trauerkultur³ – the opportunity
for corporate change

Anja is shareholder at trauerkultur³. Her professional roots are with AXA, an international insurance group. Her 25 years of professional experience at AXA in sales, product, risk and customer management, coupled with her qualification as a grief counsellor (BVT), enables her to align herself with the values of each company’s culture. Anja brought the topic of death and grief in the workplace to AXA and has been leading the related project ever since. She is involved in the Caring Community Cologne in the working group “Death and Grief in the Workplace”. She is also part of the working group “Grief and Corona” at the University of Bonn. She is committed to a professional world in which mourners feel connected to their employer!

Nicole is managing partner at trauerkultur³ and has been dealing with the topics of dying, death and mourning for over 25 years. For example, for 10 years she initiated and managed the nationwide project funded by the BMFSJ, the MAGS NRW and the DHPV e. V.: “Finally. Dealing with Dying, Death and Mourning” – a concept for students in grades 9 to 13.” at the Center for Palliative Medicine at the University Hospital in Cologne. Nicole is a founding member of TrauBe Köln e.V. – TrauerBegleitung für Kinder, Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene (Bereavement Support for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults), worked there for five years as pedagogical director and still qualifies the volunteers today. In addition, as coordinator, she has built up volunteer work in the Center for Palliative Medicine at the University Hospital of Cologne and gives seminars throughout Germany on the topics of dying, death, mourning and suicide. She is a book author, writes professional articles and is BVT certified for the large basic qualification for grief counseling primarily for children and adolescents as well as last aid course instructor. Nicole is a psychological counselor IAPP, a business graduate and an insurance salesperson.

Fee is a founding member and shareholder of trauerkultur³, she is a funeral director and qualified grief counselor (BVT). As a funeral director, she knows the hardships of grieving employees, and as a boss, she herself has faced the challenge of having to deal with death and grief in the workplace on several occasions. In her first life, she managed a successful communications agency in Berlin, where she first developed a mourning culture years ago. Fee studied business administration and has served clients in a variety of industries – from automotive to energy to high-security technology – as a consultant. Fee is involved in the Caring Community Cologne and leads the working group “Children, Youth & School”.

Marlies has been a qualified grief counselor (BVT) since 2013 and has been accompanying children, adolescents and young adults who have suffered a loss for 11 years at TrauBe e.V.. She is a Dipl.Pädagogin, systemic coach and trained counselor grad. (BVPPT) with a focus on Gestalt therapy. Her career began with a commercial apprenticeship; after graduation she worked with young adults in vocational preparation, wrote pedagogical articles for teachers and gave communication courses. She works as a consultant and together with her husband in her own company PhysioSport Breitung GmbH.

Petra is a PR professional, fundraising expert, systemic coach and – last but not least – author of autobiographies. 23 years of PR & employee development for a car manufacturer were the longest professional station, the establishment of Traube Köln e.V. and 11 years of fundraising for the association the most exciting and so far 13 years of immersing herself in other people’s biographies and writing them down, the most creative. Petra’s original professions are journalist and graduate translator, and she has also completed training as a grief counselor (BVT). Petra is enthusiastic and loves to reinvent herself professionally again and again and to put her talents and skills into practice. At trauerkultur³, she is a versatile and experienced communicator and a link to the customers. She communicates trauerkultur³’s offer and the entrepreneurial opportunities associated with it.

In her first life Johanna was active for 30 years as a concert singer in the ” Early Music” and has seen much of the world in this capacity on concert tours.Later she made a training as a grief counselor (BVT). Since 2011 she has co-founded and built up the association Traube Köln e.V.. She was there on the board and supervised the honorary office. She leads one of the grief groups there. She is also active in other contexts as a grief counselor in groups and also individually. She is also a freelance speaker for funerals and weddings. She is married, has 2 children, 2 bonus children and 5 grandchildren.

