About the Foundation

Foundation Board

The Foundation for the Third Millennium was founded in 1997 by Ann C. Zulliger and Hans-Rudolf Zulliger. The Board is the principal body of the Foundation and is responsible for the strategic management of the Foundation.

Deborah E. Zulliger

Board member
Chair

Focus points: Environmental issues, sustainable development, social justice, research, sustainable resource management.

Education:
Diploma in Natural Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ).
Post-diploma course in Spatial Informationsystems, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ).
PhD in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Post-doctoral fellowship in ecological genetics, WSL Birmensdorf.
DAS in spatial planning, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ).

Activities:
Planning and consulting in sustainable development as well as climate, energy and environmental issues. Research on biodiversity, speciation and the adaptation of organisms to climate change. Mother of three children. Scientific scuba diver. President of the Board of the Foundation for the Third Millennium.

Ann C. Zulliger

Board member

Focus points: Agent for Change, adult education, consciousness development, environmental concerns, networking, spirituality, dialogue and group dynamics.

Education:
BA cum laude and MA in German Language and Literature from Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. Minor in Humanities Special Programs, Junior College Teaching Credential. Certificate in environmental consulting from the Swiss branch of the WWF (1992). Certificate in meditation course leadership from the Evangelical-Reformed Church of Canton Zurich (2001).

Activities:
Volunteer worker in the educational program of the Creative Initiative Foundation (Palo Alto, California) and in the work of its successors from 1968 – 2013. Resident in Switzerland since 1978. Married. Two adult children.
Co-founder – together with her husband Hans R. Zulliger – of the Stiftung Drittes Millennium (Foundation for the Third Millennium) and the discussion group for dialogue and consciousness development Neues Denken (New Thinking).
Member of the leadership team of Beyond War, e.V., Germany.
Author of environmental information columns for the monthly publications of the American Women’s Club of Zurich and the Zurich International Women’s Association.
Zen student. Volunteer translator (German/English) and discussion group facilitator/moderator.

Martin A. Zulliger

Board member

Focus points: Awareness raising for sustainability, 3rd world development, education, health & disability and improving the opportunities for disadvantaged children.

Education:
After receiving a diploma in physics from ETH Zurich, Martin Zulliger earned a PhD in biomechanics at ETH Lausanne before he did research work in molecular biophysics as a post-doctoral fellow at Osaka University, Japan.

Activities:
Back in Switzerland, Martin worked in research & development in the medical technology industry and supported customers in development projects. At the same time he earned a CAS in Management at University St. Gallen.
Since 2019, Martin Zulliger is self-employed as a consultant for radically customer-oriented innovation. This allows him to merge and relay his very diverse interests and experiences.

Hans-R. Zulliger

Board member

Focus points: Sustainability, renewable energies, management, environmental issues, consciousness development, dialogue, group dynamics and spirituality.

Education:
Precision Mechanic, BS in Electrical Engineering in Switzerland, MS in Nuclear Engineering and PhD in Nuclear Instrumentation at Stanford University, California. Various courses in Management and Technology.

Activities:
Lectures and Speeches about sustainability and consciousness development. Member of the Board of the Foundation for the Third Millennium. Author of the book «Gaias Vermächtnis, Plädoyer für eine integrale Weltsicht» («Gaia’s legacy. An appeal for an integral world view»).

Former Activities:
Leading positions in various internationally active hi-tech companies. Served over 20 years in various commissions for the Swiss federal government concerned with technology and energy issues.
2001 – 2007 Member of the Investment Council of the Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) Private Equity Group.
2003 – 2006 Member of the International Advisory Board of the Alliance for Global Sustainability for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ). Retired.
Co-founder – together with his wife Ann C. Zulliger – of the Stiftung Drittes Millennium (Foundation for the Third Millennium) and the discussion group for dialogue and consciousness development Neues Denken (New Thinking). Member of the board of Beyond War, e.V., Germany.

Awards:
Honorary Doctorate from the University of Neuenburg (Switzerland) in Natural Science for his work promoting technology research in Switzerland, for his entrepreneurial achievements und his personal contributions to the development of the Natural Sciences and humankind.

Nicola Blum

Nicola Blum

Board member

Focus points: Circular economy, sustainable and technological innovation, entrepreneurship, rural electrification in the global south.

Education:
CAS scientific journalism at the maz in Lucerne
Post-doctorate on circular economy
Doctorate on innovations for sustainable development in rural electrification in Southeast Asia, ETH Zurich
Advanced teaching degree, ETH Zurich
MSc in Management, Technology and Economics, ETH Zurich
BSc in Mechanical Engineering, ETH Zurich.

Activities:
Nicola is a lecturer on Social Innovation and Circular Economy at the Bern University of Applied Sciences and at ETH Zurich. Before that she researched on technological innovation, sustainability and entrepreneurship at ETH. She was also part of the Impact Hub Zurich’s leadership team for four years and helped build an ecosystem for sustainable startups in Zurich.

Ursula Eichenberger

Board member
Deputy chair

Focus points: Oceans, animals and their habitats, interdependence between human behavior and the environment, economic development, education.

Education:
Economist (lic.oec.), Zurich University.
Cert. Webpublisher, EB Zurich.

Activities:
Professional experience in business organization, accounting, controlling and reporting in several companies. Former director of the Foundation for the Third Millennium. Owner of a small consulting company.