I’m Erin de Graaf, 29 years old and a psychologist who graduated from Leiden University. Currently I’m working for the Ministry of Defense as a researcher/adviser. My main focus is to research how the people in the military units are doing before and during a mission. We aim to give commanders valuable information about the mental state of the troops. 

> LinkedIn Profile Erin de Graaf

From 1989 until 1995, Eric Povel worked for a number of public affairs consultancies in The Hague as lobby consultant for companies, NGO’s and governmental bodies to represent their interests in The Hague and in Brussels. 

As of May 1995, Eric Povel worked in NATO’s international staff. Firstly as the Netherlands Information Officer in the Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.  

During NATO’s enlargement process in the late 90s, he was also responsible for NATO information activities in some of the new and candidate member states.  

After NATO’s Kosovo air campaign in 1999, Eric Povel also became the media planner for NATO’s yearly Crisis Management Exercise (CMX).  

 As of 1 July 2006, he started working in the NATO Press and Media Section as a press officer to set up the Media Operations Centre (MOC) dealing with Afghanistan. As part of that, he organised and led several tours to Afghanistan for international think-tankers and journalists. He also dealt with all Dutch media aspects for then NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. As of January 2010, he dealt with all media aspects related to major NATO operations, missile defence and many other defence-related issues.  

As of July 2011, Eric Povel was the Strategic Communications Coordinator, heading the PDD StratCom Cell in support of the Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, responsible for all operational and doctrinal StratCom issues at NATO HQ. 

 Since October 2012, he was the Program Officer in the Engagements Section of PDD dealing with NATO Public Diplomacy activities like co-sponsoring and co-organising of in-country seminars and organising and briefing visiting groups to NATO HQ for 7 NATO nations: Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. He also dealt with the communications aspects of the topic of nuclear deterrence.   

Eric Povel retired from NATO as of 1 May 2022 after 27 years of service.  

As a freelance NATO expert, Eric now occasionally supports courses, NATO simulations and trainings organised by the Clingendael Institute for International Relations in The Hague.  

Eric is also a member of The Alphen Group (https://thealphengroup.com/), an informal network of 65 leading strategic thinkers from 16 countries who have come together to consider the future of the transatlantic relationship and European security and defence and do something about it. It is chaired by Prof. Julian Lindley-French. Since December 2022, Eric chairs a family foundation, Stichting Familie Everard, that initiates research into the family history and organises social family events.  

Hobbies are playing golf, attending the home games of Ajax football club, reading books, being an active member of the Rotary Club Tervuren (BE) and of the 40+ club of the Round Table 10 in Haarlem (NL).   

> LinkedIn Profile Eric Povel

As an anthropologist with a passion for human rights and the environment, I am dedicated to forging a future-proof Netherlands. In my role as a climate adaptation policy officer, I operate at a national level to establish an inclusive climate policy. I contribute to themes: inclusive climate action, participation, and effective communication. I work alongside a dedicated team at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water. 

> LinkedIn profile Saskia van Otterloo

I’m Ilse. I studied Child and Family Science (now called Parenting and Child development) at the University of Leiden. I work as a Child Protection worker at Jeugdbescherming West. We supervise families that are under a Child Protection Measure because the safety and/or development of the children is compromised. We try to help families by finding the source of the unsafety and provide the family with the right support to break their pattern of behaviour that causes the unsafety.  

> Linkedin profile Ilse Gerritsma

In my role as an advisor for startups and international talent at the Netherlands enterprise agency (rvo) I help and inform entrepreneurs from abroad on the different entrepreneurial visa regulations and connections with our network. I also help Dutch organizations with hiring international talent. 

> LinkedIn profile Homeyra Abrishamkar

Kim Verburg, member of the board of Prodeba and alumnus of Msc. Education and Child Studies with the specialization Orthopedagogy. 

