Volunteer Coaching

Adrienne works as a coach and organisational consultant and has a wide range of professional experience in a variety of sectors. She has worked in the management of a polyclinic, as a study coordinator in the healthcare sector, as a vocational trainer and in the editorial department of an international daily newspaper. The individual and personal development of people is close to her heart, which is why she enjoys supporting and accompanying motivated and committed people in their educational projects for EDUCA SWISS.

After completing her studies in International Business Administration in Germany, Spain and Denmark, Anne-Kathrin moved to Switzerland for her first job over 13 years ago. Since then, she has worked in the medical device industry in marketing and sales in global and local roles with increasing leadership responsibilities. Throughout her life journey so far, education has been key to fulfilling her dreams. As a passionate coach, Anne-Kathrin wishes to help people at EDUCA SWISS to fulfill their dreams as well.

Barbara studied environmental engineering and science in Germany and the USA. She has over 30 years of international management experience in environmental protection and occupational health and safety in the heavy industry. Strong assertiveness and tact were necessary to build a safety culture, in this world dominated by men, that will help to sustainably prevent life-changing or fatal accidents. Today, Barbara wants to give back to society. She is passionate about helping young people get a good education at the start of their careers as well as inspiring young women to pursue STEM subjects. This is the reason why she is involved with EDUCA SWISS.

Britta is a natural scientist and has spent the last 30 years working in various roles in the industry – most recently at Novartis in Basel. This was only possible through continuous education and the courage to follow her own changing interests. Britta has always been involved as a coach and mentor during her professional career to support people in their development. She is very pleased to now help other people achieve their educational goals as a coach at EDUCA SWISS.

Erna has over 30 years experience in the service sector, most recently in retail at Migros Ostschweiz, and now works as a life coach and psychological consultant. Her coaching helps to identify disruptive mindsets and to switch to solution-oriented thinking. She places particular emphasis on developing a positive attitude towards life, others and oneself, and on developing inner strength, calmness and ease. As a former coachee, she is now happy to offer her time and skills to EDUCA SWISS candidates.

Ernesto has broad experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has lived in Switzerland for 12 years. He has studied in the US and France and has lived in seven different countries. Ernesto is convinced that the best way to achieve life goals is through education. That is why he likes to dedicate his time to coaching candidates at EDUCA SWISS.

Gabriela has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, research laboratories and the healthcare sector. She has a master’s degree in strategic management of healthcare organizations and a bachelor’s degree in social sciences and education with a focus on adult learning. As a coach, she aims to help motivated people achieve their professional dreams. Gabriela speaks perfect German and French.

HR professional with extensive experience in conflict transformation, mediation, conflict resolution and corporate mentoring. Strong in emotional intelligence and resilience. Has worked in public administration as a human resources professional, experienced conflict transformation expert, human resources consultant and job coach, specialising in supporting adolescents, young adults and the long-term unemployed in their search for employment. Experienced in career counselling and career transition support. Expert in promoting employability and integration of the long-term unemployed.

Hans-Jörg has experienced and worked with the most varied aspects of education and training for years. For a long time, he advised people looking to position themselves in decisive areas of their professional life because for most people, their professional life plays an important part of leading a fulfilling life. His commercial and university education and his professional activities finally led Hans-Jörg to the ETH Zurich University, where he worked for many years until his retirement. At EDUCA SWISS, he enjoys passing on his wide-ranging knowledge and experience to an interested audience.

Jacqueline holds a Master’s degree in Accounting and Finance and has a wealth of experience in financial and business management, in structures of varying complexity and in different countries. She has always been a strong advocate of internal and external training for her teams in order to create satisfaction and dynamism. As a coach, she is keen to put her expertise at the service of motivated people, bringing clarity and enthusiasm to their projects.

After studying social work and social policy at the University of Fribourg, Kathrin worked as a social worker and completed a PhD in sociology. She has carried out research on topics such as the body, gender, family education, and society, and she taught at technical universities for many years. Later, she worked in cantonal and federal administrations, where she participated in legislative procedures and voting. In recent years, she has led prevention projects as part of a non-profit organisation to help protect children. Today she runs her own consulting firm for coaching and development and gives naturalization courses for Caritas Lucerne. Since her own career has always opened up new opportunities for her, she enjoys supporting others at EDUCA SWISS to make their goals a reality. Education is a privilege and should be accessible to all!

