Dr. Benedikt Schmid
Ben (he/him) serves as the project lead for the MUTUAL project. He holds a doctorate in Geography from the University of Luxembourg and is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the chair of Geography of Global Change at the University of Freiburg. His research focuses on the interplay between community-led organizations, eco-social enterprises, and local institutions in post-growth-oriented transformations.
Coline Chardon
Coline (she/her) works as a doctoral researcher in the MUTUAL project. Before she joined the team, she was working as a project manager at Climate Alliance – a European cities network. She holds a master’s degree in Geography of Global Change from the University of Freiburg and completed a bi-national bachelor’s degree in Geography in France and Germany. Before focusing on municipalities, she worked with bottom-up approaches and explored the role of activism in driving social and ecological transformations.
Rieke Schneider
Rieke (she/her) works for MUTUAL as a research assistant. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences at Leuphana University Lüneburg and is currently doing her master’s degree in Environmental Governance at the University of Freiburg. She has previously gathered experience in transdisciplinary research and sustainable spatial development and has now joined MUTUAL due to her interest in the emergence of justice centered sustainability transformations at the city level.
Helen Dörr
Helen (she/her) joined MUTUAL as a research assistant in 2026. After completing her bachelor’s degrees in Geography and Economics, she is currently pursuing a Master of Environmental Governance at the University of Freiburg. Her prior experiences in (urban) sustainability governance and plural economics, along with her interest in socio-ecological transformations, just transitions, and alternative economic systems at the local level, have led her to MUTUAL.
Imina Hecht
Imina (she/her) completed a Bachelor’s degree in International Culture and Business Studies in Passau and is currently pursuing her Master in Geography of Global Change at the University of Freiburg. She has now joined MUTUAL as a research assistant driven by her interest in how municipalities can become spaces for just and transformative responses to the climate crisis.
Alumni
Marilou Binder
Marilou (she/her) joined MUTUAL as a research assistant. She has completed a master’s degree in Environmental Governance at the University of Freiburg and holds a bachelor’s degree in Sustainability, Science and Society from McGill University, Canada. Her interest in alternative economies rooted in post-growth thinking drew her to the MUTUAL project.
MUTUAL 