Our team
TEAM GREECE
Our committed volunteers on Samos work hand in hand together with the refugee and local population to maintain the SKILLS FACTORY and to develop it's workshops.
Together, we develop solutions to improve the living conditions and sustain a healthy environment on the island. For coordination assignments, selfm.aid provides accommodation and compensation for expenses.
Our community volunteers are at the core of our work.
To protect their privacy we refrain from listing their names and faces.
Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that they are the ones who bring our projects to life! Making plans, implementing projects, having ideas, developing uncomplicated and sometimes surprising solutions and making us amaze and laugh every day.
JULIA MINDER
Director & Founder
selfm.aid
Executive Director
Project Oversight
about Julia
Julia is our Founder and Director, a relentless idealist, passionate advocate and unwaveringly committed individual. Her contributions and knowledge are far-reaching and reflect an almost limitless dedication to social welfare and justice.
Her Bachelor of Science in Social Work, advanced training in civil peacebuilding and NGO management, as well as various training in human rights and humanitarian aid, illustrate Julia's academic achievements and her pursuit of excellence and professional expertise. She gained extensive experience in various areas of social work before dedicating her life to working with refugees in Greece and ultimately selfm.aid.
From strategy development and management of the coordination team, to overseeing fundraising activities, construction work and accounting, to her diverse language skills, coupled with her unrivaled knowledge of international law, global politics, asylum procedures and economics, reflect her multifaceted skill set and commitment to making a real, long-lasting difference in the world. Her tireless efforts are the driving force behind the existence, survival, and success of Skills Factory.
MOHAMMED
Project Management
Phones without Borders
Management Phone Repair Department and PWB
about Mohammed
Master of Crafts or Dr. Repair, Mohammed, originally from Gaza, Palestine, embodies versatility and professionalism. His profession has been phone repair for over 17 years. He even used to run his own shop and train apprentices. But he also gained valuable experience in other professional fields, such as an electrician, painter, and motorcycle mechanic. Mohammed has always enjoyed working, learning new things, and broadening his horizons.
Mohammed demonstrates this competence time and again on Samos. He proved indispensable during the transition to Skills 2.0. His involvement in the construction work speaks volumes about his capabilities and dedication.
In the SKILLS FACTORY 2.0, he will continue to coordinate the Phone Repair Department and launch his “Phones without Borders” project in order to make his dream come true: to share his extensive knowledge with people on the move.
His dignified demeanor, sense of humor, wisdom, kindness and unwavering respect for everyone around him make him an invaluable resource for the SKILLS FACTORY as well as a source of inspiration for all who have the pleasure of working with him.
PHIL
Coordinator
Phones without Borders
Outreach, Partnermanagement and Logistics
MARIA
Coordinator
SKILLS FACTORY
Volunteer Recruitment, local Outreach & Art Department
about Maria
Maria’s journey from Athens to abroad and back to her roots in the island of Samos is one defined by a deep-rooted commitment to supporting People On The Move and a relentless pursuit of her passion for art and community empowerment.
Beginning with her first Bachelor’s degree in Renovation and Restoration of Buildings in Patra, Greece, Maria’s academics odyssey led her to The Netherlands, where she pursued another Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Urbanism, and Building Sciences at TU Delft.
Her strong passion for art, her charismatic personality and her desire to help refugees in the CCAC of Samos motivated her to join the great work of the SKILLS FACTORY.
Our Maria never stops: In addition to her role as a full-time passionate mother and manager of her own company, she coordinates the recruitment of volunteers, local public relations as well as the art and printing departments of the SKILLS FACTORY.
RAFIQ
Coordinator
SKILLS FACTORY
Sewing & Barber Department, Community Outreach
about Rafiq
Growing up in Gaza, Palestine, since a young age he has been immersed in the world of clothing production with his father, where his love for sewing and fashion design naturally flourished.
His academic pursuits, including a bachelor’s in Business Administration and studies in Fashion Design, paved the way for him to establish his own clothing brand, “Gazran”, in 2021.
Rafiq and the SKILLS FACTORY are the perfect team: Coordinating the sewing department enables him to live out, share and at the same time develop his passion for sewing and fashion design. To make the look perfect, Rafiq also takes on responsibility for the barber department.
Rafiq is known in the SKILLS FACTORY and across the island for his sociability, his social skills and his love for fashion.
