Lydia Malmedie has an interdisciplinary background in political science, human rights, media and comparative literature and organizational sociology. Lydia has published on topics such as sexual orientation and gender, nondiscrimination, EU policies, and advocacy in social work. She completed her doctorate as a member of the Research Training Group on Wicked Problems - Contested Administrations: Knowledge, Coordination, Strategy (WIPCAD) at the Department of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Potsdam, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Prior to academia Lydia worked at Stonewall UK, a human rights organization for LGBT equality. Today, Lydia champions LGBTI issues and rights within the public administration in Berlin, Germany, and is a lecturer in human rights and social work.