Our Team

Emily Elsner (nee Adams), PhD.

Emily graduated in Biological Sciences from Oxford University and then specialised into nature conservation with an MSc at University College London, and nature-human relationships and honey bee management and science with a PhD at Lancaster University. She has 4 years of experience of working as an independent consultant specialising in NGO management, building on her volunteer work over the past 15 years with various conservation and social charities. Since 2017 she has specialised in impact measurement and management for non-profits and social enterprises, reflecting her commitment to social and environmental justice and sustainability. She co-founded Capacity in 2015.

Isabel Brücher

dipl. Architect / MA History / NDS ARCH ETH
Isabel graduated in architecture and specialized in Conservation Sciences at the ETH Zürich after finishing a master’s in modern European History in USA. She has more than 25 years of professional experience in South and North America and Europe. Since 2011, she has become an active advocate and leader of change in the fields of migration and social entrepreneurship. She has completed various humanitarian relief journeys along the Balkan Route and Greece and teaches German in a refugee camp in Zurich since 2015. She is involved in various projects and initiatives aimed to improve the conditions of refugees. Isabel is committed to supporting human potential and providing equal opportunities for personal and professional development, regardless of background, nationality or religion.

Marisa König Beatty

Marisa (she / her) has been working for over 20 years in program development, event management, community building and facilitation. Through the lens of her own immigration experience, first in Belgium then Switzerland, her practice is led by a deep commitment to inclusivity and belonging, and fostering symbiotic relationships between people, networks and opportunities that support them to reach their full potential. She has had the honour of accompanying Capacity from the beginning, originally their Community Builder at the Impact Hub Zürich, later, as an advisor and now as Programme Co-Lead.

Herself an entrepreneuse, in addition to her work with Capacity she continues dream up creative ways to catalyse personal and community growth through her socio-cultural consultancy, könig beatty projects.

Julieta Novoa

Julieta has a background in journalism and brings 17 years of experience in Supply Chain Management. She assists people to enable their business by helping them converting ideas into a business plan.
Growing up in Argentina exposed her to inequality, and from a very young age, her motto is “Fairness”. In 2019 she had the privilege to opt for a career change and joined Capacity to advocate for equal opportunities in the job market for refugee and migrant entrepreneurs with the hope of facilitating a better integration in Switzerland.

Adrienn Győry

Adrienn is a Social Policy Expert advancing interdisciplinary research on social inclusion and immigration. She has more than four years of experience in comparative policy analysis in relation to family, education and labour market policies. She finished her PhD studies in Social Policy at the University of Kent, where she researched public attitudes towards the inclusion of immigrants in the welfare state in Norway and in the United Kingdom, disentangling the conditions of developing more inclusive welfare states. At Capacity Adrienn is committed to fostering social inclusion through designing and implementing the ACCESS – Labour Market Integration Programme. In parallel with her work at Capacity, she continues her research on the relation between democracy and welfare states examining social policy reforms under democratic backsliding.

Caterina Meier-Pfister

Caterina started her professional career in the private and public sectors with a background in law and mediation. For more than 20 years she has been working for NGOs, especially for communication, partnerships and in fundraising, both as a specialist and in leadership positions. Her broad experience ranges from fair trade and gender equity to development cooperation and humanitarian aid. Her motivation in her work for Capacity is to directly and concretely empower people to make use of their own potential and thrive.

Cathlene Bell

Cathlene Bell is Capacity’s Storyteller in Residence. Born just outside New York City, Cathlene is a lifelong student of the intersection between creativity and social impact. In addition to obtaining degrees in both Communications and Global Peace & Justice Studies, she has contributed to both the nonprofit sector and the world of publishing for over 12 years.
Cathlene is passionate about supporting brilliant minds and hearts to tell their stories of creative resilience. She is also a singer-songwriter, painter, podcaster and mother to two delightful young feminists.

Blenda Schmutz (Altamirano)

Blenda has a background in Graphic Communications and experience working in financial institutions in Zurich for over 10 years. Originally from Mexico, she is familiar with the challenges of adapting to a new culture. Capacity’s strong social engagement captivates her since she is a firm believer in equal opportunity regardless of origin, gender, age or race.

