Our Team
Nele Claeys
Friends say that she’s the most curious one among them. It is this curiosity that made her decide to take a Master’s degree in African Studies and – as a result of working on her master thesis – become familiar with discourse analysis. Her professional background is related to communication and guiding participatory processes. With a touch of HR.
Nele worked for the NGO Rikolto as international communications coordinator. It was through her work at Rikolto that she got to know SenseMaker, its empowering aspect of sharing personal stories and its added value in communicating about social impact.
Together with Steff Deprez, she founded Voices That Count in 2018. Since then, she steered several Large-Scale Listening, PhotoVoice and other participatory processes both in Africa and in Europe.
Nele lives in Ghent, Belgium, and can often be found in one of the coffee bars enjoying a special cup of Kivu coffee and reconnecting with the amazing people and nature in this part of Africa.
Steff Deprez
Steff has a passion for developing and applying practical, hands-on monitoring and decision-making methodologies. As an international development practitioner, he specialises in the design and rollout of complexity-aware monitoring systems. His work is inspired by the principles and practice of Outcome Mapping, Outcome Harvesting and SenseMaker.
Steff has lived and worked in Zimbabwe and Indonesia, supporting educational and agricultural development programmes. He is now based in Belgium (Leuven) and helps organisations and companies with action research, monitoring and impact assessments using outcome-based and narrative sensemaking approaches.
Always up for a chat, sharing ideas or making plans at Mister Bean in Leuven or Brewdog in Brussels.
Claudia Van Gool Maldonado
Claudia has a communications background and holds a Master’s degree in Cultures and Development Studies. She has been involved with SenseMaker since 2012, especially in Youth Empowerment and Value Chain/Inclusive Business, when she worked for the international NGO Rikolto in South America.
Claudia is experienced in training and in coordination of data collection at community level and in remote areas (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Uganda), as working with and for people is what she enjoys most.
Based in Lima, Peru, she likes to work and relax at Tostaduría Bisetti (great coffee) and el Cacaotal (amazing chocolate). Coffee and chocolate are not just a gastronomic passion for her, however, as she is committed to making these value chains more sustainable and profitable for producers, and enhancing excellence in both products.
Els Meersschaert
Before joining Voices That Count, Els has worked over 20 years in the cultural, youth and social sector in Belgium. Gradually she discovered her passion for participatory processes. She explored the fields of organisational development, quality management, training processes, working with volunteers, writing etc. Throughout the years she got convinced of the power of connection between people. She really likes to work with groups, to build a common dream that lives in the members of a community, a team, a company, an organisation.
Creating connection through meaningful conversations, making visible the individual and collective intelligence that is present in a group, and jointly discovering and appreciating what works… this is what gives her energy. To do this, she usually starts from the stories of people, the moments they lived, and the meaning these stories have for them.
Always on the move. With people. That’s how Els lives her life. Always ready to meet for a chat, good food, a coffee or a drink.
Maarten Goethals
In 2014, Maarten founded Alter.Today to conduct action research into how collaboration can lead to societal transitions. This brought him into various complex multi-stakeholder contexts where different interests such as agriculture, nature, industry, citizen interests, and various policy levels converge. He always takes a position that is independent of the content
and is very outspoken about the quality of the collaboration processes.
“Creating clarity in complex collaborations” is the most common compliment about his work.
In 2025, Maarten joins the core team of Voices That Count. With this new impetus, VTC expands its area of action from impact measurement and strategy development to facilitating impact-driven collaborations. Today, VTC can support and strengthen organizations throughout the entire check-plan-do cycle.
Maarten lives in rural Sinaai in the Waasland region. You can find him every Sunday evening in an abandoned school building with his band WHALEMACHINE or on Tuesdays in the studio of EIGHT.WORLD where he is working on a film or preparing an action research project.
Sissi Vlamynck
Sissi worked for fifteen years in various organisations across the broad field of social work. In 2021, with a well-stocked backpack of experience and insight, she took the leap to become an independent facilitator. Since then, she has been supporting organisations, governments, neighbourhoods and networks as they navigate complex realities towards sustainable change and social impact.
