I grew up in Lelystad in the Netherlands, a new town built on reclaimed land in the former Zuiderzee, now known as the IJsselmeer.

From 1985 to 1990 I attended the University of Amsterdam where I studied urban planning. As part of my studies, I made a field trip to New York and visited the Cooper Square Committee, a community group on the Lower East Side. That organization was established in 1959 in opposition to a Robert Moses urban renewal plan. Cooper Square, under guidance of planner Walter Thabitt, developed its own alternate plan, which was eventually accepted by the city.

Two years later, I and fellow student Josja van der Veer, returned to New York with a grant from the Fund for the City of New York. We researched different approaches to the rehabilitation and management of the city-owned in rem housing stock and worked with the Cooper Square Committee to develop one of the first tenant-run mutual housing associations in the United States. The MHA concept was loosely modeled on Dutch housing corporations, which build and operate low cost housing.

In 1990 I began working for Middelkoop and Partners, later renamed DE LIJN, a planning firm in Amsterdam. In 1994 I became partner. The firm was led by myself and Ad Hereijgers, in 2001 Guido Wallagh joined us. In 2002 we founded New Amsterdam Development Consultants in New York. Under my leadership, DE LIJN shifted emphasis from research and policy studies to planning and project management.

In 2003 I worked with the Regional Plan Association on a series of professional exchanges, providing New York planners and developers an in depth look at the redevelopment of the Amsterdam waterfront, particulary as it might serve as a source of inspiration for the revitalization of the Brooklyn waterfront. A delegation of New York City officials took part in the exchange including Amanda Burden, the City Planning Commissioner.

From 2004-2006 I served as a development director for the Amsterdam office of Bouwfonds MAB, one of the largest housing and mixed-use developers in the Netherlands, also active throughout Europe. Most recently, I managed a number of large multi-faceted projects in the Amsterdam region.

In January 2007, I moved with my family to New York, and I currently serve as the Assistant District Manager for Manhattan Community Board 4 (Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen.

LINKS:
www.bouwfonds.com
www.delijn.nl
www.nadcny.com
www.coopersquare.org