Birgit Skarstein is a Norwegian Paralympic athlete competing in rowing and Nordic skiing. She is a seven time World Champion in rowing and won a gold medal during the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Skarstein was appointed by the Norwegian government to serve as a member of the Norwegian Board of Biotechnology for five years (2015-2019). She served four years in the Committee of Finance in the Oslo City Council (2015-2019) and has worked for the Norwegian Labour Party’s Parliamentary group.

Skarstein’s has an academic background in political science and welfare politics. She has been elected leader of the board of the Norwegian national organisation Young Disabled and serves as a board member for the Norwegian Ski Federation and The Savings Banks Foundation DNB. She served ten years as a member of the board of the Sunnaas Foundation where she worked on enabling people with disabilities to master their life situation and live good and active lives. She co-founded the Foundation We together with Therese Johaug and Aker ASA, working with empowering people with disabilities.

She has also worked as a TV presenter for several national TV-shows as well as partnering with strategic corporate businesses working on issues as the future of retail. Skarstein is a Global Shaper, an initiative by the World Economic Forum. She is also serving her second term as an elected athlete representative in the International Paralympic Committees global athletes council.