Dr. Wagner is a political scientist by training. In her dissertation, she analysed trans-border societal relations as a factor in the foreign policy of the nation-states. Throughout her later career, she stayed with transnational relations mainly working from the more practical side. Working for the Berlin City government's European and international relations and for a German American journalist exchange programme, she participated in deepening European integration and renewing the transatlantic societal relations after German unification. Later on, she was for more than ten years the Secretary General of the German United Nations Association. In this function she linked German societal groups to the discussions on the global level and vice versa. Her extensive UN knowledge and network are also assets in her present role as Global Young Academy’s Managing Director as the academy aims at policy advice addressing a wide variety of global challenges.

As a sideline position Dr. Wagner teaches political sciences at Martin-Luther University in Halle (Saale), Germany.