Evgeniya Vodolazova

Evgeniya is a psychologist and a talent development professional with over 10 years of work experience in the US. With her background in organisational psychology, she is passionate about enhancing employee experience at all stages of the employee life cycle and creating a sense of purpose, inclusion and belonging for individuals of every background. Evgeniya is convinced that many talent-related issues faced by employers in Switzerland, such as talent shortage, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, can be addressed by targeted efforts to support newcomers’ integration in the society. She is thrilled to work with Capacity on projects at the intersection of organisational talent needs and individual integration challenges.

Francesca Malvatani

Francesca graduated in Law, and after her work experience in legal offices in Italy, she found her dimension in the HR field in Zurich. She has more than five years of experience in international recruitment. Francesca is passionate about Diversity & Inclusion practices to create an inclusive climate for employees in their workplace. Francesca firmly believes in the power of creating a diverse and inclusive workforce, where the employees feel respected and their contributions valued.
She is excited to use her experience and resources to collaborate with Capacity in supporting migrants and refugees in recognising and developing their talents.

Piera Marongiu

Piera is passionate about the human dimension in the business. She has spent 15+ years in the field of inclusion and diversity, human capital and organisational development.
Her mission is to melt the walls of discriminations in organisations and making a positive impact in different areas: ethnicity, gender, LGBTIQA, culture, generation, different-abilities and neurodiversity.
She has worked with a 'diverse' range of organisations and across several countries (Spain, Italy, UK as well as in US and India,). She is currently guest lecturer and founder of IIE - Integrate Include Engage, focusing on inclusion in healthcare and health equity.
As a neuropsychologist, she maintains an analytical mindset, that combines with coaching and mentoring skills. She is dedicated to empowering refugees by fostering their potential and integrating into the Swiss job market.

Carolin Würthner

Carolin holds a degree in French, Spanish and Economics from the University of
Mannheim/Germany and started her professional career in direct and online marketing for a large German mail order company. An employment as a marketing manager of a Swiss media company was followed by many years working for a leading Swiss NGO in various functions in the fundraising and online communications team. After two years of responsibility for web presence and online marketing & communication of a German startup, Carolin is happy to be back in fundraising to support Capacity with heart and soul in achieving its goals.

Anna Politanska

Anna is a Finance and Project Manager. With over ten years of professional experience, Anna leads teams from Europe, North America, and Asia in the corporate world. Anna’s education in international relations, paired with a hands-on professional application, has led to a passion for Intercultural Communication and Team Building. She advocates for empathy, awareness and cultural contextualisation in doing business and is convinced that the strength of any organisation comes from its diversity and inclusion. Anna supports the Access team in Communications Liaising, Logistics, Events and Community Building, with an emphasis on projects that connect corporate entities with the under-tapped talent pool of immigrants and refugees in Switzerland.

Parinitha Mundra

Parinitha is an architect by training, an entrepreneur, innovator, design thinker, and educator.
Working in multiple startups and having launched two of her own ventures in the past, she believes that observation, inspiration, and determination are the foundations for success. Having lived and worked in various cities and relocated to 3 different countries, she enjoys and learns from all the cultural interactions and exchanges. At Capacity, her passion for identifying innovative approaches and improved solutions to business challenges combined with social inclusion motivates and drives her. Pari, also loves and plays all kinds of sports and also conducts painting sessions in her free time.

Charlène Guillaume

Charlène has a background in communication and sociology. Originally from Lausanne, she moved to Berlin for several years and gained professional experience in a big e-commerce company in the field of brand marketing and public relations. After this enriching experience of living aboard, she took on a new challenge in her life and went travelling solo to Asia. She started her journey in India, where she got her yoga and meditation teacher's certificate. Besides her personal project in the field of yoga and self-development, she aspires to combine her communication skills with a strong purpose such as Capacity.

