Management Board

New elections were held on November 10, 2022. Five honorary board members and one full-time employee are entrusted with the association's tasks.

Hoffnungsbaum Logo

The current Executive Board

Markus Nielbock, 1st Chairman, Board member since 2018, father of a daughter with BPAN
Noah Rusch, 2nd Chairman, Board member since 2018, father of a son with BPAN
Sigune Lüchtefeld, Treasurer, Board member since 2021, mother of a daughter with BPAN
Tiemo Durm, Associate Member, Board Member since 2020, father of a daughter with PKAN
Ufuk Calisici, assessor, board member since 2021, friend of an affected family

Also active as an advisory expert (non-voting) at Board meetings:
Angelika Klucken, 1st Chairwoman from 2002 to 2021, mother of a son with PKAN
Stephan KluckenTreasurer/secretary from 2002 to 2021, father of a son with PKAN

Our employee

Beate Sonnenschein has been supporting the work of Hoffnungsbaum as a permanent part-time employee since 2018.

Changes in recent years

Board elections 2018:
As part of our 8th NBIA Family Conference in Düsseldorf in September 2018, the annual general meeting of Hoffnungsbaum e.V. took place. A new board was elected as scheduled. We bid farewell to our Board members Maayke Arends, Ursula Hofmann and Michaela Schürer, who were no longer standing as candidates, and thank them warmly for their many years of work and support. Anja Barthe, Markus Nielbock and Noah Rusch were newly elected to the Board in 2018. Michel Baumann, Angelika and Stephan Klucken and Karola Peka were re-elected.

Changes 2020:
Two long-standing members of the Board of Directors, Michel Baumann (since 2010) and Karola Peka (since 2006), have left the Board of Directors of Hoffnungsbaum e.V. this year in order to initiate the long-planned generational change on the Board by stepping down. Sebastian Matthiesen and Tiemo Durm were subsequently elected as new members of the Board at the General Assembly, which was held as a hybrid meeting in Düsseldorf on October 25, 2020, both on site and virtually. This means that two members of the association who have been very committed for some time are now joining the Board, and for the first time the NBIA variant MPAN is also represented in the association's management through Sebastian Matthiesen. We would like to express our sincere thanks for the many years of active support from the Board members who have stepped down and look forward to working with the new Board members.

Changes in 2021:
As planned, the two founding members Angelika Klucken and Stephan Klucken have stepped down from their positions on the Board (1st Chairwoman and Treasurer). These positions were filled at the general meeting on 21.11.2021. Markus Nielbock was elected as 1st Chairman, Sebastian Matthiesen as 2nd Chairman and Sigune Lüchtefeld as Treasurer. Ufuk Calisici was also elected as a new member of the Executive Board. Anja Barthe, Noah Rusch and Tiemo Durm remain active on the Board as assessors with voting rights. Karola Peka was elected as the new cash auditor.

New elections in 2022:
Anja Barthe and Sebastian Matthiesen did not stand for re-election. We would like to thank them very much for their many years of support! Unfortunately, we were unable to find replacement candidates for them. In the new election, the five remaining board members were confirmed in their positions, with Noah Rusch being elected as 2nd Chair. New cash auditors were Stephan Klucken and Klaus Luechtefeld.

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