International secretariat
The Friends of the Earth International secretariat supports and strengthens our international campaigns and global network of environmental activist groups. The small team, based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, supports the federation with coordination, monitoring and evaluation, fundraising, financial management and capacity building and communications.
Myra de Bruijn
Operations Manager
Myra de Bruijn is the Operations manager since 2025. Previously, she was Regional Programmes Facilitator. Her role was to guide the federation’s southern regions in their planning and monitoring processes. After living in Haiti for eight years, Myra moved back to the Netherlands in August 2014 and started with Friends of the Earth International as a fundraiser. She is passionate about tackling systemic causes of injustices around the world. Locally, she is part of a farming cooperative in an area called the ‘Green Heart of Holland’, working to transition towards democratic and sustainable food systems from the ground up. Myra has extensive programme and contract management experience from various international NGOs. She holds degrees in European Public Administration, International Relations, and Conflict Studies and Human Rights, and is proficient in five languages.
Hesti Maharini
Financial Grant Manager
Hesti joined the team in March 2023. She is responsible for financial monitoring and accounting of donor grants. She also manages internal subgrants, membership fees, and the grant database system. Hesti previously worked as grant manager for Clean Clothes Campaign in Amsterdam and program officer/grant manager for ICCO Cooperation South East Asia Regional Office in Bali, Indonesia. She holds a Bachelor degree in forestry management and MSc in watershed and coastal planning management. She is Indonesian and in her private time she volunteers for a human rights defenders organisation, reads books and spends time with her son exploring new playgrounds or restaurants.
Willie Meester
Human Resources Officer
Willie Meester joined the Friends of the Earth International secretariat as Human Resources Officer in October 2018, following four years living and working in Thailand. She has studied Hospitality Management, Communications and Human Resource Management and has held various HR roles. Willie lives in Amsterdam, where she also runs a coaching and holistic health practice working with clients to boost their overall performance, health and wellbeing.
Mara Hotiu
Events Coordinator
Mara Hotiu joined us in September 2021 as our Events Coordinator, overseeing a variety of FoEI events, ranging from International meetings and conferences to participation at the United Nations events and negotiations. Mara is also our Security Officer, who advises the ExCom on security challenges, developing risk assessments and proposing risk reduction measures, ensuring that we are working within an environment consistent with accepted minimum safety and security standards. She considers herself a firm believer in global justice with a strong passion for human rights and environmental equity. She holds an MSc in Public International Law (Human Rights) and in her private time, she is active in the areas of sustainability and the right to a living wage for garment workers.
Ewa Pintera
EU Finance Manager
Ewa joined the team in September 2024 as the Financial Grant Manager for the project “People’s Power to Drive Transformative and Sustainable Solutions,” financed by the European Commission. She has 16 years of experience in project and financial management within the humanitarian and development aid sectors. Previously, she worked for four years as a Finance Analyst at the Belgium-based organisation Impact Europe, in a project supporting social entrepreneurship in Eastern Neighborhood countries. Ewa holds a Master’s degree in International Relations, Cooperation and Development, as well as a Postgraduate degree in the Evaluation of EU Funded Programs. Originally from Poland, Ewa has been based in Brussels for the past four years.
Tasleem Mazhar
EU Project Manager
Tasleem joined the International Secretariat of FoEI in January 2025 as Project Manager for the “People’s Power to Drive Transformative and Sustainable Solutions” project, financed by the European Commission. She provides overall management, facilitation and execution of the project across 67 countries. Tasleem previously worked in programme management and advisory roles with international rights-based organisations such as Oxfam Novib, RNW Media and ActionAid International. She holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies, having majored in Human Rights, Gender and Conflict, from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. Prior to this, she also obtained a Master's in Sociology.
Fieke Jagers
International Programme Officer - Climate justice and energy
Fieke joined in September 2018, as the International Programme Officer for the Climate Justice and Energy programme and the Economic Justice Resisting Neoliberalism programme. She previously worked as a Programme Officer for ActionAid. She holds BAs in Cultural Anthropology & Sociology and Fine Arts, and a MSc in International Development.
Kaetlyn Roberts
International Programme Officer - Forests and biodiversity
Kaetlyn joined in November 2021 as the International Programmes Officer for Forests & Biodiversity and Food Sovereignty. She has 15 years of experience working with issues of social justice and human rights for organisations including ActionAid, Transparency International and IRC. She is specialised in grant management and coordination of global and multi-country programmes, programme development and fundraising. Kaetlyn holds a bachelor degree in Government and International Relations and languages, and a Masters in Development Studies. She is Australian and lives in the Netherlands.
