The Team

Dr. Karin Stiehr is an associate partner and the director of ISIS. As a social scientist, she is an advisor to the provincial governments of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. She researches structural processes and coordinates regional, domestic and European social science and social policy projects; especially, those concerning demographic changes and civil society. Dr. Stiehr focuses on the situation of elderly women, the living conditions of the elderly (especially, isolated persons) and the quality of life in homes for the aged. She is also active in the field of setting up voluntary services for older people. As an evaluator, Karin Stiehr participates in programmes to insure the quality of EU projects.

Dr. Hannelore Jani is an associate partner with ISIS. She lives and works in Persan, France. For her doctoral degree at the Université Paris-Sorbonne, she researched residences for senior citizens in France. As a socio-gerontologist, Hannelore Jani has participated in numerous domestic and European projects. She is particularly interested in care-relevant issues (very old age, home and institutionalised care, caring relatives and caring for people with dementia). She also has special expertise regarding retirement and related processes. Since 2000, Hannelore Jani has been a board member of Equinoxe-France, an emergency phone system for the elderly and people with disabilities. This is a professionally run scheme, organised at the neighbourhood level. Hannelore Jani is fluent in French, German and English.

Myriam Alfano, M.A., studied romance Languages and Literature and Eastern Slavic Studies at the universities of Frankfurt/M and Venice, Italy. After graduating, she worked for several commercial enterprises to improve cooperation between European countries and the US.  She also completed a supplemental training course, “Book and Media Practice” in Frankfurt/M. Currently she works as a self-employed translator, interpreter and literary agent. In 2008 she joined ISIS and is responsible for accounting, project cost statements, general office management and preparation and implementation of conferences and events. Myriam Alfano speaks German, English, Spanish, Italian and French.

Dr. Karl Mingot studied sociology at the universities of Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Gießen. He is trained in techniques of objective hermeneutics and in conversation analysis. His research focuses mainly on the way people perceive artefacts, the historic development of occupations requiring professional training, poverty in Germany, as well as living in old age. Conducting case studies and project evaluation are his main tasks with ISIS. Karl Mingot speaks German, French and English.

Dr. Constance Ohms studied sociology, modern philology and business administration in Frankfurt/Main. She received a Ph.D. in sociology from the Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg. Her principle fields of research are violence and domestic violence with a focus on the perpetrator, marginalisation processes of minorities and hate crimes. She has many years of experience in qualitative and quantitative social science and in administering international social science projects. Her main tasks with ISIS include project management, evaluation, case studies, data analysis and acquisition of public funding. Constance Ohms speaks German, English and Spanish.

Joachim Ritter is a sociologist. He studied sociology, political science, social psychology and statistics. From 1994-1996 he was a research assistant for the research group “Social Inequality and Its Socio-political Impact” (Soziale Ungleichheit und ihre sozialpolitische Beeinflussung) at the “Commission for the Investigation of Social and Political Change in the Newly-formed German Provinces” (Kommission für die Erforschung des sozialen und politischen Wandels in den neuen Bundesländern – KSPW). He was a research assistant at Frankfurt University from 1996-2001. Since 1991, he has worked as a freelance empirical social scientist. His main activities and fields of research at ISIS include project planning, evaluation, data management and data analysis. Joachim Ritter speaks German and English.

Vivian Guerrero Meneses, Dipl. Soz. studied sociology, political science and social psychology at the universities of Frankfurt/M and Madrid. As a junior researcher, her thematic focus at ISIS lies in migration, health care issues and civic engagement. Her main activities and fields of research include project planning and implementation as well as networking. Vivian Guerrero Meneses speaks German, English and Spanish.