Ms. Barbara Afanassiev is the President and Co-founder of the German-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. – Philadelphia, as well as the Honorary Consul of Germany in Philadelphia.  A native of Munich, she has been educated in Germany and the United States in the areas of marketing and business administration. 

Prior to her assignment with GACC-Philadelphia, Ms. Afanassiev has held positions with German and American based companies, such as a subsidiary of Thyssen Krupp AG. In addition to her business experience, she has been involved in German language instruction, both in business and in a private institution, for more than 25 years and has co-authored "Jump into German", a curriculum text book. Ms. Afanassiev is committed to education as a vehicle to generating success for business and individuals.

Furthermore, Ms. Afanassiev has served on the board of a number of non-profit organizations, including the German Society of Pennsylvania, the Consular Corps College, the Consular Corps Association - Philadelphia, the Steuben Observance Committee, the Concordia Trust Fund, etc..