Team

Rolf Schwery is the founder and Executive Director of acting responsibly AG.

Rolf spent nearly a decade in Russia becoming familiar with a foreign culture and language. His first degree is in Economics (University of Fribourg); his PhD in Social Sciences (Russian Academy of Sciences).

As executive director of the Swiss Academy for Development (SAD), Rolf had the positive experience of managing an NGO through difficult times. He is a pioneer in the field of Sport and Development and strongly believes that development doesn’t need to be painful, but can be a lot of fun.

He likes all kind of sports, and plays squash regularly. In 2009, he ran his first marathon in Florence and climbed the highest mountain in Europe, Mt. Elbrus (5642m) in the Caucasus, and Mont Blanc (4810m).

Rolf is fluent in German, English, Russian and French.

Livia is working as an intern in the acting responsibly team to gain further work experience while studying environmental and resource management at BFH.
In her free time, she spends a lot of time in nature – whether climbing up or paragliding down peaks.

Victoriia Kakhichko is a Master’s student specializing in Sustainability at the University of Geneva. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she gained several years of experience in event management and communications. In her free time, she enjoys oil painting and hiking with friends.

Vy Chi joined the acting responsibly team in 2016, where she combines the spheres of sports and environmental sciences in her professional life. With a dedication to detail she helps sports organisations explore how their events can be the most sustainable – not only for the environment, but also for participants, workers, and the society.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences  and a Master’s degree in Human Health, Nutrition and Environment ETH Zurich. Beside her work at acting responsibly she is a passionate dancer, beach volleyball player and a dedicated physical education teacher. She believes in the power of sports and sees sports as a way to bring people together.

Since 2012 she has been part of the Team für Nachhaltigkeit of the ASVZ SOLA-Stafette in Zurich. From 2011 to 2017 she was a delegation member of the Swiss Summer Universiade team.

Daria joined the acting responsibly team as a GRI trainer. She is a management and entrepreneurship scholar and a university teacher in the field of international business and quantitative research methods. She has got her PhD in Business and Economics from Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. Daria has been working as a post-doctoral researcher at Aalto University School of Business, Finland, and held a research fellow position at the Finnish Academy of Science, where she focused on studying the social impact of entrepreneurial migration.

She holds a firm belief that profitability and sustainability are synonyms in today’s economy.

Daria is fluent in English, Finnish, and Russian. She climbed the highest peak in Europe and Russia – Mount Elbrus – and is passionate about running.

Contact: daria@actingresponsibly.com

Aska joins the team as a sustainable event manager after earning her Master’s degree in Sustainable Development at the University of Basel. Her work experience in the field of journalism gives her a broad perspective on the newest environmental and sustainability topics.

During her leisure, she enjoys playing badminton, reading, and testing her green thumb in the garden.

Contact: aska@actingresponsibly.com

Sarah has made her way into the team as a sustainability intern as part of her Master’s in Environmental Sciences at ETH Zurich. During her time at ETH Zurich and while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Global Sustainability Science at Utrecht University, she gained interdisciplinary knowledge and experience in the natural and social sciences with the goal of better analyzing complex societal problems from different perspectives. She is particularly interested in the intersections between politics, science, and imaginative practices, as well as food systems transformation.

Believing that fun and creativity are essential ingredients to a meaningful life, Sarah enjoys exploring various hobbies in her free time, including rock climbing, cooking, singing, and reading.

Contact: sarah@actingresponsibly.com

Pascal is an integral member of the acting responsibly team, specializing in sustainable event management and offering comprehensive consulting services. With a strong educational background and a passion for environmental and social sustainability, Pascal brings a wealth of expertise and a commitment to making a positive impact on the event industry.

Pascal holds a BSc degree in Geography from the University of Bern and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Zurich’s University of Applied Science, focusing on sustainability communication and environmental education.

By combining his expertise in sustainable event management, love for the outdoors, and passion for festival culture, Pascal is ready to revolutionize the event industry. With a focus on minimal environmental impact and unforgettable experiences, he is dedicated to crafting sustainable events that leave a lasting impression.

Contact: pascal@actingresponsibly.com

Giulia Facchini joined the team as the contact person for Ticino. Giulia became interested in sustainability after an Erasmus course in Finland at Hanken Business School. She then completed her bachelor’s degree in communication sciences at the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI), decided to specialize in the field of sustainability, and completed a master’s degree in socially responsible management at the USI in 2023. During her studies, she had the opportunity to work in various industries, including events, tourism, and marketing. Now she has decided to specialize in sustainability in the field of event management, and it is also important to her to support companies to embark on the path to sustainable management.

Samira joins the team as a sustainability junior expert. Passionate about cultural diversity, she spent several years living in different countries around the world before finally returning to her hometown in Switzerland in 2020. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in fashion design (Esmod France) as well as a master’s degree in luxury and fashion business management (GBSB). Since then, her objective has been to specialize in sustainability in the fashion industry and to actively work for change. She further pursued a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in CSR management at SUPSI. 

Her hobbies include powerlifting, forest walks with her dog, and pottery. 

Samira is fluent in French, English, and Italian. 

Xenia is responsible for event reports, design and content management.

She earned a master degree in journalism and translation on the Faculty of Philology of RUDN University in Moscow. Using her experience as editor and content manager, she is involed in various projects of acting responsibly.

She is fluent in german, english and russian. During her free time she enjoys watersports, skiing and climbing.

Contact: xenia@actingresponsibly.com

Lara has recently joined the team as sustainability intern while still working on her Master thesis at ZHAW where she is completing her degree in Environment and Resource Management. With a Bachelor’s degree from the EHL Business School in Lausanne and having worked several years in the hospitality and events industry in various countries, Lara brings many interdisciplinary skills to the team.

At acting responsibly, besides supporting the events department, she is part of the project team mainly focusing on sustainability in the Swiss cultural scene. Quite a good fit, since whenever she is not at work, Lara is a passionate mover spending her free time doing jazz and modern contemporary dance.

Tünde is a multi-passionate, creative expert with an academic background in Biology and Food Safety & Quality. She is contributing to our mission by using her previous experience not only in the field of different ISO standards (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000, ISO 27001) and quality management, but also in the fields of communication and project management across various sectors.

While acquiring knowledge in the fields of sustainable event management and corporate social responsibility by supporting different projects, she also helps the team with digital communication activities and strengthening our online presence.

Tünde is a hobby vegan chef and passionate about animal welfare and environmental protection.

She is fluent in English, Hungarian and also speaks German.

Léonard obtained his master’s degree in environmental engineering from the ETHZ in 2019. Since then, he has worked several years for the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz and partnered with Rolf Schwery for the realization of several projects.

In 2023, Léonard founded his own company “Transition”, that develops models for the assessment of environmental impacts of companies. His goal is to contribute to a more sustainable society and to enable all actors of the society to assess their footprint and reduce it.

Katalin has experienced the challenges of sustainable development for almost 20 years as well as in industry, as an NGO and also as a consultant, providing diverse view on the issues.

Katalin graduated as MSc in Environmental Technology and Occupational Health in Finland, later also having a decree in Environmental Law in Hungary. She was managing the first ever sustainability report in Hungary (GRI „in accordance”), and has been part of the reporting project for more than 20 reports. She was a member of the first GRI Stakeholder Council, and probably the most experienced user of the GRI Reporting Framework in Hungary. 

She tried several sports, skiing, tennis and cross-country skiing, also including ski orienteering in which she was part of the Hungarian National Team, and participated 4 times at the World Championships. Currently she is a great fan of horse riding.

Katalin is fluent in Hungarian, English and Finnish, and speaks also German.