About Selmin

Born in Düren as the daughter of a Turkish migrant worker family, my path has been shaped from the outset by the inner drive to change structures, empower people and make the world a fairer place. I experienced and oberved injustice early on, and I also saw how collective action can be used to tackle injustices together.

From the grassroots...

My professional journey has taken me to very different, often challenging contexts: from international networking with women's rights and human rights organisations to assignments in crisis areas such as Afghanistan, Liberia, Mali, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I actively supported advocacy networks, strategic campaigns and local initiatives for more fundamental rights and political participation in reconstruction and peace processes.

... to the top

Later, as Secretary General of Amnesty International Germany, I initiated public discourse on human rights, travelled to hot spots of human rights violations and strengthened the financial growth of the organisation as a fundraising organisation. As Director of Institutional Relations, I represented the Berlin office of the Open Society Foundations in Germany in politics and the media and ensured that strategic funding partnerships had a political impact.

…and now with an own business 

Today, I am what I never wanted to be before: self-employed. A colleague at a large organisation once said to me, ‘Selmin, you don't need a brand because you are already a brand in yourself.’ Hmm, interesting, I thought at the time. 

Now I work in Berlin as a strategy consultant and executive coach – drawing on all the experience I have gained over the past decades – and still with the same motivation that drove me in my previous management role: creating clarity, developing effective strategies and promoting fairness in systems so that violence and injustice are reduced. I believe that real change is not a question of good intentions, but depends on how well we understand and want to shape the underlying dynamics – in government institutions, in organisations, in leadership processes – and, last but not least, in our own personal lives.

Consulting and coaching with heart and no-bullshit

What sets my work with executives and teams apart is my approach: I get straight to the point, with a mixture of empathy and clarity, with a humorous, down-to-earth presence – without performance. I have a keen sense for identifying the real issues and reflecting them clearly, even when they are hidden. This is precisely what creates a space in which better decisions can be made – because it reveals the real issues and enables solution scenarios to emerge that are ultimately truly sustainable.

I have always loved working with others to make an impact: sharpening decisions through dialogue, revealing potential and pooling resources in such a way that they bring about lasting change.