The Advisory Board for the RISE Program
The advisory board for the RISE program consists of thirteen activists from Germany. The members contribute not only their professional expertise but also their personal experience — they are committed feminists and represent the perspectives of the target groups that filia aims to reach with the RISE program. Their task is not only to decide on the grantmaking within the framework of RISE — Resources for Intersectional Solidarity and Empowerment. Together with them, filia is also further developing its grantmaking activities in Germany.
Advisory Boards Have a History at filia
filia has worked with advisory boards for grantmaking in Germany in the past: filia founded the Girls’ Advisory Board in 2012. This group of girls, young women, and LBTIQ+ individuals decided on funding for the Girls Empowerment Program. Since 2020, the EFF Advisory Board has decided on funding for the Empowerment Program for Refugee Women*. The newly founded RISE Advisory Board continues the work of both advisory boards. Many of the current advisory board members were previously active in one of the two advisory boards. New activists have also joined.
Good to Know
RISE stands for Resources for Intersectional Solidarity and Empowerment. With this program, filia supports self-organized FLINTA groups in Germany that organize activities and services for and with FLINTA individuals.
The RISE Advisory Board is part of filia’s Participatory Grantmaking
“Nothing about us without us” is a fundamental demand of many movements representing marginalized and discriminated groups. It is a call for co-determination and self-determination, which these groups are often denied in their societies. filia takes this demand seriously. One of our core values is participation. We involve our target groups in our work. We have now even handed over funding decisions for Germany to them. The RISE Advisory Board and its predecessors are part of our participatory funding strategy and our participatory self-image.
The RISE Advisory Board at a meet-up in Hamburg 2025
The Activists of filia Advisory Board for the RISE Program
Here we will gradually introduce the activists who decide on our grantmaking in Germany as members of the advisory board. Stay up-to-date —
the next profiles will be online soon!
the next profiles will be online soon!
Anna Francesca Geist
Francesca grew up in a small town in Saxony-Anhalt. She remained loyal to the east for her studies and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Education at Martin Luther University (MLU) in Halle an der Saale. She is a state-certified social pedagogue. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in educational sciences. She has also completed a certificate in gender studies. In addition to her studies, Francesca is a supervisor for a student scholarship program.
Francesca is very active in university politics: she is a member of the student council, the faculty council, and other committees in her faculty. Francesca is also on the board of the improvisational theater association Schoko mit Gurke e. V.. Francesca has been associated with filia for years, as she has been a member of the Girls’ Advisory Board since 2016.
Francesca’s focus is primarily on queer issues and everything related to gender, role models, and the construction of gender.
Irina Schmidt
Irina is an educational assistant and education officer at Kreisjugendring Stormarn e.V. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and sociology and is a trained experiential educator. Before Irina became a member to filia’s Girls’ Advisory Board, she was already involved in the children’s and youth advisory board in Bad Oldesloe. Irina not only brings professional experience in youth and girls’ work in rural areas to the table. She also grew up in the countryside herself and knows how important it is to create opportunities for girls and young LBTIQ+ people to empower them – even outside their families and familiar surroundings.
Irina is originally from Russia, but came to Germany as a child.
Luisa Jasharaj
Luisa lives in Bavaria and is in the 9th grade at a high school. She is working toward her high school diploma. In addition to her involvement in filia’s RISE advisory board, she is active in various sports clubs and is a member of a politics and debate club. It is particularly important to Luisa that Flinta’s work and achievements, both past and present, are recognized and appreciated. She is particularly interested in feminist issues related to work and careers, such as the gender pay gap, how more women can get into leadership positions, and what this has to do with promoting girls.
Zilan Özkan
Zilan was a long-standing member of filia’s Girls’ Advisory Board. She was both spokesperson and co-coordinator of the advisory board and thus brings a wealth of experience in working with and for various boards. Before her involvement with filia, Zilan was already active in the youth advisory board of the Kreuzberg Children’s Foundation.
Zilan’s focus is on queer, BiPoC, and intersectional feminism. Another important issue for her is women in war and armed conflict, particularly in the context of Turkey and Kurdistan.
Born in Berlin, Zilan holds a degree in law.
Karyna Lazaruk
Karyna is a media expert specializing in new media and the use and manipulation of information in mass communication and information warfare. She studied in Kyiv and Lviv, earning a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a master’s degree in Media Communication.
Karyna is particularly interested in the intersection of mass communication, politics, culture and art. Since 2013, she has been an activist — organizing seminars on critical thinking for students, developing media projects on human rights, gender equality, and media ethics, and supporting the LGBTIQ+ community through rallies and artistic collaborations.
She is currently based in Berlin, where her work focuses on Russian colonialism and the development of decolonial approaches within her community.
