Wolfgang Schneider was founding director of the Institute for Cultural Policy at the University of Hildesheim and holder of the UNESCO Chair "Cultural Policy for the Arts in Development" (2014 - 2020). He was the first director of the Children's and Young People's Theater Center in the Federal Republic of Germany, chairman of the Lower Saxony Theater Advisory Board, member of the Goethe-Institut's Dance and Theater Advisory Board and, as an expert member of the German Bundestag's Enquete Commission "Culture in Germany," rapporteur for the chapter on theater, among other things. He is chairman of the Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V., a personal member of the German UNESCO Commission, a trusted lecturer of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, a member of the federal board of the Cultural Forum of Social Democracy, a member of the board of the Initiative for the Archives of Independent Theater e.V., a member of the International Theater Institute, a member of the Council for Performing Arts and Dance in the German Cultural Council, an honorary member of ASSITEJ Germany and Switzerland, and honorary president of the International Association of Theater for Children and Young People. In 2018, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class by the German President for his honorary international commitment. Numerous publications on theater policy, editor of, among others, "Theater und Schule. Handbuch zur kulturellen Bildung" (2009), " Theater und Migration. Herausforderungen für Kulturpolitik und Theaterpraxis" (2011), "Theater entwickeln und planen. Kulturpolitische Konzeptionen zur Reform der Darstellenden Künste" (2014), "Theatermachen als Beruf. Hildesheimer Wege" (together with Julia Speckmann, 2017); ""Partizipation als Programm. Wege ins Theater für Kinder und Jugendliche" (together with Anna Eitzeroth, 2017); "Performing the Archive. Studie zur Entwicklung eines Archivs des Freien Theaters" (together with Henning Fülle and Christine Henniger, 2018), "Theater in der Provinz. Künstlerische Vielfalt und kulturelle Teilhabe als Programm" (with Katharina Schröck and Silvia Stolz, 2019); "Theater in Transformation. Artistic Processes and Cultural Policy in South Africa" (with Lance Lebogang Nawa, 2019).

Amelie Deuflhard was artistic director of Sophiensæle (Berlin) from 2000 to 2007. In 2004/05 she was part of the artistic direction of "Volkspalast", a festival-like performance of the deconstructed Palast der Republik. Since 2007 she has been artistic director of Kampnagel (Hamburg), Europe's largest production center for the independent performing arts. With EcoFavela Lampedusa Nord, she initiated a living and action space for refugees in 2014. The project has found its extension at Kampnagel in the award-winning encounter space Migrantpolitan. Amelie Deuflhard was part of the curatorship of four of Theater der Welt 2017. She is the author of numerous publications and regularly holds teaching positions at universities. For her work, she was awarded the Caroline Neuber Prize in 2012 and the Insignia des Chevaliers des Arts et Lettres in 2013. In 2018, she received the European Cultural Manager of the Year award.

Anne-Cathrin Lessel, born in 1987, studied theater, psychology and cultural studies at the University of Leipzig. Until 2011, she worked as a freelancer in artistic projects with children and young people, primarily at the Theater an der Parkaue Berlin. From 2011, program and production manager at LOFFT - DAS THEATER, whose artistic direction and management she took over in 2019. Since 2013 she has been a board member of the Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste and since 2020 a board member of the Landesverband der Freien Theater in Sachsen. For many years she has been a member of various professional juries, including those of the City of Leipzig, the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony, the German National Academic Foundation, the National Performance Network and the Fonds Darstellende Künste.

Lawyer and Head of Legal/International Affairs of the German Stage Association. Studied law, German language and literature, and history at the University of Regensburg and the University of Cologne. Managing Director of the Council for Performing Arts and Dance of the German Cultural Council, representative of the Council for Performing Arts and Dance in the expert committees Labor and Social Affairs and Europe of the German Cultural Council. Member of the Committee for European Social Policy of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations. Deputy member of the executive committee of the employers' association PEARLE* - Live Performance Europe, representing the German Stage Association and PEARLE* in the Social Dialogue of the European Union. Co-author of the loose-leaf collection "Stage and Orchestra Law". Member of the Board of Trustees of the Dance Foundation - Transition Center Germany. Ilka Schmalbauch was a member of the Fonds' Executive Board for many years. She did not stand for re-election in 2023, but continues to advise the Executive Board and management on personnel and legal issues.