Germany: Stepanie Feder director of the training programme for women managers in the German Church. 64 women enrolled in the new course

The third course in the “Kirche im Mentoring – Frauen steigen auf” programme (The Church as mentor – Women on the career ladder), aiming to increase the number of women in leading managing roles in the Catholic Church, will be starting these days with important news: Stephanie Feder will be the new project manager of the course, replacing Alexandra Schmitz who will be tackling new professional challenges. The 40-year-old Berlin-born Alexandra Feder worked in personnel development in the pastoral services of the archdiocese of Cologne and studied Catholic theology in Munster. Since 2013, she has been working in lifelong learning for priests; she has a vast experience in the organisational development of vocational systems. She knows “Kirche im Mentoring” very well, as she took part in the programme as a student herself until June 2020. “In Stephanie Feder, we have found the right woman who will continue and develop our successful project – the general manager of the Hildegardis Association, Birgit Mock, explained –; our greatest thanks go to Alexandra Schmitz, who helped design the ‘Church in Mentoring’ programme and has accomplished it since the very start”. 64 women will be taking part in the course that is about to start now, and many alumnae are currently working as mentors themselves. “Kirche im Mentoring” is organised by the Hildegardis Association with the German Bishops’ Conference and Bonifatiuswerk, an organisation for the promotion of study and work.
Valentina Bombelli