Bernadette is a qualified grief counselor (BVT) and works independently in the field of health and stress prevention, leading seminars and courses. In her original profession she is a journalist and has studied English/Hispanic studies and economics, but she has long been involved with Far Eastern exercise paths such as Qigong and Shiatsu. She came into contact with death and grief in the workplace during her many years as an editor at the media company Rtl. For years, she has volunteered with the Cologne-based association TrauBe e.V. Grief counseling for children, adolescents and young adults.

Ola (Polish short form of Alexandra) works as a funeral director and accompanies children and young people who have suffered a loss as a grief counselor at TrauBe e.V.. A personal experience led her to the topics of dying, death and mourning. Her professional path initially began quite differently. After studying business administration, Ola worked for 13 years as a project manager, customer consultant and business development manager in large agencies, system houses and the Fraunhofer Institute, where she advised customers, developed concepts and organized events. Additionally and with great passion, Ola contributed to the Psycho trifft Coach podcast behind the mic as a manager and graphic designer.

Svenja absolviert eine Ausbildung zur Kauffrau für Versicherung und Finanzen. Als qualifzierte Trauerbegleiterin (BVT) engagiert sie sich seit über 2 Jahren in der Trauergruppe bei TrauBe Köln e. V.. Nach ihrem Abitur war sie AuPair in Finnland.

Lisa is a bereavement counselor, grief counselor and systemic coach. Due to her own history, she has been dealing with the topics of dying, death and grief for over 15 years. After studying media culture studies, she worked in marketing for many years until she fully dedicated herself to her heart’s mission in 2022 with the founding of “Trauer dich frei”: Supporting people who have lost someone or something important in their lives. In addition to her work as a coach for crises, grief and resilience, Lisa is a freelance speaker for farewell ceremonies and weddings. Since 2022, she has also been part of the “Trauer Taskforce” initiative, which first proclaimed the “Week of Mourning” around All Saints’ Day in 2023 in order to modernize the church’s day of remembrance. The annual campaign aims to promote an open, contemporary and inclusive culture of mourning that meets the needs of a diverse society and brings mourners together across borders. To support this mission, Lisa organized the “Trauer op Kölsch” event at HELLERS Brauhaus in Cologne. With over 100 participants, the event sent a clear signal that dying, death and bereavement are no longer taboo.

Anja is an organizational developer, seminar leader and coach, with 25 years of international experience in personnel & organizational development, marketing & communication, also as a manager. After a dead-end career as a bank clerk, she studied economics and already included the “people side” with a minor in social psychology. Anja knows large corporations and small companies, and has always been active at the interface between hard facts and soft skills. She has also completed the basic qualification as a grief counselor for children and young people at TrauBe e.V. as well as several coaching courses.

Sarah is a passionate employment lawyer and works as a lawyer at Freshfields, an international law firm. In her dissertation, she dealt with “Death and grief in the workplace” and developed suggestions for companies on how to deal with this legally. At trauerkultur³, she is the link to (labor) law issues in connection with death and grief.

Iris came to the topic of grief through her voluntary work with the Bonn Outpatient Children’s and Youth Hospice Service and has completed a qualification as a bereavement counselor (BVT). At AKHD Bonn, she co-founded “Kintsugi”, a discussion group for parents of deceased children, and is also involved in public relations work. She regularly runs a bereavement café for adults who are mourning the loss of a loved one. She has also accompanied children’s grief groups. The business graduate can talk very vividly about what grief means in the workplace in the middle of an active professional phase and has experienced the most diverse perspectives herself. Her current professional activities also involve people with a wide variety of counseling and coaching needs.

Momo belongs to the family of founding member Fee. She is a trained companion dog and knows all the commands – if the right snacks are involved. As a grief companion, she is especially popular with children and is an imposing and always friendly receptionist at trauerkultur³.

The Jack Russell lady Cispa is a roommate of shareholder Anja and is responsible for taking minutes and organizing breaks at shareholder meetings.