Dr. Joana Breidenbach holds a PhD in cultural anthropology and is the author of numerous books on the cultural effects of globalization (e.g. Seeing Culture Everywhere, University of Washington Press 2008), as well as the children’s crime novel Edwina Ermittelt in Berlin (Gestalten Verlag 2014). She is co-founder of betterplace.org, Germany’s largest donation platform. In 2010, she founded the betterplace lab, a think tank researching the use of digital technologies for the common good. The betterplace lab has evolved from a hierarchical organisation to one which is radically self-managed. In her latest book, New Work needs Inner Work (Vahlen Verlag, 2019) and the online course The Future of Work needs Inner Work, Joana has described this transition towards a fluid, competence-based hierarchy in detail. In line with her interest in digital-social innovations, she supports initiatives such as the ReDI School, CRCLR and Stiftung Neue Verantwortung. Joana invests in impact-oriented startups such as Clue, DeepL and nebenan.de. In 2018 she founded Das Dach Berlin to promote meaningful innovation.
