Executive Board
On September 16, 2023, the General Assembly of the German Animal Welfare Federation in Bonn elected the Executive Board, whose term of office is four years.
PresidentThomas Schröder
Vita
- Born in 1965
- Studied "Kommunikationswirt WAK"
- After years of working as an office manager at the German Bundestag, he became a campaigner and press officer at the German Animal Welfare Federation in 1998
- Federal Managing Director of the German Animal Welfare Federation since July 2004
- Thomas Schröder has been President of the German Animal Welfare Federation since October 2011
Thomas Schröder represents the German Animal Welfare Federation and the interests of the affiliated animal welfare organizations in several committees.
- Chairman of the Foundation of the German Animal Welfare Federation
- Member of the Animal Welfare Commission at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)
- Vice President of the German League for Nature and Environment (DNR)
- Member of the Association for Controlled Alternative Animal Husbandry (KAT)
- Member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover
- Advisory board of the Animal welfare label "Für mehr Tierschutz"
- Managing Director of Deutscher Tierschutzbund Service gGmbH
- Chairman of the Elisabeth-Frühwein Foundation
- In 2020, he was appointed by the Federal Cabinet to the "Zukunftskommission Landwirtschaft der Bundesregierung“ (Future Commission on Agriculture of the Federal Government)
Thomas Schröder holds political appointments in the debate on animal welfare issues and represents the positions of the German Animal Welfare Federation in public and in communication with other associations.
Vice PresidentJudith Schönenstein
Vita
- Studied veterinary medicine at the University of Giessen
- 2010 Licensed as a veterinarian
- 2013 - 2020 Veterinarian for animal shelter counseling at the German Animal Welfare Federation, runs her own veterinary practice part-time
- Since 2020 she runs her own veterinary practice for behavioral therapy and holistic veterinary medicine as well as a full-time dog school, continuing as an external speaker and member of the dog trainer pool for the German Animal Welfare Federation
- Vice President of the German Animal Welfare Federation since 2023
- Delegates of the Chamber Assembly of the "Tierärztekammer Westfalen-Lippe" (Westphalia-Lippe Veterinary Chamber)
- Delegate of the "Gesellschaft für Tierverhaltensmedizin und -therapie" (Society for Animal Behavioral Medicine and Therapy)
- Member of the general board of the NRW State Animal Welfare Federation
Vice PresidentEllen Kloth
Vita
- Studied law in Göttingen
- Has been working as a lawyer in Lübeck since 1992
- 2000 - 2019 Chairwoman of the Lübeck Animal Welfare Federation
- 2015 - 2020 Treasurer of the Schleswig-Holstein regional federation of the German Animal Welfare Federation
- Since 2020 State Chairwoman of the Schleswig-Holstein State Federation of the German Animal Welfare Federation
- Co-opted member of the extended executive committee of the German Animal Welfare Federation since 2021
- Since 2023 Vice President of the German Animal Welfare Federation
Youth Council spokespersonSimon Berghane
Vita
- Studied electrical engineering
- Active in animal welfare since 2005
- 2008 Training as a youth welfare worker, since then involved in youth animal welfare with a focus on age-appropriate communication of animal welfare topics
- Since 2016 in the Youth Council of the German Animal Welfare Federation - first as an advisory member, then as an elected youth representative of the NRW Animal Welfare Federation
TreasurerJürgen Plinz
Vita
- Trained photographer in the field of advertising photography, now self-employed entrepreneur in the advertising and media industry.
- Deputy Chairman of the animal welfare federation for the Düren district from 1994, Chairman of the federation since 2019. Responsible for the development of effective animal shelter financing concepts: cost accounting for the reimbursement of costs for found animals (with seminars led), fundraising for animal welfare associations on site (with several seminars led in NRW), co-inventor of the "open animal shelter".
- 1995 co-founder and since then President of the "Deutscher Förderverein für den Tierschutz in Europa e.V." (German Association for the Promotion of Animal Welfare in Europe)
- Treasurer of the German Animal Welfare Federation since 2007.
- Deputy Chairman of the Foundation of the German Animal Welfare Federation
- Board member of the Eurogroup for Animals
- Board member of the World Federation for Animals
- Chairman of the "Tierschutzvereins für den Kreis Düren e.V." (Animal Welfare Federation for the District of Düren)
- Board member of the Animal Welfare Foundation in the Düren district
- Deputy Chairman of the Elisabeth-Frühwein Foundation
- Chairman of the Christel-Lemm Foundation for Animal Welfare
- President of the "Deutscher Förderverein für den Tierschutz in Europa e.V." (German Federation for the Promotion of Animal Welfare in Europe)
Honorary Vice PresidentDr. Brigitte Rusche
Vita
- Studied chemistry and biology in Bonn and Bielefeld.
- Doctorate at the Zoological Institute of the University of Bonn in the field of ethology.
- In 1983 she began her career at the German Animal Welfare Federation as a specialist for animal welfare issues.
- In 1986, she took over the scientific management of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
- 1996 to 2017: Head of the Academy for Animal Welfare in Munich Neubiberg, since then overall Head of Science.
- 1999 to 2023: Vice President of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
- On the Executive Committee, she was in charge of the Animal Welfare and Castration Center in Odessa, Ukraine, as well as the Weidefeld Animal, Nature and Youth Center.
Honorary Vice PresidentRenate Seidel
Vita
- Veterinarian: Worked in a veterinary office for 20 years and was responsible for animal welfare and drug monitoring.
- Great commitment to animal welfare during the flood disaster on the Oder in the summer of 1997.
- From 2003 to 2007, she was a member of the extended executive committee of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
- In 2008, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of Brandenburg for her commitment to animal welfare.
- 2007 to 2023: Vice President of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
- "Landestierschutzverband Brandenburg e.V." (State Animal Welfare Federation Brandenburg) in the German Animal Welfare Federation,
- Honorary Chair and representative of the State Animal Welfare Federation in the "Aktionsbündnis Agrarwende Berlin-Brandenburg" (Berlin-Brandenburg Agricultural Turnaround Action Alliance)
- Member of the Board of Trustees of the Dr. Heinz-Wilhelm and Marianne-Fröhlich Foundation
