Chasing my name...
People often assume because of my name that I am a born and raised Frisian. Nothing could be further from the truth. Born in Rotterdam, raised in the Hoeksche Waard and then Houten, I now live since 2014 in the region of Heerenveen where my name feels very much at home and so do I. Moved north for love, and now living nicely in the countryside with husband and 2 children, with horses and chickens at home, but also forest, school and supermarket within walking distance. Here we won't leave anymore!
My career has also come with some nice twists and turns. After my studies at the HAS in Den Bosch (animal husbandry & animal health care, actually I wanted to study veterinary medicine, but after three years of being eliminated, this seemed a nice alternative) I started working at the Ministry of LNV as a regulation expert at the time of the bird flu epidemic. Later I managed to redirect my career to the commercial and marketing side via a great year as assistant manager at chalet company in the French Alps. Since 2005, I have always worked in marketing for international, commercial companies (Anemone Horse Trucks, 8 years for ACCO Brands, Forward AM {previously Innofil3D} and APH Group). I had just made the decision to go into business for myself, when a fellow villager alerted me to the vacancy of Communications Advisor for the Smart Industry Hub North Netherlands. For that I was willing to change my plans, so I took up this position in mid-March 2022. For those who don't already know: The Hub helps manufacturing companies in the north of the Netherlands move forward in the field of digitalization and Smart Industry.
Furthermore, I like many things, but I have two real passions: horse(riding) and freeriding. From my horse passion my company Froukje4Horses was also born, where I teach a lot, regularly breed a foal and practice the jumping and eventing sport. My freeride passion used to express itself in "Bang as they fall", or if somewhere in the Alps there was a lot of snow, we would jump in the car for a few days of skiing in the deep snow. Nowadays with horses at home and a family, this doesn't just work out anymore. However, during our family ski vacations, I can still really enjoy putting some nice turns in the deep snow.
All in all, I am not a quiet person and love people and some commotion around me, which makes NOM feel like a warm nest to me!