metrics in WCS.
As Sector Economist in KfW‘s Competence Centre for Infrastructure, Water and Natural Resources, Sandra’s tasks circle around advisory and communication services KfW internally regarding the biodiversity portfolio of KfW Development Bank and for external clients including the German Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ). Sandra had been working for KfW since 2000 in various responsibilities, mainly as portfolio manager for projects in the urban development, financial and water sector in the MENA region.
As a portfolio manager in KfW’s evaluation department, Melvin conducts and coordinates ex-post evaluations of KfW’s area-based conservation projects. With his background in development economics and geospatial analysis, he applies scalable, rigorous impact evaluation methods to assess the effectiveness of protected areas.
During the Frankfurt Spring School, Melvin will demonstrate the use of geospatial tools to evaluate the effectiveness of protected area management and explain what is needed to move from correlation to causality.
Claudia holds a degree in business administration with a focus on human resources. With years of experience as an HR professional and coach, she transitioned into development cooperation, working as a trainer and moderator. There, she designed trainings and workshops on processes, procedures, and the logical framework approach within Financial Cooperation.
Building on this background and skill set, she then moved into evaluating within Financial Cooperation. She is conducting project evaluations in fragile contexts, collaborating closely with UN organizations and projects focusing on governance issues. Additionally, she is deeply involved in institutional learning. As a people-oriented professional, she sees herself as an enabler who enjoys working with others to drive improvement.
Timo Schönfeld is sector economist and technical group coordinator for forests and biodiversity at the Competence Center of KfW Development Bank, assessor of forestry and he holds a doctorate from the Institute of World Forestry, Hamburg. In addition to forestry-related topics, he is specialized in conservation and protection of biodiversity. His current work focuses on the Tropical Forest Finance Facility (TFFF), integrated fire management and biodiversity credits. Forests are the most complex and species-rich terrestrial ecosystems, and as one of the largest financiers of biodiversity, KfW is committed to protecting them.