Olivia studied political science at Bard College in New York and completed an apprenticeship at the “Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung” before moving to Berlin in 1998 to work for the “Berliner Zeitung”, including in the foreign affairs section and later as a US-correspondent. In 2014, she moved to Poland with her husband, a diplomat, and studied photography at the “Warsaw School of Photography and Graphic Design”. She has lived back in Berlin since 2020 and works as a freelance journalist and photographer. 

Encounters with people from different cultures motivated her to first join “Willlkommen in Berlin” as a member of the executive board in 2013. Since her return from Poland, she has co-led a couple of groups such as German Conversation, History and Politics, and Embassies and Residencies.