Team

Christian Strowa assumed the roles of Director of the DWIH New York and Director of the DAAD Regional Office New York in September 2024. He completed his studies in American Studies, Psychology, and Media Studies at the University of Bonn, and pursued Comparative Literature and Philosophy at New York University. Additionally, he holds a postgraduate degree from UCL’s Institute of Education (IoE). He has held teaching roles at Dublin City University and University College London.

Before his appointment in New York, he served as Head of the Division “Knowledge and Network” at the DAAD’s headquarters in Bonn, where he was responsible for the DAAD’s network of overseas offices, the international DAAD Academy iDA, third party funding and the Centre for International Academic Cooperation KIWi. Prior to this, he led the Section “Scholarship Programmes Asia and the Pacific” and served as Deputy Director of the DAAD’s London Office.

Dr. Jan Lüdert is the Head of Programs at the DWIH New York. He has a proven track record of driving innovation and excellence in higher education. He is passionate about international affairs, knowledge management, and building transatlantic partnerships.

Jan previously served as an Associate Professor at City University of Seattle where he was the inaugural Director of Curriculum and Instruction. He also held positions as Visiting Research Scholar at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at City University of New York’s Graduate Center as well as a Research Associate with the German Research Fund ‘Dynamics of Security’ project at Philipps University of Marburg, Germany.

He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. He recently completed Harvard Kennedy’s School Public Leadership Credential and holds a First Class Honors Masters of Arts in International Relations from the Australian National University as well as a BA in Public Policy from Hamburg University for Economics and Politics. Jan studied at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania focusing on sociology and economics. As a senior manager he coordinated grassroots’ community programs in Botswana for Skillshare International. Jan is an alumnus of Seattle’s World Affairs Council Fellows and Vancouver’s Liu Institute for Global Issues Scholar programs.

These combined experiences prepared him to progressively develop active global networks in academia, government, and industry as well as applied knowledge of the research landscape in North America and Germany.

Julia is the Program Officer at the DWIH NY. She’s responsible for all things event-related, including programming, planning and communications, as well as office management.

Prior to joining the DWIH NY, Julia spent two years working for an arts non-profit in Boston, teaching visual art and creative writing, and working as an Outreach Coordinator.

Julia studied literature at Barnard College, the Humboldt University in Berlin, and Trinity College Dublin where she graduated with an M.Phil. in Children’s Literature. She’s always on the lookout for a good story and thinking about ways to engage an audience.

When she’s not at work, Julia is usually drinking tea, taking a walk outside, or perusing a local bookshop.

Saskia Ibrom is the Communications Officer at the DWIH. She is responsible for marketing and outreach including the newsletter, website, and social media channels.

Before moving to the USA, she worked in Berlin, Germany, for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The language enthusiast comes from a political science and journalism background with a B.A. from the University of Freiburg (Germany) and an M.A. from Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Germany).