José María Iglesias
International Programme Officer - Food sovereignty
José María Iglesias (May) joined in May 2024 as the International Program Officer for Food Sovereignty. He has a long-standing commitment with social movements and civil society organizations. Since 2005 he has been living and working in different countries in both the global south and north. Bachelor in Sociology and MSc in Development Studies, with more than 15 years of experience in managing all stages of programs and projects: identifying needs, liaising with local and international organizations, obtaining and managing funding, organizing events, facilitating planning, monitoring, reporting, evaluation and learning.
Laura Wu
International Fundraising Coordinator
Laura is the international fundraising coordinator of the federation since March 2025. Laura brings experience in fundraising, project management, monitoring and evaluation and donor management. An Australian living in Amsterdam, she has worked together with Indigenous and refugee communities across a range of social justice issues.
Olivia Ronsain
International Fundraising officer
Olivia Ronsain has been the International Fundraising officer of the federation since January 2026. Before joining FoEI, she worked for 13 years in communications, largely in the public and non-profit sectors. In the last five years at the Paris School of Economics, she led international communication campaigns, including the Global Tax Evasion Report campaign in 2023 and the World Inequality Report campaign in 2021 for the World Inequality Lab, co-directed by Thomas Piketty. Olivia is French and holds two master’s degrees, in economics and in international relations. In her free time, she enjoys sailing, hiking, and advocating for social and climate justice that is both feminist and anti-racist.
Loreto de Amunátegui
Internationalist Solidarity System facilitator
Loreto de Amunategui joined the Friends of the Earth International family in July 2011, working as Events Coordinator for more than 5 years. In 2013, she joined the Human Rights Defenders working team, then in January 2017 she moved to the International Membership Development team. She was also the Environmental Human Rights Defenders Project Manager in APAC region from 2017 to 2019. In 2020, Loreto was appointed as Internationalist Solidarity System Officer, working closely with regional focal points to give an internationalist response to the current political context and support defenders of territories and peoples' rights. She is very passionate about her work towards system change and fighting social, gender, economic and environmental injustices through organising and mobilising peoples’ power. Originally from Spain, she has been based in Amsterdam for more than a decade.
Natalia Carrau
Gender justice and dismantling patriarchy facilitator
Natalia joined the International Secretariat in May 2023 with the task of facilitating the “Gender justice and dismantling patriarchy” group at FoEI. She has been part of REDES - Friends of the Earth Uruguay since 2007 where she works on issues related to economic justice, transnational corporations and free trade agendas. She has a degree in Political Science but has learned a great deal from her social, trade union and feminist activism. In Uruguay she has worked closely with trade union organisations and feminist organisations. From Friends of the Earth Uruguay she has learned about the perspectives and programmatic work of the Federation and the importance of strengthening the links between these agendas and with other social movements.
Sophie Manson
Membership Development Officer
Sophie returned to Friends of the Earth International in January 2023, after previously working here from 2016 to 2019. She has a long history of working with Friends of the Earth in the fields of membership development and capacity building, having also been a Young Friends of the Earth Europe coordinator, the European School of Sustainability coordinator, and a local activist. Sophie is originally from Wales and is passionate about education, movement building and participatory processes. In her spare time she enjoys working in her community vegetable garden.
José Elosegui
Real World Radio Coordinator
José Elosegui has been a journalist at Real World Radio since July 2004 and the Radio Coordinator since early 2018, when he officially became part of Friends of the Earth International's Communications Team. He holds a degree in Communication Sciences from the University of the Republic of Uruguay. With the radio, he has always followed the agenda of several social movements and organisations from different parts of the world and our member groups. Within Friends of the Earth International, José has also worked in the Economic Justice Resisting Neoliberalism programme and co-coordinated the Climate Justice and Energy programme of the Latin America and the Caribbean (ATALC) region.
Ghislaine Fandel
Communications Officer
Ghislaine joined the Commmunications team in August 2023. Her work involves web and social media content, press, supporting member groups and regions and communications strategy building. Originally from the United States but now based in France, she has been a science communicator and climate justice activist for several years with a particular focus on the oil and gas industry and the nexus of capitalism, (neo)colonialism, patriarchy and the climate and ecological crisis. She holds a BA in Economics and an MSc in Sustainable Development.
Lucas Swiegot
Membership Communications Facilitator
Lucas joined the communications team in February 2025. His work involves developing the federation’s communications capacity as well as adding communications value for member groups. Lucas brings experience in facilitation, training and coordination of consortium mobilising young people on climate justice and gender. A French national, he has called the Netherlands home for the past three years.