About Us
Learn more about the people behind BNB
Together we create a society in which we courageously shape the future
Our BNB community is large, colorful, and full of diversity. BNB was founded in 2019 by people: Maximilian Oehl, Eva-Maria Thurnhofer, and Daniel Veldhoen. Since then, we’ve organized progressive change in politics with over a hundred committed volunteers. We provide a platform for political engagement, the mobilization of all our wonderful volunteers, the forging of political alliances, aligning BNB with the best strategy, and securing funding for our tasks and our coordination team, consisting of our Executive Director and Coordinators. Our BNB Fellows & Friends support us with their valuable expertise.
Our Team
Dr. Maximilian Oehl
Co-Initiator & Executive Director
Co-Founder Maximilian helped lay the groundwork for Brand New Bundestag in 2019 together with Eva-Maria Thurnhofer and Daniel Veldhoen. The documentary “Knock Down The House” about the American initiative “Brand New Congress” and its candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) inspired the Berliner-by-choice to found something for Berlin in Germany. The goal was and still remains: To promote sustainable politics in Germany and bring more Diversity into Parliament. As a doctor of law and a social entrepreneur, Maximilian wants to do his part for the sustainable future he believes in.
“The great change is full of opportunities – let’s seize it, for we have no time to lose!”
Samuel Brielmaier
Co-Managing Director
Samu is responsible for Data Management and Political Strategy here at BNB. A political and administrative scientist, Samu joined BNB very early on, in March of 2020. He is in charge of managing the overall political strategy that BNB will follow, as well as communicating with BNB Delegates and Candidates. He also coordinates all our data-gathering, and organization projects while analyzing and synthesizing that data for both BNB and our Candidates. Samu’s main goal is to increase the visibility of disenfranchised and underrepresented groups within the political arena.
“In the end, it’s really about who’s sitting there and whether they raise their hand or not.”
Maja Bisanz
Co-Managing Director
Maja has been active at BNB since the beginning of 2021. Since then, the political science graduate has been involved in various BNB campaigns and headed up the communications team from September 2021 to June 2023. She coordinated the BNB’s social media presence, press relations, newsletter and website.
She now coordinates the Operations & Management department. In addition to community management and candidate support, this also includes scaling the BNB approach.
Maja would like to see members of parliament with different biographies and realities of life who work together to pragmatically tackle the major challenges of our time.
Clara Ludwig
Coordinator Communication & Marketing
Clara has been with BNB since June 2023. She studied Social & Business Communication as well as Media and Political Communication in Berlin. She now heads up our communications team. Her main tasks include campaigning, managing the newsletter and social media channels as well as maintaining the website. Before joining BNB, Clara worked as a research assistant in the Bundestag and managed various political projects in a communications agency. Clara is particularly enthusiastic about the idea of bringing together politicians from all democratic parties and civil society.
“Politics should be about content rather than party affiliation. And I hope that we all have the opportunity to have a say in shaping this content!
Paul Wunderlich
Institutional Partnerships Lead
Paul is the NBB’s Partnerships Coordinator, working to build bridges and new kinds of alliances between civil society and parliaments. In this role, he is primarily concerned with putting the organization on a secure financial footing. He pursues the question of how we can transform social modes of relating not only at BNB, but also in his master’s degree in sociology.
“Make Space, Take Space. Let’s seek new forms of cooperation and show that a good life is possible for all.”
Cora Mantel
Strategic Partnerships Coordinator
Cora has been with BNB since November 2023. As Strategic Partnerships Coordinator, she designs and writes funding applications, develops new leads and coordinates fundraising events. She is convinced that in the current political situation, strong progressive forces are needed to bring many different people together.
“The future belongs to all of us. Let’s make it colorful together now!”
Lennert Brinkhoff
Project Manager Europe
Lennert has been with BNB since 2023 and is responsible for the European region. From 2009 to 2022, he worked as a journalist for Südwestrundfunk (SWR) and various ARD formats. The current political and sociological developments in Germany and Europe have motivated him to change his professional focus. At BNB, he is organising an EU campaign for the 2024 European elections, which has never been seen before at BNB. Candidates from a group of European political organisations will be supported and networked, and a non-partisan exchange will be initiated.
“This landmark (election) year can be decisive for the stability of democracy in Europe. Let’s all do our bit to ensure that it is remembered as a good year!
Finja Pollen
Operations Lead
Finja has been a longtime member of BNB, joining in March of 2021. Since then, she has been responsible for managing Education and Events and organizing numerous workshops for both volunteers and BNB Candidates. She does this work in parallel to continuing her studies for a Bachelor’s degree in Politics, Economics, Philosophy, and History.
