Bernd Böttcher, after working as a volunteer in Krzyżowa for one year, studied Cultural Sciences at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). After work experiences in Ukraine he managed an exchange of professionals between Germany, Eastern Europe and Central Asia at APOLLO e.V. He was chairman of the association until 2019. In 2016 he started coordinating the initative „Austausch macht Schule", understanding itself as a lobby for the idea of international exchange and working for better political conditions especially for conducting school exchanges in Germany.
Bernd Böttcher has been member of the board since September 2019; he was in this position also in the years 2003-2009. In August 2023, he became the chair of the association.
Markus Pieper studied Eastern European contemporary history, political science and journalism in Oldenburg, Berlin and Warsaw and has since been professionally and privately involved in German-Polish relations, reappraisal of the history and reconciliation issues as well as the history of Eastern and Central Eastern Europe. He has worked in the Stiftung Ettersberg zur vergleichenden Erforschung europäischer Diktaturen und ihrer Überwindung in Weimar (2003-08), in the office of the Bundesbeauftragte für die Stasi-Unterlagen (Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic) in Berlin (2008-12) and the Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur (2012-21), where he was head of the department of memorials and remembrance culture, among other things. In 2019, he obtained his Ph.D. from the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder); the title of his thesis was "Parteiauftrag: Städtepartnerschaft. Kommunalpartnerschaften zwischen Polen und der DDR und ihre Transformation nach 1989". Since September 2021, he has been managing director of the Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft in Dresden.
Markus Pieper has been a member of the Kreisau-Initiative since February 2020 and on the board since April 2023.
Paweł Prokop studied German studies in Warsaw and Berlin and History and Political Science at the FU Berlin.
He found his place in the German-Polish youth exchange starting from being a participant, language interpreter, and organizing projects of youth exchange until he became part of the German-Polish Youth Cooperation (DPJW) in Potsdam. After 8 years he changed into the field of development cooperation and worked at Engagement Global gGmbH as a project coordinator and later as a project manager in the field of extracurricular exchange projects for groups from Germany and the countries of the Global South. Since June 2018 he has been leading the section of international youth exchange inside Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V.
Paweł Prokop has been a member of the board since 2019. He was the chair from October 2020 to August 2023. He has been the treasurer since August 2023.
Joanna Szaflik-Homann studied English, political science, adult education, and teaching in Łódź, Poland, and Berlin, Germany. Educational work is the common thread of both her professional career and her voluntary work. She has designed and coordinated numerous German-Polish, European, and multilateral projects for young people and educators on behalf of various organisations, including the German-Polish Youth Office. She implemented various projects in the context of vocational training and qualification with an intercultural and inclusive focus.
Since 2017, she has been working as a teacher of English and economics and social studies as well as a European coordinator at the Oberstufenzentrum Handel II in Berlin. In her work, she tries to build bridges between Germany and Poland, between different cultures, and between school and non-school education. She shares her experiences in various publications.
Joanna Szaflik-Homann worked as an education officer in the Kreisau-Initiative office from 2007 to 2012. Since 2013, she has represented the association in the committees of the Kreisau Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe.