Johanna Lichtschlag joins the Global Human Development program after an early career in international development cooperation and advocacy. She is especially passionate about children‘s rights, youth participation, gender equality and the youth, peace and security agenda. Johanna served as Germany’s Youth Delegate to the United Nations (UN) in 2022-2023, officially representing her country’s youth at the 77th United Nations General Assembly and the 61st Commission on Social Development. Working with German civil society organizations, the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), she engaged on topics of intergenerational and international solidarity and advocated for youth interests with various government, civil society and UN stakeholders, drafted and delivered Germany's national statements and advocated for children’s and young people's rights to participation in the context of global crises.

Johanna started her career with various volunteer and professional roles in youth engagement at UNICEF Germany. She interned with SOS Children’s Villages International’s United Nations Office in New York, as well as with Plan International’s EU Office in Brussels and GIZ’s Platform for Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for the Implementation of the Agenda 2030 in Bonn. She then transitioned into a program role at Plan International Germany, where she served as a project officer on the Middle East, Eastern and Southern Africa Region team, processing publicly funded and privately financed projects in the field of development cooperation and humanitarian aid. In 2023, she progressed to a program coordinator role at the German non-governmental organization Kindernothilfe, where she is responsible for the organization's portfolio of development and humanitarian projects in Somaliland/Somalia and Ethiopia.

Johanna holds a B.A. in international relations from Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences and looks forward to spending her time at GHD working hard to expand her knowledge and skills, especially in monitoring and evaluation, and improving her French to fluent proficiency. In her free time Johanna loves reading books, going for walks and runs and calling her friends around the world.