Our Team

ANNINA LUX - PROJECT CO-OORDINATOR

Annina is the founder and head of VOICE, responsible for the project and the coordination of the VOICE team. She has lived and worked in various countries, including the UK, where she finished school and obtained a BA in History from Durham University, and Bolivia, where she worked in a rural hospital. Her experience in Bolivia has led her to establish VOICE. Annina holds a Master in International Security from SciencesPo Paris. She currently lives and works in Berlin. She speaks German and English as well as Spanish and French.

FAVOURITE VOICE MOMENT?

There are a number of very special VOICE moments for me, all of which will stay with me for the rest of my life. One of them was proofreading the first printed version of A Definition of Snow – seeing all 14 powerful stories in print, despite knowing them pretty much by heart, took my breath away.

FAVOURITE BOOK ASIDE FROM VOICE?

Krabat by Otfried Preußler

CATHERINE BANNER - WRITING ADVISOR

Catherine's role is as writing advisor to VOICE, as well as as deputy project coordinator. She is a writer born in the UK and lining in Turin, Italy. After studying English at university, she worked as a teacher of English and literacy. Catherine has published a triology of young adult novels as well as one adult novel, The House at the Edge of the Night. She currently writes full-time for Penguin Random House. She speaks English, Italian ans French and is passionat about finding new ways to use creative writing to share individual stories. More about Catherina and her books can be found on her personal website.

FAVOURITE VOICE MOMENT?

For me, one of the most memorable meeting was finally meeting some of the writers and team in Berlin in September 2019 when the book was launched, after working together and knowing each other, in some cases, for more than two years. I felt like I knew them already, and I think that’s a testament to the power of their stories and words.

FAVOURITE BOOK ASIDE FROM VOICE?

Omeros by Derek Walcott

SHEILA CHEPKOECH - REGIONAL CONTACT AFRICA

Sheila is a Kenyan national with a great passion to help people, especically those living in Sub-Saharan Africa, where she is originally from. It is this passion that drove her to pursue development studies as a career. She has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from United States International University- Africa (USIU-Africa) and has pursued a Master’s degree in International Development at the Paris School of International Affairs, SciencesPo, in the past years. Sheila is also sharing her personal experiences as a VOICE writer. She currently lives in Nairobi.

BÁRBARA DEL BOSQUE SALMERÓN - REGIONAL CONTACT LATIN AMERICA AND TRANSLATOR (SPANISH)

Bárbara works as Regional Contact for Latin America and Spanish translator. She was born in Veracruz, México and has a Bachelor in Nutrition and Food Science. She has been involved in talks and workshops about healthy eating and nutrition in different towns and communities in México, Brazil and Paraguay; where she has been a volunteer in educational projects. She is a promoter of social volunteer exchanges in an NGO because she believes having that kind of experiences enhances our world and human relations and perceptions. She currently works in a governmental hospital and a private practice and is also studying to become an Emergency Medical Technician. She speaks Spanish, English and some Portuguese.

ALENA GOLD - MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION MANAGER

Alena is responsible for the communication and the media management of VOICE. She has a Bachelor in European Studies from the Technical University of Chemnitz and has studied for a semester at the University of Santiago de Compostela. She also has a Media and Communication Masters from the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida. Alena speaks German, English and Spanish and a little Russian, French, Czech and Italian. She currently lives in Jena, Germany.

FAVOURITE VOICE MOMENT?

When the majority of our team met in Berlin for our book launch - they are all a bunch of inspiring people to me.

FAVOURITE BOOK ASIDE FROM VOICE?

There are so many great books...

FLORIAN - CONNECT GERMANY COORDINATOR AND TRANSLATOR (GERMAN AND FRENCH)

Florian is our Connect Germany Coordinator and works as a German and French translator for VOICE. He is holds a double Master from SciencesPo Paris and FU Berlin. He speaks German, French and English, and has a good proficiency in Spanish and Portuguese.

FAVOURITE VOICE MOMENT?

Discussing inspiring stories and exciting new project ideas with such a motivated team is an immense pleasure.

FAVOURITE BOOK ASIDE FROM VOICE?

Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann

MARGOT OSSOLA

Margot is a master's student at the Hertie School in Berlin where she currently lives. She holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Sciences Po Paris and she is fluent in Italian, French, German, and English. She has been teaching languages for the past five years online and in a language school in France.

ALEXANDER PUNTER - TECHNOLOGY AND WEB MASTER

Alex joined VOICE in order to provide technical support and website maintenance. He is a British science graduate, who has just finished a Chemistry doctorate in Marseilles. He speaks English and French.

FAVOURITE VOICE MOMENT?

I had not met most of the team until the launch of the first book, so it was wonderful finally to do so in Berlin at the same time as showing people the book.

FAVOURITE BOOK ASIDE FROM VOICE?

Currently, The Master and Margarita.

JONAS LUX – GRAPHIC DESIGN  AND WEB SUPPORT

Jonas works on graphic design for the website, events, publications and the book. He comes from Germany, where he currently attends High School, and has spent a year in New Zealand as an exchange student. He speaks German and English.

FAVOURITE VOICE MOMENT?

Working on the book (i.e. programming and getting it ready to be available as an ebook) and in the process being able to read all the stories and work with all the amazing people at VOICE.

FAVOURITE BOOK ASIDE FROM VOICE?

Erebos by Ursula Poznanski

PHILINA TEMPELMEIER – CONNECT GERMANY

Philina joined VOICE to work on the Connect Germany Programme. She was born in 1993 and grew up in Germany. She has lived in the UK for five years, where she finished school and graduated from Durham University with a BA in Economics and International Relations. Philina currently studies law at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich. She speaks German and English as well as some French.

FAVOURITE VOICE MOMENT?

As part of VOICE Connect we organised a first aid course for a group of school children. It was great to see the enthusiasm with which they learned to help others.

FAVOURITE BOOK ASIDE FROM VOICE?

Momo by Michael Mende