Katja holds a degree in Business Administration and also completed a Global Executive MBA. She has more than 15 years of leadership experience in management consulting and the pharmaceutical/biotech industry. She is particularly passionate about the development of employees and teams. For Katja’s career, not only constant personal and professional development was crucial, but also her self-confidence and being ready to tackle things head on. Katja was able to benefit from strong coaches throughout her career. At EDUCA SWISS, she is passionate when it comes to helping others achieve their personal educational project and make their dreams come true through targeted coaching.

Martin is a business economist with a focus on marketing, sales and management. This was only possible through continuous education and receptiveness to new things. During his professional career, Martin was always involved as a supervisor and mentor to support others in their development. As a coach at EDUCA SWISS, he enjoys helping people to achieve their educational goals.

Maurizio Valli is an experienced IT team leader, project manager and Scrum master. Since 2019, Maurizio Valli is also a partner of the learning and coaching center WissensWerk and actively involved in the further development of ideas, strategic planning and the range of services offered. He lives out his creativity as a visual coach, putting ideas and goals on paper and using symbols to represent the decision-making processes. Maurizio Valli enjoys using his passion to coach for EDUCA SWISS and to support motivated people in fulfilling their educational project.

Melanie studied natural sciences at the ETH Zurich University. After her PhD and a few stops in mushroom research and as a high school teacher, she worked for “Big Pharma” in quality assurance in research and development. She spent 26 years in senior positions in a global, ever-changing environment. After her early retirement, Melanie is now involved in various areas that are especially important to her. As a coach at EDUCA SWISS, she directly applies her wealth of experience when communicating with a large variety of people and gives back to society through what she has learned.

Natalie worked in several institutions in Germany and then at Roche Diagnostics in the Red Cross after graduating in Economics. She was in charge of EDUCA SWISS’ office until August 2016. Through coaching, Natalie wishes to contribute to the Foundation’s work to enable educational opportunities even in cases where government support and other funding opportunities are not possible.

Klaus worked in leading positions in cadre development and human resources in the Federal Administration and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) for many years, then in a management function in the Federal Department of Economic Affairs and finally as head of operations in a Care Team. He accompanied and led many processes for change. Employees’ progress and development were especially important to him. After studying humanities, he completed a part-time degree in industrial psychology. His motivation to work as a coach at EDUCA SWISS is to be able to assist younger people on their educational and developmental path and in turn to gain new experiences and learn new things.

After completing her studies in social sciences in Zurich and Australia, Patricia worked at the ETH Zurich University, in the private sector and currently with the Federal Administration. It is her belief that everyone should have the opportunity to follow their inner calling, which is why she trained as a coach part-time. For Patricia education and training is the key to a fulfilling (professional) life, which is the reason why she is involved as a coach with EDUCA SWISS.

Paul studied engineering part-time and worked in international companies in a variety of roles including development, marketing, sales and service before moving into HR. For him, career progression has always meant continuing education and he has completed an Executive MBA and a Master in Coaching & Organisational Consulting. For the last 30 years, 10 of them as an independent entrepreneur, he has been responsible for training and developing people. Growing up in a rural family of seven, it was clear to him that a university education was not financially feasible, but he learnt early on that with perseverance and small steps you can achieve your goals. As an EDUCA SWISS coach, he wants to help motivated people achieve their educational goals and realise their professional dreams.

After a commercial apprenticeship in an industrial company and several years of work experience, Rahel completed her studies in social work in Zurich. She has worked with adolescents and young adults in vocational integration and has several years of experience in legal work in child protection. She currently works as a student counsellor and as a freelance supervisor, coach and mediator. Rahel is convinced of the diversity of opportunities offered by the educational landscape in Switzerland. The opportunity to support a wide range of people in realising their career aspirations motivates her to volunteer as a coach with EDUCA SWISS.

After working in business administration and management in various companies in the fields of production, trade and services, Regula later turned to human resources development. She has been self-employed in the field of coaching, supervision and organizational development for 17 years. She is especially motivated to make her skills and experience available as a coach, especially to young people starting and changing professions. EDUCA SWISS offers an ideal platform for this. Regula is convinced that education is a central component of a prosperous society on all levels.

Renate studied mathematics at the ETH Zurich University. After many years of working on IT projects for various banks, she finished a postgraduate degree in process management and a training as a professional masseur that led her to the healthcare sector, where she continued her career in corporate development and management. Being able to experience joy and satisfaction while performing her job is something she cares about profoundly. She is convinced that continuously making sure that one is happy in the profession is vital and that further development or reorientation should be part of this. She is involved with EDUCA SWISS to support motivated people in achieving this through their educational projects.

