The Executive Board is the guiding body of GFCNI, responsible for representing the foundation to the outside world in both legal and practical matters. Comprising two members, it provides strategic leadership and oversees the foundation’s overall direction. The Executive Board is tasked with developing management policies, guiding the organization’s long-term planning, and ensuring that resources are used responsibly to achieve the foundation’s mission. It also oversees the allocation of funds, approves major projects, and reports annually to the Trustee Board on the foundation’s activities and financial stewardship.
Serving in an honorary capacity, the members of the Executive Board do not receive any salary or compensation for their role. Their primary focus is large-scale planning and setting the vision and strategies that drive GFCNI forward.
Chairwoman of the Executive Board and Member of the Trustee Board
Silke Mader is the Co-Founder and Chairwoman of the Global Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (GFCNI),Chairwoman of the Executive Board (“vertretungsberechtigter Vorstand” in German), and a member of the Trustee Board. A dedicated advocate for maternal and newborn health, she has spent over two decades working to improve care for preterm and sick infants and their families worldwide.
Her commitment to neonatal care stems from personal experience. In 1997, her twins were born at just 25 weeks, and due to inadequate care, one of them tragically passed away. Facing a lack of support, public awareness, and accessible information, she became determined to change the system.
She began her advocacy in 1999, first leading a local parent group in Munich, then becoming Chairwoman of the German umbrella organization “The Preterm Born Child e.V.” in 2003. She later left her teaching career – where she specialized in linguistic support for migrant children and remedial education – to co-found EFCNI (European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants), the first pan-European organization dedicated to neonatal health. Under her leadership, EFCNI has now evolved into GFCNI, reflecting a global approach to improving newborn care.
Silke has been instrumental in developing international standards for newborn care and collaborating with organizations such as the World Health Organization. She has worked alongside healthcare professionals and policymakers to drive awareness, influence policy, and create resources for families.
Her work has earned her numerous honors, including:
She has also served as an Honorary Lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, since 2014.
As Chairwoman of GFCNI, she continues to advocate for every baby to receive the right care at the right time in the right place.
Nicole Thiele is the Vice Chair of the Executive Board at GFCNI (“vertretungsberechtigter Vorstand” in German). The Executive Board serves as the external legal representative for the foundation.
Nicole joined EFCNI in early 2010. She holds a diploma as European Secretary/ESA and speaks German, English, French, and Spanish. Nicole earned her university degree in Economics, Management, and Business Administration and graduated as a certified Specialist in Public Affairs from Quadriga University. She further enhanced her expertise by completing the European Patient’s Academy on Therapeutic Innovation (EUPATI) Patient Training Course on Medicines Research and Development, becoming a EUPATI Fellow in 2018. Her years in Paris provided her with extensive experience in various roles within multinational companies.
On a personal level, Nicole is deeply committed to preventing preterm birth and advancing individualized, developmentally supportive care along with parental empowerment. Having experienced the challenges of an extremely preterm birth in her own family over 40 years ago, she is passionate about giving every baby the best possible start in life.
Nicole is also an accomplished writer, serving as author, co-author, and co-editor of various informational materials, brochures, fact sheets, articles, and reports on topics related to maternal and newborn health.
GFCNI is the first global organization and network to unite patients, families, healthcare professionals,
medical staff, and scientists from different disciplines, fields,
and countries – all with the joint goal of advancing the health and quality of care for newborns and their families across the globe.
GFCNI is a non-profit organization established under German public law. Tax Reference Number: 143/235/22619
GFCNI
Hofmannstr 7a
Munich
Germany
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