Johanna Lichtschlag

Johanna Lichtschlag joined the Global Human Development program after an early career in international development program management and advocacy. Johanna is a 2025-26 Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) Bunker Fellow, where her research focuses on Gulf state aid in the shifting humanitarian and development assistance landscape. Within GHD, she is pursuing a specialization in social policy and governance. Alongside her studies, she is currently working as a consultant with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) on fragility and conflict-affected situations. Previously, Johanna served as Germany’s Youth Delegate to the United Nations, where she represented youth interests at the UN General Assembly and the Commission on Social Development, working with the German Mission to the UN and the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Before coming to Georgetown, Johanna pursued a career in international NGOs, focusing on children’s rights, youth participation, and the empowerment of women and girls. As project officer for Plan International Germany she worked on projects across the Middle East, Eastern and Southern Africa funded by major German and European donors, and as project coordinator for the German NGO Kindernothilfe she oversaw development and humanitarian projects in Somaliland/Somalia and Ethiopia. Earlier in her career, she worked on multi-stakeholder partnerships at GIZ, advocacy and partnerships at Plan International’s EU Office in Brussels and SOS Children’s Villages United Nations Office in New York, and youth engagement at UNICEF Germany. Johanna holds a B.A. in International Relations from Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. In her free time Johanna loves reading books, going for walks and runs and calling her friends around the world.

Summer internship

For my GHD summer internship, I decided to stay in Washington D.C., where I had the opportunity to work with the World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) Group. This experience was particularly meaningful for me, because the analytical work allowed me to apply and test the knowledge and skills I had learned during the first year of the program, while building on my previous professional experience. My summer internship challenged me to think critically about complex development contexts and gave me valuable insights into how the World Bank Group works on these issues.