Her work focuses on strategy development, participatory processes and foresight methods, with the aim of creating social impact. She firmly believes in the power of stories and the importance of involving every voice to bring about lasting change. It was this conviction that led her to join Voices that Count in 2025.
Sissi lives in Ghent, Belgium, and is always up for a good conversation over a cup of coffee. Or, for those who like it a bit more active… a walk, a run, or a refreshing swim.
Friso Gosliga
Friso has been working in the fields of anthro-complexity and narrative research for over 20 years. With a degree in organisational psychology, he joined the team of professor David Snowden at IBM, where he worked on organic knowledge management and the use of narrative to map complex systems and inform decisions.
He became an independent consultant in 2003 and worked on the early prototypes of the SenseMaker methodology. He has since been actively involved in projects all over the world, ranging from citizen engagement to organisational change and the use of narrative monitoring and evaluation in healthcare, development and the public sector. He has also been teaching complexity theory, Cynefin and SenseMaker for the Cynefin Company (formerly Cognitive Edge).
Friso also likes to spend time behind a microphone as a voice actor and podcast host, and he enjoys writing about whisky.
Marianne Schapmans
“Creating opportunities to embrace collective wisdom” Marianne consistently seeks what feels most necessary in a specific context and time. Today, this is about finding collective support in uncertain times.
We face complex challenges, and answers can become visible through connection. By attentively listening to diverse voices, discovering patterns and common threads, we gain insight into steps we can take towards a future we want to experience. It’s not about pessimism, but gently exploring what is possible. Sharing stories helps with this, and creating an opportunity for it is what is needed.
This trust in the power of collaboration and the intertwining of life experiences, professional knowledge, scientific knowledge, and experiential knowledge has grown over the years. Starting (a long time ago) as a youth worker, through being a project coordinator for social cohesion, a few years as a staff member for international youth policy in the Flemish Youth Council, and then 15 years as a manager and network facilitator in the Flemish government for “Iedereen Verdient Vakantie” (Everyone Deserves a Holiday). Currently also partly affiliated with HOGENT as a lecturer and researcher in the Equality//ResearchCollective.
Always open to shaping participation and policy processes, conducting Listening Research and projects, with a keen eye and ear for voices that are often unheard. Or for a coffee chat or an aperitif, of course.
Djoudé Issa Démo
Djoudé is a Beninese professional with a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy and a master’s degree in Social Mediation and Facilitation for Development. With a decade of experience, Djoudé has contributed to a number of projects aimed at improving the living conditions of rural populations in West Africa.
In her capacity as Young Ambassador for Pastoralism since 2020, under the auspices of the sub-regional organisation Réseau Billital Maroobé (RBM), she is actively involved in researching and promoting new participatory and inclusive ways of preventing conflicts between pastoral and agricultural communities, with a particular focus on involving young people.
Since 2021, Djoudé has been developing her professional career as an independent consultant with a particular focus on gender and conflict sensitivity.
Djoudé believes that the greatest miracle of all is the transformation of a person’s life, so using narrative approaches is the best way to get people, communities, organisations, institutions, etc. to know themselves based on their own history and experiences, so that they can make informed decisions about the actions to be taken for the desired future. That’s why she decided to join Voices That Count. To create a space where every voice counts.
Married with two daughters, she is also an evangelical Christian and heads the Youth and Student Ministry of some fifteen churches.
Marjeta Novak
Marjeta has been designing and facilitating multi-stakeholder change processes for over 15 years; creating containers for unlikely allies to engage in breakthrough conversations on complex issues that connect and concern them all.
Searching for ways to help complex systems see the large picture together, to align towards wiser action, she was delighted to come across a narrative approach that combines the power of story with data analytics and collective sensemaking. It makes so much sense.
Born and raised in ex-Yugoslavia, Marjeta grew to be comfortable with conflict and chaos – which comes in handy when hosting strategic dialogues across divides. She now spends her time between Slovenia and the US; always looking for pockets of wilderness where she truly belongs.
