Britta Bookhagen holds a masters and a PhD in geology. She focused on geoscience outreach and education at MIT, Boston University and Vienna Natural History Museum before concentrating on mineral raw materials and sustainable resources at IASS Potsdam. In 2015, she joined the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), which is part of BGR. Since November 2021 she has been heading the new unit for secondary raw materials at DERA.