My journey led me to establish and lead Prodeba together with my sister Judith Wupkes since 2008. Prodeba is dedicated to providing specialized mental health care (SGGZ), outreaching family coaching, combined care groups at schools and sheltered housing to children and young adults with extending support up to 30 years. Our approach at Prodeba is firmly rooted in evidence-based practices, ensuring high standards of care in all stages of the young (adult) life. Our mission is to turn gaps in care into opportunities and possibilities for continuous care lines who are always connected to normal life, such as school, living (as much as) at home and working to the best of one's ability.

> Linkedin profile Kim Verburg

After 20 years in the field of communications, I am now blending my background in this industry with my studies in social anthropology, my expertise in fashion systems, and my writing skills. This diverse range of experiences contributes to my current role as as researcher at the Business Research Centre at Inholland University of Applied Sciences. 

> Linkedin profile Tamara Schoon

Hans is a project director at the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC) where he works on projects on strengthening the rule of law, countering terrorism and diplomacy in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Middle East and North Africa. As Founder and Director of the Young Diplomat he teaches on (international) negotiation and diplomacy, specifically Eastern Europe and its relation with Russia at Oxford University, Leiden University, the Armenian Diplomatic Academy, the College of Europe, and other diplomatic academies and institutions. He trained Israeli and Palestinian Young Professionals in how to conduct a constructive dialogue, developed seminars and skills training on negotiation for various universities and organises an annual summer school and winter seminar on international negotiation for young professionals from all over the world. Previously, Hans was chair of the University Council and lecturer at Erasmus University Rotterdam. 

> Linkedin profile Hans van den Berg

Lina de los Rios Torres is vice president of the youth branch of the Dutch Trade Union FNV. She works on strengthening the labour market position of young workers and combating discrimination in the workplace by organizing and empowering young people to demand better labour conditions. She holds a BSc in Anthropology and Development Sociology from Leiden University and has previously worked as a student union organizer and journalist. 

> Linkedin profile: Lina de los Rios

In my position as Researcher and Advisor, I am working on the connection between science and practice. For instance by sharing knowledge to outside party’s through trainings and presentations, or by conducting research in collaboration with societal parties. One such research is about the barriers that people who are struggling with their personal finances are facing for getting help, which we do in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance. Our mission is to build a bridge between scientists, government and practitioners, regarding psychology and economic behaviour. 

> LinkedIn profile Alien van der Vliet

Suzanne van Uden is working as a behavioral scientist / child psychologist (in Dutch ‘gedragswetenschapper / orthopedagoog) for SeysCentra, a specialized mental health care organization for children and adolescents from 2-18 years old with the eating disorder ARFID (Avoidant / Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). During her workday she helps families to understand the behavior of their child(ren) and to alter the behavior by using different (evidence-based) intervention methods and programs. She completed both the bachelor and Research Master of Education and Child Studies at the University of Leiden. She recently started two post-master studies to become a certified Generalized Behavioral Scientist and Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (in Dutch ‘Orthopedagoog Generalist’ and ‘Cognitief Gedragstherapeut’).

I am a dataspecialist in the healthcare sector. I make applications and do analyses through which I connect doctors with the right data. You could call me a “Data connector”.  

> LinkedIn profile Joram Mossink

My name is Willemien van den Dorpel, and I work as a PhD-candidate at the University of Leiden within the Institute of Education and Child Studies. Before starting my PhD I did the research master ‘Education and Child Studies’, and within this master I specialized in Forensic Youth care. My PhD lies within this same field: the focus is on trauma therapy and attachment based therapy for families with young children (0-6 years old) who reside at a women’s shelter or community shelter after the experience of domestic violence. To do this, we work in close collaboration with shelter organizations. 

> LinkedIn profile Willemien van den Dorpel

I am Simone Loth and I graduated from Leiden University in 2021 with an MSc in Cultural Anthropology & Development Sociology (track: Visual Ethnography). After graduating I started my job as a business analyst at a retail company where I focused on projects and processes within the domain of People & Experience. Examples include the customer journey on the company's website, employee productivity, and employee satisfaction. 

> LinkedIn profile Simone Loth