Mirjam grew up in Chile and gained her first journalistic experience with the Chilean newspapers El Mercurio and La Estrella in 1988, during Chile’s transformation from a military dictatorship towards a democratic state. She studied journalism and political science at the universities of Eichstätt and Cologne before becoming a freelance journalist for DW-AKADEMIE, DW-TV and DW-RADIO (Spanish). Since 2000, Gehrke has worked as an editor for DW-RADIO (German). Gehrke is most renowned as an expert for Latin American affairs but also has extensive experience in international political development, developmental aid and human rights.