NGOsTen years on, GSBTB has grown to hosting more than 80 monthly activities and welcoming 18,000 annual participants and volunteers. With a variety of creative and educational activities available, these spaces aim to provide participants with a supportive environment where they can build community, express themselves, and learn from each other. For example, the Open Hearts Space is a creativity-centered environment that includes art events, language cafés specifically for women and mothers, and self-development meetings for teenage girls from migrant or refugee backgrounds.
You can read more about our achievements and impact in the 10 Year Impact Report.
Give Something Back to Berlin
In 2012 Annamaria founded Give Something Back to Berlin, an NGO dedicated to fostering community among migrants, refugees, and local residents to fight xenophobia and anti-migrant discourse by focusing on the urban impact of migration and developing creative programs through food, music, language, and art. The organization follows the philosophy that integration should be a two-way process where newcomers and established Berliners actively participate in each others’ communities and learn from and with each other.
GSBTB has become an internationally acclaimed best practice, awarded with over 12 German and global prizes from institutions including the UN and the city of Berlin. The organization has hosted visits from prominent figures, including Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, the King and Queen of Sweden, German ministers such as Franziska Giffey and Katarina Barley, and Germany's First Lady, Elke Büdenbender. GSBTB’s work has been featured in various internationally acclaimed publications, including Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera.
Stories from the Beauty Parlor
Annamaria is also the founder and CEO of Stories from the Beauty Parlor, a multi-disciplinary storytelling and fundraising platform that amplifies the voices of women* and LGBTQIA+ individuals worldwide. The organization’s mission is to leverage the $690 billion beauty industry to support feminist initiatives and women’s* causes, groups that receive only 1 to 2% of global philanthropic and donor funding.
Founded in 2023, Stories from the Beauty Parlor has now highlighted stories from Kosovo, Georgia, Morocco, Ukraine, and Romania. Through our podcast, social media, and visual campaigns, we merge beauty content with activist storytelling to challenge stereotypes and inspire collective action. By hosting fundraisers and community events, Stories from the Beauty Parlor fosters connection, resilience, and empowerment.
Stories from the Beauty Parlor Podcast
Hosted by Annamaria alongside Pamela Chomba, each episode of the podcast unfolds as an intimate portrait of a beauty parlor and the women* who work there. Through these stories, listeners gain insight into diverse cultures and customs, all centered around the universal theme of women* wanting to look and feel their best. As a space that is both private and communal, the beauty parlor provides a window into deeper topics, blending feel-good content with rich, insightful storytelling.
The podcast shares narratives about complex, globally relevant issues, humanizing individuals from communities otherwise misrepresented by a single, oversimplified political narrative. The goal is to bridge the gap between traditional beauty media and the activist sphere. With a “feel good, do good” approach, the podcast works to raise awareness of the issues explored in each episode, building a global community that champions women*’s stories.