About me

About my previous life:

In 1947 I was born in Nederweert in the Southern province Limburg of the Netherlands. After graduating from High school I moved to Tilburg to study at an arts and craft school. I failed the theory exam – in 1969 – was more interested in the actions for more democracy going on in the country.
I moved to Delft and started working parttime at Delft University of Technology- Faculty of Architecture and besides I studied Labor market policy (now HRM). I was active in the democracy movement as well. Almost every student was male in those days. I was chosen for a seat in the Faculty Council for the so called non-scientific personnel followed by a seat in the faculty board for two years: the first woman ever in a board at that University.

My portfolio was HRM and communication. Shortly after that the number of students increased enormously as a result of the baby boom after WWII: from 350 to 3000 students including lots of female students. I was asked to start a communications-office.

After finishing my part time study I worked at the Employment Office in Rotterdam for a while, followed by 8 years as a conference developer on HRM.

August 1st 1976 I became the first payed National Ombudswoman in The Hague, till than a volunteers Foundation. The aim of the Foundation was improving the situation of women at the job market and improving equal treatment. We were supported by women in politics: the so called Kamerbreed Vrouwen overleg KVO (womens consultation in parliament- only 12 women in total those days) and regularly wrote a column in Opzij, a feminist magazine.

After that I became conference developer HRM at Elsevier, an academic publishing company where I also was leading the so called pre-master school HRM.

After a burnout of a couple of years my next job was communication consultant for deputies of the Province Zuid-Holland.

In the year I turned 57, former minister of Inner Affairs, Remkes, was convinced the civil service became ‘to grey’ and from 57 on civil servants could get early retirement. That was great for me and I decided to return to Limburg. Actually I didn’t like to leave Rotterdam, the city I lived over 25 years but I really preferred to return to the countryside.

I found a great little house – plus garden- in the village Cadier en Keer, part of the municipality Margraten. I spend my time painting, writing and hiking.

My second career:
In 2008 a National project started: ‘Heritage of WW2: Eyewitness stories in relation to the celebration of the 65th year of liberation of the country in September 2009.

Part of it was a course in ‘oral history’ and with the local heritage organization the project ‘Fields of Margraten’ started.

We decided to collect interviews on film with farmers who had experienced unannounced how thousands dead bodies were brought to their acres by the American Army to be buried. That were victims of Normandy and of the Battle of the Bulge. A huge American Cemetery was developed by the ABMC.

Little later I found out the US Army was segregated. That marked my work till May 2023.

See Publications and Spin offs.