01/09/2021

Welcoming our new colleagues

Antoine Pauti
Antoine is delighted to join IFOAM Organics Europe in Brussels on 1 September. He is a 25-year old French national who studied Law, History and Politics. Antoine specialised in environmental issues and worked at the Council of Europe and French public institutions. Antoine is excited to contribute to representing the interests of the organic sector and start his new role as IFOAM Organics Europe’s Policy Assistant at a time where legislative activity will intensify after the summer break.

Amélie Steu
Amélie joined IFOAM Organics Europe on 1 September 2020 as Project and Fundraising ESC Volunteer. After this fulfilling experience, she will continue working at IFOAM Organics Europe as a Policy Assistant on Agriculture and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Amélie holds a joint Master’s degree in development and international relations from Sciences Po in Toulouse. During her studies, she had several work experiences abroad, in the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy, at the United Nations and the French Administration. Amélie developed a strong personal and professional interest for sustainable food and farming systems during her studies and experience at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome. Her experience at IFOAM Organics Europe confirmed her wish to dedicate her professional career to advocate for more sustainable agricultural policies at EU level.

Hanna Winkler
Hanna joined IFOAM Organics Europe’s policy team as Policy Coordinator to follow climate issues on EU level on 2 August. She studied environmental sciences at the University of Copenhagen and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna. For the past two years, Hanna has lived Brussels, where she did a traineeship at the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and worked on various research and innovation projects at the European Food Information Council. She is excited to get to know her new colleagues and work together for a transformation of the food system.

ESC volunteers

Arianna Bellemo
In 2019, Arianna graduated from the University of Vienna with a BA in Political Science. She completed her Masters’ Degree in International Relations and International Organization at the University of Groningen in 2021. Coming from a small town in northern Italy, she has always been fascinated by diverse languages, cultures, and environments, reflected in her experiences abroad. During her most recent work experience, she researched and investigated the realm of illicit trade and its relation to global sustainability, security, and safety. She is enthusiastic to start a new adventure joining IFOAM Organics Europe ‘s Communication team.

Maria Vittoria Borghetto
As daughter of organic bakers, Maria Vittoria approached the world of good, clean and fair food since she was a child. She founded a Slow Food Youth Network in her hometown in Italy to raise awareness on these issues among her peers, while orientating her studies towards the same objective. She recently concluded law studies with a research thesis on Unfair Trading Practices in the B2B food supply chain. After a traineeship in a consultancy specialized in EU agri-food law and one in a Local Action Group, she is excited to begin her new experience in the Policy team of IFOAM Organics Europe.

Axel Géry
After a degree in European law at the University of Orléans, Axel continued his training at the University of Nantes within the Master I Trilingual Jurist. He later joined the Master II specialised in Agriculture and Food law at the Panthéon Sorbonne University. Aware of the environmental and economic issues linked to agriculture Axel hopes to pursue an internationally oriented career after his ESC period at the Finance and Office Operations team of IFOAM Organics Europe.

Rico Heller
Rico is 21 years old and freshly graduated in Political Science from the University of Mannheim in Germany. He loves travelling and meeting new cultures and faces. Last year, he had the opportunity to do an exchange semester in Hong Kong. Now his next station is Brussels, and he is thrilled to see what it has to offer. He is very excited to join IFOAM Organics Europe during his gap year as part of the Projects and Fundraising team and eager to learn more about IFOAM Organics Europe and the organic movement.

Laura van Heeswijk
Originally from the Netherlands, Laura has studied philosophy and art history in Scotland for the past 5 years. In her free time, she has been an active member of the improv theatre society. She is very excited to come to Brussels and learn about European policy and advocacy right where all the action happens. She is looking forward to joining the Events and Membership team and learn as much as possible about organic farming and how to promote this in Europe.

Maria Ladinig
Maria grew up in a small farm in the south of Austria (Carinthia). She is a German and Slovenian native speaker, belonging to the Slovenian-speaking minority of the area. Later, Maria moved to Vienna to study crop science and agricultural pedagogy. She is a very open, sociable person who likes to spread positive energy and sometimes gets lost in talking. In her free time, she loves travelling, meeting interesting people, hiking and spending time in nature. She is always ready for new adventures, such as the new experience in the Research & Innovation team.

The volunteering project is funded by the European Solidarity Corps programme of the European Union. The sole responsibility of the content lies with the author and communication reflects only the author’s view. The National Agency and the European Commission are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information provided.

 
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