Read more about Marjeta and her work here.
Ana-Laura Lemke
Growing up in both Mexico and Germany, Ana-Laura has always been passionate about how intersecting languages, cultures, and traditions shape our identities and sense of belonging. She has first-hand experience with the power of stories in understanding and connecting with others, and how they can help bridge cultural divides.
She holds a master´s degree in cultural science and combines system-thinking and narrative practice in her work as a skilled process facilitator and consultant. Her focus is on tapping into the personal experiences and micro stories of individuals to enable dialogue and create new opportunities for tangible actions in organizations facing transformational change.
In addition to her work, she volunteers in projects that aim to strengthen civil society and is active in various networks centred on story work, such as Beyondstorytelling and hummingbirds. Based in the urban environment of Cologne, she often seeks out nature adventures to escape the hustle of the city.
Helene Bradburn
With seven years of experience in evaluation and learning, Helene focuses on participatory methodologies like outcome harvesting, most significant change or sensemaking, and on interrogating causality – reflecting on theories of change using contribution analysis, for example. She facilitates engaging workshops with a dynamic and warm style.
Before consulting, she was the Global DMEL Officer at Interpeace, enhancing MEL practices across 13 countries. She has lived and worked in Mali and Côte d’Ivoire and has worked on projects across Africa.
Fluent in French, English, and Spanish, she now resides in Madrid, enjoying its food markets, sunny terraces, and exploring its unseen corners.
Aline Brachet
Aline’s commitment is all about accompanying organisations and helping them adapt to the complex reality in which they operate, mostly in areas affected by conflict or extreme natural events. Her background combines development project management and policy-making at local, EU and international level. She loves working with networks and teams: developing capabilities, rethinking organisations and mediating in difficult conversations.
At Appia-Capacity, she designs and facilitates peace-oriented processes. Starting from the existing dynamics within organisations, networks and project teams, she guides them towards sustainable change, be it NGOs in Sahel, ministries of livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa or European humanitarian aid agencies in Syria.
Working with narrative approaches is the best way she has found to understand complexity, keep people centre-stage and make decisions that respect long-term dynamics. This is why she has joined Voices That Count: to create space for all voices to be heard and valued, especially in conflict situations.
Her base camp is in the Pyrenees in France, and as a mother of four, she works from home when not visiting her partners abroad.
Karolien Vermeiren
Throughout her career, Karolien has combined working with groups and teams with individual therapeutic work. After 25 years as a therapist, listening come naturally to her. Her passion is learning and development: “By providing a safe environment and using appropriate methods, I work with individuals, teams or organisations towards development or learning. Designing and facilitating such sessions is my passion. This can be at an individual, group, team or organisational level.”
Karolien has lived and worked in Zimbabwe and Indonesia. She delivered soft skills and leadership training and guided organisations through change processes. During these years she immersed herself in the impact of trauma on individuals and organisations. She completed EMDR training and has worked with organisations following traumatic events. Karolien works part-time for Zorgnet-Icuro. She develops learning initiatives and facilitates processes for managers in the healthcare sector. Karolien also works as an independent facilitator and trainer.
A good place to talk? Let’s meet for a coffee at Kaminsky in Leuven.
Petra Založnik
Petra is passionate and curious about the complexity of the living system. Her love for the field of complexity is deeply rooted in her childhood. She grew up in a small village on the outskirt of the Slovenian capital city Ljubljana, and there she witnessed the wild beauty of nature and the interconnectedness of people with the land.
Her roots also influenced her study. Petra holds a degree in sociology of culture and educational science, and for the last 15 years, she has been working across sectors as a trainer, facilitator, coach, and evaluator. The foundation of her work lies in participative and narrative approaches which enable individuals, teams and organisations to implement changes in a more connected, inclusive and sustainable way.
She lives in Slovenia, where you can join her for a coffee, an adventurous walk in nature, or simply hang around with her and enjoy the present moments.
Read more about Petra and her work here.
