What do you like most about your job?

The job as EB diversity officer is about promoting awareness, reflection, and action to create a more inclusive, diverse, and fair work and study environment. To me, this is a clear purpose. It’s something that matters for our collective success and to me personally. When it comes to change management, the work can be demanding. But  all the tensions and contradictions you have to address can also be quite stimulating and productive. Something else I really like is that this job enables me to learn from and connect with many different people at all organisational levels.

Which project or research from the past year are you most proud of?

I can’t choose so I’ll mention 2 projects. First, I’m proud of the ongoing professionalisation of recruitment and assessment. This is really a big team effort! The recruitment workshops and updated collection of hiring resources received very positive feedback. Several people have let me know that the tips actually worked in practice. Of course, this is to be expected, since our work research based. But getting such feedback is still reassuring and motivating.

Second, student members of the diversity committee at EB conducted mini-projects to help implement and further improve our diversity policy. These projects provided great insights about the needs and challenges of students who are the first in their family to study at a university, students from the Caribbean Netherlands, accessibility at UvA and EB for students with a disability, and drivers and barriers to ensuring students’ active participation in lectures.

What don’t most colleagues know about you?

Most colleagues probably don’t know that I worked as a journalist and news desk editor before I entered academia, or that one of my dream holiday activities is to go horse riding on a trail. Some have also been surprised that I’m a big fan of all things Nintendo, and especially the game series Zelda.