Meet our team

Designer

Abke Geels

Abke heads our department of citizen participation. With her curiosity about what moves people, and talent for connection, she responds to spatial issues with participation, community engagement and placemaking. [email protected]

Academy

Emmy van Thiel – de Nooy

From China to the Netherlands, from strategy to workshop, sharing knowledge and making it accessible in an appropriate form is what makes Emmy's heart beat faster. At Muzus, she leads and builds the Academ(m)y. [email protected]

Designer

Hannah van der Sluijs

Hannah looks for the stories that keep systems in place or set them in motion. She builds on what people already know works and translates that into solutions that fit their needs and everyday lives. [email protected]

Director

Helma van den Berg

Helma is our creative spirit. A doer who takes pleasure in everything, as well as passing it on to others. She enthusiastically works on a plan for your challenge and loves to show you the endless possibilities. [email protected]

Designer

Katja van Heugten

Katja makes things happen. She takes you through the design process and engages you in conversation. She likes to listen to the people she meets on the street and in the neighborhood. [email protected]

Lotte Salome

Lotte is not only a designer but also trained as a behavior change specialist. She always manages to take care of every detail in her projects without losing control of the schedule. [email protected]

Trainer

Lina Li

Lina is passionate about sharing knowledge and translates content into creative learning methods—from workshops to conversation starters—that encourage learning, doing, and feeling. At Muzus Academy, she thrives perfection, inspiring others and herself. [email protected]

Office Manager

Mireille van der Velde

Mireille brings order to the frenzy of creativity. As office manager, she sees bottlenecks before they arise and makes sure everything runs smoothly. This allows the team to fully focus on the research, design and Academy. [email protected]

Designer

Mirte van der Nat

Mirte explores how we can take good care of the world now and later. With her experience in mental health and collaboration within innovation projects, she focuses at Muzus on designs that improve people's everyday lives. [email protected]

Founder

Neele Kistemaker

Neele is always ready for your challenge. With her curious attitude, you can be sure that the core of the problem will be solved. At the same time, she takes care of the team so that everyone functions optimally. [email protected]

Designer

Rins Lindeman

Rins brings a sense of calm and enjoyment to the design process. Dedicated, meticulous, and with a genuine understanding of people, he ensures that ideas are not only accurate on paper but also work in practice. You'll find him working as a facilitator or creator at Muzus Academy. [email protected]

Intern

Robin van der Linden

Robin studies Communication and Multimedia Design at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and is doing her internship at Muzus. She’s discovering the power of creative research: going out into the streets with props, visual tools, and carts to explore social challenges. [email protected]

Designer

Noortje Kwakernaak

Noortje is social designer, so listening is no stranger to her. With this expertise, she always knows how to give the results of her research a positive spin. [email protected]

Rachel Rietdijk

Rachel likes to be fully informed. She is so deep into the material that she always comes up with both accurate and surprising answers. Is she facilitating your meeting? Then you can comfortably relinquish control. [email protected]

Designer

Wouter Wullems

Wouter moves between strategy and imagination. For him, every design starts with listening. He explores the stories behind behaviour and translates them into designs that challenge, invite, and connect. [email protected]

Founder

Sanne Kistemaker

Sanne does what she promises and makes sure the social heart of Muzus keeps beating. Making an impact is her middle name, and she prefers to do this in large consortia with all sorts of creative partners. So that we can learn to live together. [email protected]

Senior designer

Elise Marcus

Elise is our multidisciplinary art director with a background in social design. She uses her creative talent to make the invisible visible and to convert complex issues into clear, accessible designs. [email protected]

Designer

Simone van Noord

Simone is our creative jack-of-all-trades, concept thinker, designer and maker with a fascination for people and their behavior. This go-getter doesn't stop until the story is complete. [email protected]