Nelleke joins us from the Netherlands where she lives in a tiny remote village in the province of Noord Brabant in a converted farmhouse; the rural home is base for her work as an international management consultant. She has worked and travelled in most continents. Nelleke's career has focussed on change leadership and capability building, first as an employee of a global consultancy firm, later through starting her own consultancy firm, a partnership of ten women, all dedicated to help corporations go through mergers or other impactful changes in corporate culture. The illness and subsequent death of her husband made her realize that she was ready to make a career shift and that she longed for a more meaningful purpose in life. Nelleke has a strong belief that, given the right circumstances, people have a tremendous power to take charge of their own destiny, whether that is in "stifling" corporations or in remote villages. She considers the KIVA fellowship a great opportunity to test and apply her experience and is very much looking forward to the assignment in Kenya.