{"id":20054,"date":"2017-01-29T23:41:34","date_gmt":"2017-01-29T22:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/?page_id=20054"},"modified":"2025-09-23T23:35:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T21:35:54","slug":"presidium","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/en\/presidium\/","title":{"rendered":"Club leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Club leadership<\/h2>\n

The D\u00fcsseldorf Toastmasters leadership team is elected every year. Being a club member can be a lot of fun and also help develop valuable leadership skills.<\/p>\n

Club year 2025\/2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Gaby Schilling<\/strong>, Vice President Membership<\/p>\n

As a chemist, Gaby has gained many years of leadership experience in a large international company. Having achieved a bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology, she is currently self-employed as trainer and coach, primarily supporting young scientists who are planning to start a career outside academic research. Her wish to deliver more inspiring speeches has motivated her to join Toastmasters. She enjoys the opportunity to try out something new in an atmosphere of appreciation and to support others in reaching their targets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gladys Anne Just<\/strong>, Immediate Past President & Vice President Public Relations<\/p>\n

Gladys has been a member of the D\u00fcsseldorf Toastmasters since 2018. Professionally, she has experienced the healthcare industry from a variety of perspectives \u2013 in the intensive care unit, in sales for a hygiene concept company, and as an employee in the hospital hygiene and infection prevention department. Making presentations and training sessions interesting and practical is particularly important to her \u2013 as a basis for successful professional exchange. This is one of the reasons why she appreciates the inspiration and constructive feedback she receives at the D\u00fcsseldorf Toastmasters. She greatly values the diverse personal, professional, and cultural backgrounds of the members.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bj\u00f6rn Schulz<\/strong>, Vice President Education<\/p>\n

Bj\u00f6rn studied computer science and marketing and is working on a product information system for a large retail group.\u00a0In his spare time he loves to produce music in his mixing & mastering studio. At a communication seminar in July 2018 he got the tip to visit the Toastmasters which he followed. At the Toastmasters he appreciates the versatile environment and the atmosphere in which members grow as speakers and also in their personality. Since July 2019, he has taken over responsibility for the education program.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Andrea Schmitz<\/strong>, Vice President Mentoring<\/p>\n

Andrea is a mechanical engineer working in international mechanical and plant engineering. Her work has taken her to America and Asia. She also enjoys traveling in her private life and getting to know other countries and cultures.\nAt the D\u00fcsseldorf Toastmasters, Andrea repeatedly experiences how people overcome their fear of speaking, how they gain self-confidence and how they become excellent speakers. At the same time, she appreciates the high level of the experienced speakers, who are role models and sources of inspiration for her. All of this has led her to volunteer with the club. “It gives me pleasure and also makes me proud to see how our members develop their potential.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lien Pham<\/strong>, Vice President Membership<\/p>\n

Lien works in Corporate Planning and Project Management for an international company in D\u00fcsseldorf. Originally from Vietnam, she moved to Germany for her studies and then pursued further education in the US before returning to Germany in 2018 for her current role. Lien faced challenges in communication, particularly in speaking concisely, impactfully and persuasively. A friend recommended she join Toastmasters. \u201cIt is a game changer for me. The skills and experiences gained here have significantly benefited me both personally and professionally\u201d. Grateful for the friendly and inspiring environment of the club, Lien joines the leadership team to engage more and contribute to the community.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thomas Koj<\/strong>, Vice President Membership<\/p>\n

By day, Thomas optimizes digital processes as an IT Service Manager \u2013 by night, he seeks real life: on stage, in conversation, in the moment. As a curious explorer, he loves discovering new perspectives \u2013 whether while hiking, practicing modern line dancing, or engaging in profound conversations with a twinkle in his eye.\nHis path has taken him through many professional stops, but Toastmasters struck a chord with him: Here, he found a place where clarity meets creativity \u2013 and where it’s not just about talking, but about true growth.\nAt Toastmasters, he particularly appreciates the combination of structure and creativity \u2013 as well as the opportunity to try things out in a safe environment and to surpass himself. As Vice President of Membership, it’s important to him to warmly welcome new members and make their entry as easy and inspiring as possible. “With us, everyone is allowed to be who they are \u2013 and that’s exactly how they improve.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Malte W. Wilkes<\/strong>, Vice President Special Projects<\/p>\n

Malte is honorary president of the BDU “Bundesverband Deutscher Unternehmensberater”, author of several books as well as columnist and commentator. Malte has experience – also in TV and radio – from more than 1000 public stage talks as speaker, talk-participant and moderator. His areas of interest are inspiration & innovation, change & growth. His core topics are persuasion techniques in leadership, transformation, advertising but also therapy processes. Malte joined Toastmasters in 2013 to optimize his “5-minute speeches” and to experiment with different speaking techniques. He has reached the highest level as a speaker at Toastmasters with the ACG (Advanced Communicator Gold). His credo: “My speeches and presentations should persuade, not inform.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Christine Sommerfeldt<\/strong>,\u00a0Vice President Community Management<\/p>\n

Christine is a self employed photographer with her own studio in D\u00fcsseldorf. She is specialized in business photograhy and executive portraits. When she joined Toastmasters in 2013, she was looking for a way to help her clients to have a more confident appearance in front of the camera and in their photos. As a photographer, she speaks publically about body language and presence as well as about the importance of having excellent photo material.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jayne Mulcahy<\/strong>, Sergeant At Arms<\/p>\n

Jayne is originally from Ireland. She has lived in Germany for over 30 years. Before that she lived in Paris for a few years. Professionally, she has worked in a variety of roles from in-house training to international training programmes, internationally funded projects and now Regulatory Advisory, Central Services. She has set herself the goal of being able to speak in front of people and is delighted with the development opportunities that Toastmasters offers her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Maik Adelt<\/strong>, Treasurer<\/p>\n

Maik is a department manager in the internal audit group of a Dax Company. He regularly faces the challenge \u2013 in German and English \u2013 to convince employees, colleagues not only in content, but also emotionally. Toastmasters helps him develop these skills. The German and English club evenings give him the opportunity for rhetorical experimentation. He appreciates the friendly, motivating and constructive feedback from the other club members.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marcela Medina<\/strong>, Vice President easySPEAK 1<\/p>\n

Marcela studied chemical engineering in her home town of Bogot\u00e1, Colombia, and completed further training in the field of environmental protection management in Germany. She has been working in chemical compliance in an international company in D\u00fcsseldorf for 15 years. The action and operational enforcement of scientific and legal issues require special communication skills, which Marcela has been able to develop further at Toastmasters since 2022.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Philipp Wirkotsch<\/strong>, Vice President easySPEAK 2<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ivan Polak<\/strong>, Vice President Digital<\/p>\n

Ivan has professional background in marketing and project management, and works for a global company with the European head office in D\u00fcsseldorf. He comes originally from Slovakia and has studied and worked in multiple countries across Europe. Ivan joined Toastmasters in Prague in 2013, where he also held several leadership roles in the club. After his move to D\u00fcsseldorf, Ivan has re-discovered the world of Toastmasters and the development opportunities that the organization offers. Presentations at work, client meetings, assertive negotiations, all of which can get improved at Toastmasters, while getting to know wonderful people in the club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Club leadership The D\u00fcsseldorf Toastmasters leadership team is elected every year. Being a club member can be a lot of fun and also help develop valuable leadership skills. Club […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20054"}],"version-history":[{"count":86,"href":"https:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10339882,"href":"https:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20054\/revisions\/10339882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duesseldorfer-toastmasters.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}