Gabriele Jacobs is Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Culture at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (ESSB).  Her research interests include: Organizational change, justice and identity, leadership, international public safety management, civic engagement, co-creation, methodology. Since 2024 she is board member of the SSH domein of NWO (Dutch Research Agency).

Gabriele Jacobs is leading the ongoing (2022-27) NWA project AI-MAPS (Artificial Intelligence in Multi-Agency Public Safety), a multidisciplinary research initiative involving over 20 partners from academia, the private and public sectors, and civil society. Previously, from January 2020 to June 2022, she served as Dean of Erasmus University College (EUC). From 2000 to 2019, Gabriele was a faculty member at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam (RSM), where she held the role of Academic Director for the International Business Administration Bachelor Programme (IBA) from 2016 to 2019. She also co-directed the Centre of Excellence on Public Safety Management (CESAM) at RSM from 2014 to 2019.

Gabriele is representing the Erasmus University in the AI Act Advisory Forum. Next to this she is on the Foundation Board of the NGO Arctic Basecamp (science outreach on polar climate change) and on the supervisory board of SKVR (a large educational network for the Arts, based in the Netherlands).   

Gabriele earned her PhD from the University of Münster, Germany, in 1998 as part of a multidisciplinary PhD program funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Between 1992 and 1999, she worked as a researcher and Assistant Professor at the University of Cologne in the Department of Economic and Social Psychology. In 1998, she was a Visiting Professor at HEC Paris in the Department of Human Resource Management. Gabriele frequently presents her work at international conferences and publishes in a variety of academic journals, covering organizational behavior, marketing, management, and applied fields.

She coordinates and participates in several EU projects focused on safety and security and is involved in national research initiatives. From 2016 to 2019, she led the Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliance on "International Security Management," which established sustainable resources and structures to support international security collaborations. This alliance also developed the MOOC "International Security Management," which, by 2026, has attracted over 35,000 learners worldwide. Between 2010 and 2014, she coordinated COMPOSITE (Comparative Police Studies in the EU), an FP7 EU project analyzing change processes within police forces across Europe. Gabriele’s academic passion stems from collaboration and dialogue with interdisciplinary scholars, students, and multi-sector practitioners. She believes academia should actively address societal challenges to promote sustainable and innovative (social and technical) solutions.

Gabriele's household includes a wonderful husband, a son, two daughters, a dog, and an adopted parrot. The dog is also a professional collaborator in dog-assisted intervention (education and research), and together with the parrot provides daily inspiration for one of life's crucial lessons: that listening well, and not assuming others share your priorities in life, is a skill worth practising. The dog also keeps Gabriele honest on the Hoopers field (a canine sport that rewards genuine communication over wishful thinking).

She enjoys travelling, sports, reading, and a deep appreciation for art, particularly photography. The family has what is officially described as a shared hobby of exploring the Netherlands by boat, with home harbour in the rather splendid Biesbosch nature reserve (though Gabriele is the captain, and her talent for recruiting the others aboard remains, let's say, a work in progress.)