Project Leaders

Prof. Dr. Özen Odağ is a Professor of Psychology at Touro University Berlin and a media and cultural psychologist by training. Her research focuses on the empowering sides of the internet, aiming to find out how disadvantaged groups use the media to shape their identities and communities and give them voice. She has studied the role of social media in the context of collective action and political participation and looked at this from a cross-cultural perspective. As an expert in psychological research methods, she is particularly well-known for her focus on mixed-methods research. With project RESPOND! she is delving into the darker side of the internet, aiming to develop media competence trainings to combat discrimination and exclusion on social media.

Prof. Larisa Buhin-Krenek, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at Touro University Berlin. She is a counseling psychologist by training, and specializes in multicultural competencies, identity, resilience, social justice, and inclusive higher education. During her career, Prof. Buhin-Krenek, Ph.D., has worked on a number of school-based prevention programs to help promote multicultural competencies, self-efficacy, and academic achievement among adolescents. Consequently, her expertise in this area will prove invaluable in the development of the RESPOND! Media Competence Training.

Agata Maria Kraj is a political psychologist and a Project Coordinator within RESPOND!. As a trained social psychologist, global visual communication expert, and a political scientist, she combines theoretical and research expertise with professional experience of working in academic administration and project coordination. Her research interests encompass social identities and group relations, intersectionality, as well as stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. During her college years, she has also worked as a trainer for diversity and time management.