Trained as a primary school teacher, Rita took on a second mainstay in accounting and oversaw the finances of several companies during many years. With her home management training she completed a leadership training, which was very useful for her daily tasks. Promoting employees and supporting her own daughter in her career have been especially important to her. She is an active coach at EDUCA SWISS because she is interested in the education and training paths young people take and wishes to contribute her experience and knowledge.

Sacha has broad experience in sustainable finance, social & management consulting and the luxury industry. He graduated from HEC Lausanne (joint Master of Science with the EPFL), the INSEAD and passed the CFA certificate in ESG investing. Sacha strongly believes in the power of education to ensure global prosperity, support individuals on their path to independence and lift people in need out of poverty and summarize his vision by quoting Nelson Mandela who said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. This is why Sacha has decided to dedicate some of his spare time to coach candidates at EDUCA SWISS.

After her vocational training as a primary school teacher and several years of professional practice, Rita studied education and psychology at the University of Zurich. Her teaching career took her to different levels of education. In doing so, she acquired solid knowledge of the Swiss educational landscape. Professional development in the fields of management, coaching and mediation led Rita to become self-employed in consulting and concept development for institutions in the field of education. She has always enjoyed supporting and assisting young people in their education. EDUCA SWISS offers her the opportunity to continue pursuing that which gives her joy.

Rolf studied general history and German linguistics. After graduating, he worked as a substitute teacher before joining an unemployment insurance fund as an internal trainer. Today he works as an HR partner and advises managers and employees. He is always interested in all things training and is always happy to assist employees, trainees and students in training and labour market issues.  At EDUCA SWISS, he enjoys contributing his accumulated experience on these topics.

Ruth is a marketing specialist with a passion. Her experience in various industries helps her to establish companies and their products on the market. A few years ago, Ruth found a love for teaching. Since earning her federal certificate as an instructor, she has been teaching business administration and marketing to students. Ruth often sees how difficult it is for people to achieve their educational goals alongside their job, family and hobbies, and for this reason she began supporting motivated people as a coach at EDUCA SWISS to start their own educational project since the beginning of 2023.

Simone’s professional competencies are based on her Master’s degree in Non-Profit Management from the University of Fribourg, as well as a wide range of professional development and vocational training as a business economist at a technical university. Since 2019, Simone is a shareholder and the managing director of the learning and coaching center WissensWerk and promotes the idea of passing on, sharing and building knowledge. As a coach at EDUCA SWISS, Simone is able to make a valuable contribution and support people in starting their own educational project. Simone believes that the constructive teamwork that arises from this is the key to satisfaction, success and therefore the cornerstone for something new.

After studying economics in Germany and England, Susanne worked in management positions in a multinational consumer goods company for over twenty years. Today she uses her professional experience in different cultures as an advisor and coach for companies and projects. Susanne is convinced of the positive and long-term effect of social engagement to promote education. As a coach at EDUCA SWISS, she is a successful conversation partner for people who are looking for support in planning and fulfilling their educational goals. Supporting others on their path to an independent life is a major motivation for Susanne’s commitment.

Toni studied in Lausanne, St. Gallen and New York. After many years in international consumer goods marketing in Switzerland and abroad, where he also gained his leadership experience, he became a management consultant, coach and seminar leader. He has been a partner and co-owner of a small consulting firm in Zurich for over 20 years. Toni is a member of the board of directors of several SMEs. At EDUCA SWISS he is involved as a coach and education investor and wants to make a small contribution to a prospering society.

Tünde studied law in Zurich and passed the bar exam after graduation. After working as a public prosecutor for nine years, she moved to the cantonal administration and took on a management function. Education is near to her heart. She is convinced that education and knowledge are the basis for an independent, autonomous and fulfilling professional life. As a coach at EDUCA SWISS, she contributes her experience as well as her international background and assists and supports motivated young people in achieving their professional goals.

Viola studied English and German in Zurich and English literature in London. While in Taipei she learned Chinese. Afterwards she worked for almost 30 years at a cantonal school in various positions. She has experienced social obstacles in education herself, which is why she now works as a foundation councilor for education in the areas of intellectual giftedness, equal opportunities and promoting talent at all school levels. For Viola, education is the key to an independent, fulfilling life. As a coach at EDUCA SWISS, she is able to accompany individuals in their search for this essential component.