Secretariat
The committee is supported by a secretariat that handles day-to-day operations. The secretariat staff members have a sound professional background in various sustainability-related disciplines as well as experience in science and project management.
The secretariat is responsible for all operational tasks, both internally and externally. This includes supporting the committee in implementing its strategy, organizing events and meetings, press and public relations work via various media, networking and supporting the national scientific community as well as building and maintaining contact with strategic partners in Germany and partners on the international level.
The DKN secretariat thus acts as interface, platform, national contact point and coordination office. In the third (2019-2022) and the current fourth (2023-2025) term of office, it is located at the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS) in Hamburg, which is headed by DKN Chair Prof. Dr. Daniela Jacob. Dr. Sebastian Sonntag, DKN Executive Director, heads the secretariat and is an ex-officio member of the committee.
Contact
Deutsches Komitee für Nachhaltigkeitsforschung in Future Earth (DKN)
c/o Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS),
Chilehaus - Eingang B
Fischertwiete 1
20095 Hamburg
Staff members
Dr. Sebastian Sonntag, Executive Director
Dr. Sebastian Sonntag has been the Executive Director of the DKN since November 2019. As head of the DKN secretariat, he is concerned with the strategic development of the research and research landscape in the context of global change. Previously, Sebastian Sonntag worked at GERICS as scientific coordinator of the Earth League and at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology as a scientist in the field of climate science. Sebastian Sonntag studied physics at the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg and received his PhD in geosciences from the University of Hamburg. Sebastian Sonntag has a special interest in the targeted communication of scientific content to different groups as well as in the interdisciplinary networking of science.
Dr. Tanja Blome, Scientific Officer
Dr. Tanja Blome works as a scientific officer for the office of the DKN since April 2023. Previously, she was a research associate in the Net Zero 2050 project of the Helmholtz Climate Initiative (HI-CAM). In addition, she has been involved in teaching in the field of hydraulic engineering, where she supervised content on climate change, climate science, and climate modeling for the AKWAS project. After studying meteorology, she completed her PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany. In addition to basic research, she is primarily interested in the application and communication of knowledge in the field of climate and climate change.
Dr. Elisabeth Haefs, Scientific Officer
Dr. Elisabeth Haefs started working as a scientific officer for the DKN office in November 2024. Previously, she was the science manager of the interdisciplinary research network “Cultures of Compromise” (funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia). After studying English literature, she conducted research on narratives in sustainable urban planning for post-industrial cities in Germany and the USA as part of the “City Scripts” research group (University Alliance Ruhr), with a focus on community gardens. In the context of sustainability research, she is particularly interested in the relationship between the humanities and the natural sciences.
Scientific Officer (wpn2030)
Julian Trutz Müller, Scientific Officer (wpn2030)
Julian Trutz Müller works in the Science Platform Sustainability 2030 (wpn2030) as a consultant to co-chair Daniela Jacob since February 2024. He has a background in design, studied Sociology (B.A.) at the University of Hamburg and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, as well as Urban Design (M.Sc.) at HafenCity University, where he focused in particular on issues relating to urban agriculture as a productive instrument of urban transformation. He also gained professional experience in urban development.
Former staff members
Dr. Stefanie Trümper, Scientific Officer (wpn2030)
From 2021 until 2023 Scientific Officer (wpn2030).
Dr. Barbara Malburg-Graf, Scientific Officer
From 2016 until 2023 Scientific Officer at the DKN secretariat.
Dr. Tina Krönert, Scientific Officer
From 2020 until 2023 Scientific Officer at the DKN secretariat.
Martina de Pedro, Assistant
From 2019 until 2021 Assistant at the DKN secretariat.
Dr. Martin Scharffenberg, Scientific Officer
From 2021 until 2022 Scientific Officer at the DKN secretariat.