Julia Steets is a project manager with GPPi. From 2004-2006 she managed the Research & Learning Channel of the Seed Initiative coordinated by GPPi. The Channel focuses on supporting locally driven partnerships for sustainable development.

Julia studied political science at the University of Munich and received a Master of Science in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1999. From 2000 to 2002 she was a McCloy Scholar at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she received a Master in Public Administration. During her studies, she was supported by the German National Merit Foundation. She also received the LSE’s McKenzie Prize for Outstanding Performance.

In her academic and professional work, she has focused on international relations, governance and development. Until June 2000, Julia worked as a project leader and lecturer on international relations and diplomacy at the Universities of Bonn and Greifswald. In 2001-2002, she was a consultant with Transparency International's London office. From 2002-2003 she was a programme manager at the Körber Foundation’s Bergedorf Round Table in Berlin where she continues to act as consultant.

Currently based in Oslo, Norway, she is also a PhD candidate at the University of Erfurt and was a guest lecturer at Berlin’s Humboldt University where she taught a course on corporate social responsibility. Recent publications include Palästina (Munich 2001 and 2004, co-authored with Dietmar Herz) as well as Waltz, Jazz or Samba? The Contribution of Locally Driven Partnerships to Sustainable Development (Berlin 2005), and Partnerships for Sustainable Development: On the Road to Implementation (Berlin, Seed Initiative and the Global Public Policy Institute, 2006)

Elisabeth Heid

Elisabeth Heid is a Research Associate with the Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin. She is also completing a two year graduate program in international relations offered jointly by Humboldt University Berlin, the Free University Berlin and the University of Potsdam (M.A. expected August 2006). She previously studied political science, sociology and law at the University of Freiburg and at Oxford University. Elisabeth receives a fellowship from the German National Merit Foundation.

Elisabeth’s work experience includes internships at the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Research Group. At GPPi, she has also contributed case studies to the joint GPPi/Global Compact study "Business UNusual. Facilitating United Nations Reform Through Partnerships"

Cortnie Anne Shupe

Cortnie Anne Shupe is a Research Associate with the Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin. She supports GPPi's work on the research and learning channel of the SEED Initiative and co-edits the UN-Business Focal Point, a newsletter GPPi produces in cooperation with the Global Compact. She is also completing a two year graduate program in international relations offered jointly by Humboldt University Berlin, the Free University Berlin and the University of Potsdam (M. A. expected July 2007).

She holds a B. A. in International Relations, German and Spanish from Clark Honors College, University of Oregon . She is currently a Fulbright Scholar (academic year 2005/2006) and was a Presidential Scholar, University of Oregon from 2001-2005 . Her work experience includes an internship with the Institute of International Education and with FINCA-Perù, a non-profit communal banking organization for indigenous women in Ayacucho, Peru.