René Engel
Head of Campaigning
René joined BNB in February 2024 and is responsible for campaigning. Prior to that, he worked for more than ten years as a campaigner in various roles at the interface between advocacy, media and public relations and most recently as political office manager. René is convinced that a resilient democracy also needs resilient democrats and his motivation is to empower as many people as possible to do so.
Paul Kliesch
Scouting Lead
Paul earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics in Amsterdam. There, he was always haunted by the question of how to support people from underrepresented groups without prescribing content himself. BNB is part of the answer for him. Here he has been supporting the Political Strategy and Data department since summer 2022 and now also coordinates the scouting and support of our candidates.
Justine Edinger
Viderography Lead
Justine is a trained media designer for image and sound and takes care of the video and photo content at BNB. She started as a volunteer at the end of 2020 and has been providing creative support ever since, such as designing the current BNB merchandise. In addition to her passion for film, political events are important to her and she would like to make a contribution to BNB on a political level. If you have any questions or comments about moving images, please get in touch with Justine.
Jacob Mayer
Dual Trainee
Jacob has been studying Nonprofits and NGO Management at the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld since the Fall of 2021. As a student, he has been a BNB Dual Intern since February of 2022. In practice, he supports BNB in various areas, wherever he’s needed, and thus learns much about the process behind a grassroots organization. As a student, political engagement doesn’t just mean cooperation with parties, but also with Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society, which Jacob believes should be included in the political decision-making process.
“The demands that have been formulated by growing political movements, which are finally being discussed amongst the public, must be implemented NOW!”
Celina Lüftner
Lead Designer
At BNB, Celina takes care of all design issues and the BNB corporate identity.
Celina is completing her bachelor’s degree in print and media technology in Berlin this summer and decided to join BNB because it is important to her to combine her design skills with social commitment and to design with “meaning”. If you have any suggestions or comments about the design, please get in touch with Celina.
Krissy Hentschel
Student Trainee Communication & Marketing
Krissy studied International Relations and Management in Regensburg for her Bachelor’s degree and is currently doing her Master’s in Political Communication in Gothenburg. She started as a volunteer at BNB and did an internship in the Communication department in summer 2023. She now supports BNB as a student trainee and is mainly responsible for the newsletter and social media channels. What she particularly appreciates about working at BNB is the many opportunities to get actively involved and help shape politics.
Margo Ovsienko
Trainee Communication & Marketing
Margo is in the final stages of her media studies at the University of Tübingen. With a strong interest in the intersection of media and politics, she has decided to join our communications team as an intern. Margo wants to get more people excited about progressive political initiatives and is looking forward to actively shaping projects to promote our democracy.
Anna P. Mendez N.
Trainee Political Strategy
Anna is studying political science at the FU Berlin. In order to gain her first practical experience in politics and contribute to the promotion of democracy, she is completing an internship with us in the Political Strategy & Data department. She is originally from Venezuela, but Germany has also become her home. For this reason, she is actively committed to making the Bundestag more diverse and representative so that people with a migration background also feel represented in current politics.
Yembila Dianda
Trainee Political Strategy
Yembila is a first-semester student of social economics at the University of Hamburg. He is passionate about the fight against social inequality. So far, he has gained practical experience as a signature collector for the basic income in Berlin and as a campaigner in the 2021 local elections in Göttingen.
Pancho
Our calming influence in the office is always our colleague Pancho on Tuesdays. His calmness and serenity quickly spread throughout the team and even in the stressful moments between campaign launches, candidate scouting and content production days, he keeps everyone calm. What Pancho really likes about his time at BNB is the extra cuddles and treats that are always available on office days.
Eva-Maria Thurnhofer
Co-Initiator
Together with Maximilian Oehl and Daniel Veldhoen, Eva-Maria Thurnhofer helped initiate what would become Brand New Bundestag in the spring of 2019. As a graduate of business administration, she brings many years of experience in political communication. Until the end of 2021, Eva was the operational manager for BNB alongside Max. Since November of 2021, she has taken an advisory role in assisting Brand New Bundestag while also working full-time in Developmental Cooperation.
Daniel Veldhoen
Co-Initiator
David Veldhoen is the third Co-Founder of BNB. Artistic Director of the Münchner Kammerspiele, and a longtime friend of both Maximilian and Eva-Maria, he and his fellow Co-Founders laid the foundations that BNB would grow off of. Since the 2021 Bundestag elections, he has taken a more advisory role.
With your support, we can grow as an organization and make even more happen!
The best feeling is being able to have a direct impact, even though I’m young and aren’t a member of any party!
Finja Pollen | Professional Development Expert
Fellows & Friends
Representation has never been more relevant than it is today.
Shai Hoffman | Activist for Democracy
