Steffie Verstappen

In my work, I try my best to make the world a better place, I do. (Even if in the smallest way, by being thoughtful of the people around me.) Much of my energy tends to go into building a solid understanding of what that means to different people. Which provides for a super-interesting journey in and of itself.

I make an effort to try new things, even if they seem a little random, and shun away from specialization. This keeps me fresh and inspired. What I love to do includes: thinking hard about complicated stories, about how to adequately tell them, and then communicating them in such a way that others are enabled to own the story and translate it into action. The best possible outcome in that case is meaningful social change. Which makes me feel good! What's more, and this may seem redundant (but really, it's not), collaborating with clever and engaging people energizes me more than anything.

My mixed professional background reflects the above: over the years, I have worked in academia and international development assistance -- and more recently, in the cultural creative industry. I have conducted interdisciplinary research and lectured at the University of Amsterdam. Additionally, I have worked for several aid agencies designing and implementing projects and as a policy advisor coordinating research, lobbying and advocacy efforts on a range of important topics. More recently, I have done research, strategy and (copy)writing work in the cultural creative industry on a range of projects and topics.