Fanny Gasser

Fanny finished her law degree in 2019 (BLaw in Fribourg, MLaw in Basel) and went on to work as Junior Marketing Associate for International Distributors at Lindt&Sprüngli in Zurich. She is currently doing her legal internships in preparation for the bar exam in 2023.
During her studies she worked various jobs (gastronomy, creative content manager, pension fund etc.) as independence (or at least partially) was really big for her early on.
Fanny is based in Zurich, loves to meet up with friends and socialise, to read, loves fashion and interior design and is always keen to try new foods.

Ulrike Draeger

Ulrike is an experienced human resources professional. Originally from Germany she studied Business Administration in Switzerland. For 20+ years she worked as a project leader and line manager in international service companies. In particular she covered recruiting, strategic HR-projects and process optimization. As a newplacement consultant she supported executives to realign their professional career and find a new position in the Swiss job market. Firmly convinced that everyone should have the opportunity to reach their full potential Ulrike enthusiastically supports the ACCESS Programme.

Anna Stando

Anna is an enthusiastic and driven advocate of gender equality and social inclusion. She grew up in Poland and completed her Bachelor’s in Spanish Language and Culture and Master’s degree in Intercultural Communication at the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands (with an exchange programme in Mexico). Anna has volunteered in Guatemala, worked in Denmark, Thailand and Switzerland, learning four new languages and gaining valuable experience of what it takes to make a fulfilling life as a migrant. She previously worked as Sales Manager responsible for Asia and as Sales Manager responsible for Europe at ECCO Accessories and after that as a Senior Sales Manager for Virgin Pulse focusing on building a new market in Poland. In addition to her work in Capacity, Anna also works as a Project Manager for Advance – Gender Equality in Business. In her spare time, she co-leads two female LEAN IN networks and works as a photographer.

Katerina Klezlova

Katerina has over 12+ years of experience in the fields of Biz Dev, smart growth, strategic partnerships and sales. After multiple years in consulting, working in SME, NGO and Corporate environments across industries, Katerina founded Fortuny Consulting GmbH, with the vision to guide start-ups and SMEs to accelerate their business growth, enter new territories and multiply their sales, by identifying sustainable, smart & speedy business growth solutions with heavy focus on key growth multipliers. Katerina is the co-founder and COO of Pepicon, a software fintech company digitizing the private equity fundraising and investment process. Additionally, she has supported numerous NGOs and charities in the past, running her own volunteer community based in Zurich and is a proud mentor and advisor to many individuals and start-ups.

Chris Gopsill

Chris is a retired International Project Director with more than 35 years’ experience in the renewable energy, engineering, chemical, life sciences and IT sectors, with both major multinationals and start-ups. Chris is a joint UK / Swiss national who has lived and worked in the UK, USA, Germany and Switzerland and conducted business in 30 countries. He is an experienced innovator, facilitator, change manager and trainer. Chris holds an M.B.A. from Indiana University and an M. Eng from Cambridge. He is married to an Italian, with 2 grown-up daughters – all of whom strengthen his passion for social and environmental justice and sustainability. The entire Gopsill family are long-term supporters of a foundation helping to build a school for children of disabled war veterans in Ethiopia and Chris joined the Capacity team as a mentor in 2018, accepting the role of Chief Mentoring Officer in 2020 and Board Member in 2021. In March 2021 he cofounded a company with his wife, Nicoletta, supporting clients globally in boosting their sustainability profile to achieve the desired benefits, balancing environmental, economic and societal impacts.

Akim Tejan-Cole

Akim Tejan-Cole fled to Switzerland to escape the chaos of a brutal civil war in his home country Sierra Leone. Little did he know that a tough battle that he was unprepared for awaited him in his new homeland. “When people feel the system chokes them, it forces them to adopt an “Us” against “them” mentality and trust is lost. I was no exception to these feelings.” ... Akim
Since arriving in Switzerland, Akim has gone on to lead international teams, worked for some of the top companies in the world and given speeches at prestigious institutions. Akim is passionate about diversity and inclusion and getting people from different backgrounds communicating and interacting with each other. Most recently, he launched a fashion label that aims to create the diversity and inclusion experience through its design and giving back process.