As the person responsible for community outreach, Rafiq is a pillar of the entire team of community volunteers. He shows exceptional empathy, care, patience and the necessary humor. There is no concern, no question, no worry that he does not address and does not know how to solve.
KATHARINA
Coordinator
SKILLS FACTORY
Office, Media Department
& WASH-Project
about Katharina
Our youngest member of the coordination team comes from Germany and is already almost fluent in Arabic (or at least she will soon be, considering her unbeatable language skills).
She has a bachelor's degree in international relations and social sciences and has gained various experiences in the field of humanitarian aid in Greece and Serbia since 2023. She has also been actively involved as a board member and in the management of fundraising projects.
She joined SKILLS FACTORY because she strongly believes in the benefits of cultural exchange and sharing skills between people from different countries, while always learning from others.
Her structured way of working, her flexibility, her patience coupled with a lot of humor, her great commitment to the work on site and her firm trust that people on the move deserve a safe space to rebuild their lives make her an indispensable part of our team and the perfect person for administration as well as the WASH and media departments.
MAHMOUD
Department Manager
Barberworkshop
about Mahmoud
Hello, I’m Mahmoud, 22 years old, from Gaza. After I finished High School I learned barbering and became a barber. Since 2017 I work as a professional barber in Gaza in different barber shops.
In the SF I work as a barber and currently also at the construction side of setting up the new skills. I like most at skills that this became a new life for me and a family. Skills changed my life a lot I can practice my profession again, being around people who care for me and with whom I can laugh and forget the life in the camp. Also I really like the food at skills and that I meet people I know from my home country.
My dream for the future is to open my own barber shop and help the European community and the refugees in Europe, who experienced same things I did. I want to go to Belgium and reunite with my brother. There I would like to work for a year in a barber shop to earn money and learn how barber shops work in Europe. Then I would like to open my own shop.
PETER
Volunteer
SKILLS FACTORY
Accounting
ROGER HUNZIKER
Member of the Board, President
about me
Roger is a psychologist and works as a sociotherapist in an open prison.
He joined selfm.aid through volunteering in the SKILLS FACTORY on Samos in spring 2022.
In his free time, he likes to be creative and immerse himself in one of his many hobbies. These include photography, drawing, 3D design, basketball and sometimes, but rather rarely, dusting off the trumpet.
TEAM
SWITZERLAND
All board members of selfm.aid are volunteers.
Without this great support the realization of our projects and the prosperity of the association would not be possible.
ALEXANDRA STADLER
Member of the Board, President
about me
Alexandra has studied and worked as a nurse, and is now pursuing a degree in social work. Working with people has always enriched her life. She knows the SKILLS FACTORY through firsthand experience on Samos, volunteering in the summer of 2023. She considers working on the board an honor, and something close to her heart.
She spends her free time with her friends and family and enjoys being outside, climbing mountains and relaxing with a good meal or exciting book.
MARION ISLER
Member of the Board, Administration
about me
has completed an administrative apprenticeship in the commercial sector and has been working in the administration of various employers for 20 years.
If there is still some free time beside the role of mother and part-time work, she devotes herself to the art of baking and the care of her own fruit and vegetable garden with a lot of passion.
RAVIV ROSE
Member of the Board, Fundraising
about me
Raviv holds a BA in Community Health and has worked in community and academic settings to support and empower disenfranchised communities through immigrant rights advocacy and research, prison education and abolition, and on-the-ground support for asylum seekers. They came to SKILLS FACTORY in 2023 and fell in love with the mission, sense of community, and energy of the project and have been privileged to continue supporting on the board. In their free time, Raviv loves cooking and baking, language learning, and taking any travel opportunity they can find.
LINDA WANKLIN
Member of the Board, Fundraising
about me
is a research assistant/doctoral candidate and conducts research on the transfer of collective vocational training systems at the University of St. Gallen. She has gained international professional experience in development cooperation and human rights work at the GIZ in Morocco, at the ILO in Lebanon and in human rights organisations in Israel and India.
Her favourite craft activities include baking and gardening.
PENDING
Member of the Board, IT
PENDING
Member of the Board, Finances
Founding Members
Our path from idea to reality was long and challenging. Without you this would never have been possible. Thank you for your support, your inspiration and your hard work.
SIMON BADER
Founding member and former managing director of selfm.aid
CHRISTOPH MINDER
Founding member and former accountant of selfm.aid
What about you?
learn more...
...about the numerous possibilities to get involved.
Partnerships
