Karen Leppien joined RIFS in January 2018 as officer for procurement and legal affairs. Since 2023 she is part of the legal team at GFZ and mainly responsible for the legal issues at RIFS. She drafts and reviews contracts and contributes to the clarification of various legal questions.

Karen went to law school in Hamburg and Toronto (she specialized in European Law and International Criminal Law). She interned with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (UN-ICTY) in The Hague and with the NGO Tierra de Hombres in Seville and was a trainee at the German Embassy in Sarajevo. Additionally she is a trained mediator (with a focus on team conflicts in business contexts).

Before joining the RIFS Karen worked in the legal department of a reputable German foundation for education and participation in society of young people as well as in event management.