Heleen gains a great personal sense of satisfaction when she is able to make direct improvements in the welfare of animals. As a consultant, she works with corporate, NGO and government clients, applying animal welfare knowledge to achieve improvements to animal’s lives and adding value to the organisation’s work. She has an international reputation for her research and knowledge on animal behaviour and welfare. For more than 30 years, she has been active in this field and has generated both fundamental and applied animal welfare research that has been of direct relevance to policy makers, both at a national and EU level. She has conducted animal welfare policy evaluation and has made recommendations directly to EU member states and stakeholders. She also acquired a degree in companion animal behaviour counselling. Heleen has broad knowledge of the global level of animal welfare standards through her specialist consultancy work, e.g., on the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) and the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW). She has experience with strategic thinking and planning at senior management level in both the charitable and private sectors, and while developing her animal welfare consultancy business. Her core skills include planning, coordination, implementation and achieving objectives as part of project management. Her personal strengths are a great sense of responsibility for her commitments, utilising the unique qualities of individual persons and working with others to achieve a shared goal. Heleen seeks opportunities to broaden the understanding of animal welfare issues. She represents the Netherlands in the World Poultry Science Associations' working group on Poultry Welfare and Management. She is an active member of the 3Ts Network, a global network of stakeholders calling for an end to painful piglet procedures. Heleen is the animal behaviour and welfare specialist on the Board of the Dutch AAP Foundation.

Working with a group of knowledgeable and dedicated global professionals towards ending painful procedures for pigs

As Director of Research Heleen was responsible for progressing the role of science in the work of the organisation. She managed the science team that assisted her with this task.

As a Senior Research Scientist, Heleen’s responsibilities included securing funding for research & consulting and delivering a complicated portfolio of (research) projects in the area of farm animal welfare. She was also responsible for developing the strategy for expanding EU-wide business opportunities for ADAS Animal Health and Welfare division.