Lea Rüsch is a PhD-Candidate in the field of Organizational Behaviour and Humanitarian Logistics under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Maria Besiou and Prof. Dr. Niels Van Quaquebeke. Her research focuses on the collaboration between humanitarian organisations. Here, she specifically investigates the tension between cooperation and competition as well as the need for power that drive humanitarian actions. Lea currently holds a fellow position in Organisational and Social Psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Lea did her Bachelor in Communication Science and Economics at the Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) in Mainz. During her Master in Organisational and Social Psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), she developed her strong interest in the field of leadership and group dynamics. She earned the Master degree with a distinction. In her PhD thesis, she takes up a behavioural lens on humanitarian operations and was awarded a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. In the context of her studies, she worked as a visiting researcher at the Rotterdam School of Management. Furthermore, she is involved in the Research Institute on Leadership and Operations in Humanitarian Aid (RILOHA), which seeks to create exchange and awareness regarding the challenges in humanitarian aid.

To complement her academic education, Lea used to work in the communications and consultancy sector at international companies such as the ZDF, Deutsche Bank London and Kienbaum Singapore. As a job coach, she provided immigrants with German language and application trainings.