Michelle Provoost (Director of the International New Town Institute)
Dr. Michelle Provoost is an architectural historian specialised in urban planning history, postwar architecture and contemporary urban development. She co-founded the office of Crimson Architectural Historians in 1994, and has been the Director of the International New Town Institute (INTI) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, since 2008. Under her direction, INTI has grown into an internationally known center for education and research relating to New Towns.
Dr. Provoost is the head editor of the INTI publications. She teaches at various universities in the Netherlands and abroad and continues to be in great demand as a public speaker. She lectures regularly throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States, and has been involved in many municipal, national and private committees and juries.
Raymond van der Sluijs, head of the urban management department, Municipality of Nissewaard
Raymond van der Sluijs is an Experienced Head Of Department (urban management) with a demonstrated history of working in the government. Skilled in Public Sector, Management, Leadership, Economic Geography, Government, and Governance. Strong operations professional with a double academic background.
He tries to connect human geography with challenging issues within the local government.
Marc Weerts City manager & town clerk, Municipality of
Nissewaard
Marc has a legal background and an origin as an attorney at law with a law firm in Rotterdam. Since 2002 he became affiliated with local government and had several jobs within the municipality of Spijkenisse and later Nissewaard. He started as legal adviser and later on switched to management positions at the legal department and the policy department. As such he has attended earlier meetings of the former European New Town Network. He has developed a special interest in local government and in particular for Nissewaard with its interesting physical and social structures as a new town. As a manager Marc was involved in the merger of the municipalities of Bernisse and Spijkenisse into the new Nissewaard.
The last four years Marc served as City manager/ town clerk at Nissewaard. The relevance of the greater Rotterdam area for Nissewaard is as elementary as it is extensive. Therefore as chairman Marc presides the gathering of the 15 city managers of the greater Rotterdam Area since 2017.
Helena Casanova, architect, urban planner and landscape architect
Helena is Spanish. Since the year 2000 she is registered as an architect at the Dutch Architects Register. She is also a member of the Spanish Association of Landscape Architects (AEP). In 2001 she founded, together with Jesus Hernandez, Casanova + Hernandez architects, urban planners and landscape architects. The Agency has been awarded in several international competitions. In 2018 she has been guest professor at the University of Navarra, Spain. She has also been a guest at educational institutions such as the Berlage Institute, TU Delft, Lebanese American University, Chalmers School of Architecture at Gothenburg, Architecture University in Shenzhen.
She was co-founder and board member of the new Europan NL organization.
Carine van der Horst, "Thuis in de Wijk" Programme manager
Drs. Carine van der Horst, MCA is an experienced change manager specialized in issues within the local government. As a child she herself grew up in a New Town, namely Nieuwegein. After her History studies she worked as an organizational consultant within the municipality of Utrecht on metropolitan issues. Today she is working as a program manager of the project "Thuis in de Wijk" (Home in the Neighborhood) for the municipality of Nissewaard.
Femke Kaulingfreks, researcher
Femke Kaulingfreks has been a lecturer in Youth and Society at the knowledge
center "De Gezonde Samenleving" since March 2018. In her research work she addresses complex social issues concerning the relation youth, education and employment, being the empowerment of the youngsters a central topic of her investigation. In her study it is outlined how informal and professional assistance can come together and reinforce each other. This results in reports and methodological advices for professionals on both sectors: youth and education.
Maarten de Booi, CEO of De Leeuw van Putten
Maarten is CEO of De Leeuw van Putten, a housing association that manages around 4000 homes, shops, business spaces and social real estate in Spijkenisse. De Leeuw van Putten is primarily a social housing association. Maarten works in order to create networks and alliances with local stakeholder as an essential part of a modern social housing model.