Alexa Kuenburg

Alexa works as a medical doctor in Zurich. She specialised in transcultural issues and continued her training as a conflict mediator. Alexa has extensive experience working on charitable projects in Switzerland, Europe and the Middle East. Her commitment to the personal and professional development of refugees and migrants in Switzerland is remarkable.

Hannah Lüddeckens

Hannah is a psychologist and works in psychotherapy. She has a special interest in accompanying people on their way to a self-governed life. She is also committed to respecting human rights and integrating people of different nationalities and cultures into our Swiss society. Hannah is grateful to contribute her experience in project management and entrepreneurship as well as her personal interests as a long-term member of Capacity.

Valentina S. Velandia

With 10 years of expertise in the areas of Gender Policy Analysis, Migration and Entrepreneurship, Valentina's professional journey ranges from her native Colombia to the US, Asia Pacific and now Europe. She has worked for organisations such as UN Women Singapore Committee, UN-CEDAW, EDGE (As a consultant for the World Bank, The Inter-American Development Bank, Swiss-Re, IKEA, and other global entities), The International Women Rights Action Watch (IWRAW), and The International Disability Alliance, among others. Valentina holds a BA in Intercultural Communication Studies (Rhetoric and Public Discourse), a Master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy with an emphasis in Gender Policy and she is a Swiss-certified teacher.

Anne Murray

Anne has led communications strategy for global marketing across the product lifecycle in both the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. She has served as a board member for community organizations in philanthropy, music education and family housing. She is active in preserving the dignity of individuals in all life circumstances and celebrating their value. Anne is part of the organizing team working to bring SheEO to Switzerland. She holds an MBA in marketing from Georgetown University.

Milena Astray

Milena is currently writing her Fachmaturität diploma thesis on the topic of integration and is therefore involved as an intern with Capacity Zurich. She is actively involved with other integration projects in Switzerland as well. Her ideal job would like to work in an NGO which focuses on human rights, animal welfare or environmental protection. Milena has always had a sense of justice and respect for human rights, and she strongly believes that each individual should be accepted with her or his own identity and baggage.

Anouk Huessy

Anouk brings in her experience and expertise of working in the area of development as well as from the extensive time she lived abroad. Her own often challenging experience in trying to settle down in other countries has shaped the way she looks at migration, in particular at forced migration. With great passion, she has put her efforts into supporting Syrian refugees in Switzerland to start their new lives and previously in setting up a volunteer programme for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in Berne. For Capacity she translates and asks critical (and nasty) questions in her role as a volunteer advisor.

Guillaume Ladislas

Guillaume is an IT and financial auditor. He is always looking for great opportunities to meet people and take part in projects. Native from south of France, he has a background in Accounting, Control and Audit, but has also experience in entertainment, sale and outdoor events. He supports Capacity with financial advice.

Fiona Smith Reaney

Fiona has spent 15 years working at the intersection of learning, international development and social entrepreneurship and spent over 7 years living in and working in South Asia and East Africa. She is currently a Director at the LEGO Foundation in Switzerland. She is passionate about social justice and is inspired by working with innovative entrepreneurs!

Christian Lehmann

Christian holds an Engineering degree from the University of Frankfurt (D) and an eMBA from the University of Maryland (US).
He has 20+ years of international experience in the technology sector, where he has served in functions from project management, over marketing & sales to general management.
"With migration globally on the rise, it is more important than ever to integrate all this talent into our society. Capacity is a great initiative in this field and I really enjoy to contribute to it."

Christina Mittmasser

Christina is a PhD fellow at the Geography Institute of the University of Neuchatel and the research centre nccr – on the move. In her research, she tries to understand migration and mobility from an inequality perspective. Her current project focuses on migrant entrepreneurs in Switzerland. Christina studied Sociology and European Ethnology in Austria, where she addressed the issue of statelessness and the diversity of the concept of citizenship within her Master thesis. To complement her research activities with supporting migrants in practice she joined Capacity as a volunteer in July 2019!