Our team

Shelley is highly motivated to contribute to a livable, enjoyable, and future-proof world. She believes in active and environmentally friendly modes of transport as a key to enable an inclusive society for all. Therefore, she fully embraces the mission of the Dutch Cycling Embassy: Cycling for Everyone. As Project Manager at the Dutch Cycling Embassy, she connects the best of Dutch cycling knowledge, experience, and experts with the rest of the world. Shelley has a background in Human Geography and Urban Planning and holds a teacher’s degree. She is culturally sensitive, open-minded, and always willing to think along or chat about concrete steps that can positively contribute to our surroundings.

As International Relations Manager, Chris brings a diverse set of skills to his role at the Dutch Cycling Embassy, including writing, photography, filmmaking, podcasting, public speaking, and digital media management. He first visited the Netherlands in the summer of 2016, and quickly fell in love with its seemingly effortless bicycle culture, and unique approach to transport planning. This cross-country tour inspired him to co-author the book, “Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality”, which shines a spotlight on the incredible (and often underappreciated) achievements of the Netherlands as the world’s foremost cycling nation. Chris uses his knowledge and passion to share practical lessons for global cities wishing to follow in their tracks, and become better places to live, work, play, and—of course—cycle.

As Project Manager at the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Margot matches questions from abroad regarding cycling mobility with Dutch knowledge and expertise. She works on several topics connected to cycling, such as behavior change, inclusivity, infrastructure and policy. Margot believes it is important to keep a pleasant living environment and sustainability as a starting point for mobility policies. With the idea of ‘Think Big, Think Bike’, we put cycling on the international agenda to create healthy, climate neutral, reachable and livable regions. With a background in Political Science and Human Geography, Margot always approaches mobility projects with a holistic view. At the Dutch Cycling Embassy, we do this with our broad network of Dutch cycling experts. Cooperation and connecting are always at the center of this process. 

Gina first dived into the topic of bicycle mobility during her master’s thesis about bicycle activism and the right to the city in Medellín, Colombia. Her time spent conducting fieldwork in this city has sparked her interest in promoting bicycle mobility. Growing up in the bicycle-friendly environment of The Netherlands, she has experienced first-hand the freedom of movement that the bicycle may offer. With a bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology and currently pursuing a master's in International Development, she has a holistic perspective on urban mobility transformation. Believing in the transformative potential of bicycles in creating sustainable, inclusive, and livable cities, Gina is eager to put her knowledge into practice during her internship at the Dutch Cycling Embassy. She sees this internship as a unique opportunity to explore how locally adapted knowledge exchange can play a role in facilitating positive change in urban mobility.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Elliot moved to the Netherlands to study a masters in Sustainable Development and to experience life in the world’s number one cycling country. Following the completion of his studies, he left with skills in policy analysis, research and leadership, but he could not leave the Netherlands because he felt that the freedom and opportunities provided by Dutch mobility and cycling, offered a quality of life he had not experienced previously. Environments that felt healthier, safer, cleaner and more inclusive. With this realisation, along with experiences provided from bicycle touring in Europe, Elliot is passionate and energised to facilitate the sharing of knowledge regarding cycling and active mobility around the world.

As an event coordinator, Nicole assists the team on projects in the Netherlands and around the world. She organises activities and takes care of things behind-the-scenes. In recent years, Nicole has gained experience in organising international congresses and events. She spent years abroad and lived in places in the world where cycling was not the most obvious means of transport, and that experience made her realise how cycling contributes to a happy and free life, and what it means to her. Therefore, Nicole likes to contribute to the mission of making cities and places in the world greener and liveable.

In 2019, Annika relocated to Utrecht where she was instantly captivated by the city's biking culture. Coming from Canada and having experienced two biking accidents due to the lack of proper infrastructure, she understands the true value of cycling-focused infrastructure planning. With a Creative Business degree from HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, coupled with experience in social media for both businesses and not-for-profit organizations, Annika is determined to utilize her skills to advance the goals of the Dutch Cycling Embassy. As Marketing and Communications Coordinator, she is enthusiastic about sharing the ins and outs of the Dutch biking world through their social media channels.

During his study in International Management, Nout combined his passion for bikes and international trade by exporting vintage road bikes within Europe. Internationally oriented, Nout has an eye for cross-cultural trends and strives for global cooperation to encourage and improve our most healthy, most sustainable and simply most fun way of transportation: by bike!

Nils is passionate about promoting active mobility worldwide to support the transfomation towards more liveable, inclusive and sustainable cities. After moving to the Netherlands, he realised the opportunitites and potential that cycling offers when taken seriously and designing infrastructure right. During his studies at Utrecht University, his personal passion for cycling turned into his research focus looking at sharing knowledge and learnings in the field of urban mobility. In his master thesis he focused on last-mile commute in India analysing the potential of walking and cycling to public transit. He is highly motivated to connect people and transfer knowledge to continuosly improve conditions for active mobility worldwide.

Having lived in six cities in four countries so far, Emma has first hand experience of different approaches to cycling infrastructure and cycling culture. With an academic background in Philosophy and International Relations, and a passion for cycling as sport and sustainable, socially beneficial transport, Emma is dedicated to forging connections that lead to international cooperation in the field of cycling infrastructure, as well as more theoretical issues of equality, inclusivity, cities of the future and climate adaptation. Following an internship at the Dutch Cycling Embassy in 2021, Emma completed a Master’s thesis on the impact of cycling diplomacy on states’ soft power in collaboration with the DCE. As Project Coordinator at the DCE, Emma connects demand for cycling-inclusive mobility from abroad, particularly from Spanish-, French- and German-speaking countries, with Dutch knowledge and expertise. She is looking forward to exploring more of the world by bike!

As the Director of the Dutch Cycling Embassy Skadi is responsible for the strategic development of the public private partnership, as well as the operational and financial activities of the organization. Under delegation of the board, she manages the daily office and the team and coordinates, together with the project coordinators, the Embassy’s various projects that result from incoming requests from all over the world. With a rich background in policy, diplomacy, and strategy, Skadi's international career spans across the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Previously, she served as the Senior Economic Policy Officer at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Miami, Florida. Leveraging this extensive international experience, Skadi and her team are dedicated to assisting public and private organizations in creating the best conditions and solutions for cycling to flourish in countries and cities around the world.