Verena Carl works as a freelance journalist mainly in the fields of society, psychology and family. She writes for renowned print and online media such as Die Zeit and as a book author for the Bertelsmann Foundation and Beltz Verlag, among others. As a professional expert and mother of a queer daughter, she sees herself as a bridge builder between the LGBTQ+ community and those who want to understand what drives queer people, especially young ones. Inspired by her own family experiences, she is committed to promoting understanding and sharing her own learning curve with others. Born in 1969, Verena Carl studied business administration in Munich and completed a traineeship at the Burda publishing house and the German School of Journalism. She then worked as a magazine editor for several years and became self-employed in 2004, writing non-fiction, radio plays and novels in addition to her journalistic work. Among other things, she wrote a scientifically based report on the topic of "Social Cohesion" for the Bertelsmann Foundation, for which she conducted interviews with members of various social groups throughout Germany. Verena Carl has twice been awarded the Hamburg Prize for Literature for her fictional texts. Her passion is the people behind the numbers, the stories that can be used to identify social developments and trends. She moderates cultural events, is a welcome guest at panel discussions and a speaker. She deals with the question of how transformation can be shaped and how the concept of diversity can be filled with life. Thanks to her experience on poetry slam stages, she manages to combine facts and entertainment with ease as a keynote speaker and to present her topics in a way that is accessible, comprehensible and stimulating.