
She studied cultural anthropology and has been involved in media since 1981. After obtaining her high school diploma, she was an intern at the Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag (Volontariat) and then worked until 1984 as an editor in Flensburg and on the island of Sylt. She subsequently studied musicology, science of theater, film and television as well as anthropology in Cologne and as a DAAD scholar in Tirana, Albania. She obtained her master's degree in ethnomusicology in 1990 (Topic: „Vocal polyphonic singing in Southern Albania“) and a second degree in cultural management at Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg in 1993 (Diplomarbeit: „Transformation of the media landscape in Albania“). During her time as a student, she worked as a freelance journalist and cultural manager for regional and national radio stations such as WDR and for the State Music Council of Schleswig-Holstein (Landesmusikrat).