Accelerating the timber building transformation

Donald Brenninkmeijer

In addition to his role as Chair of Built by Nature, Donald Brenninkmeijer chairs Laudes Foundation’s Investment Committee and serves as Chairman of Built by Nature. He is also a member of the Brenninkmeijer family office’s supervisory board.

Donald is a passionate advocate for more sustainable food systems. Donald is a special adviser to COFRA’s Sustainable Food Group, which comprises of Dalsem, a leading high-tech greenhouse developer, Ontario Plants Propagation, the leading propagator in North America and several minority investments including Intelligent Growth Solutions and Aerofarms, both vertical farming and agritech companies.

In addition to these roles, Donald is a special adviser to C&A Mexico which builds on his extensive retail experience across Europe, Asia and the Americas, including as C&A’s Chief Brand, Customer and Sustainability Officer and Chief Innovation Officer. 

He also advises Xeros Technologies, a cleantech and AIM listed company.

Donald received a Licentiate in International Management from University of St Gallen, Switzerland

Leslie Johnston

As its first CEO, Leslie Johnston leads the development and execution of Laudes Foundation’s strategy and operating model to deliver on its vision in which global markets value all people and respect nature. Leslie currently serves on the boards of the European Venture Philanthropy Association (as Chair), Fashion for Good BV, the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), and Built by Nature Stichting (as Vice Chair) as well as University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose Advisory Board. Leslie has over 25 years of management experience across business, entrepreneurship, development, and philanthropy. Previously, she headed C&A Foundation as its first Executive Director, repositioning it as a global catalyst to make fashion a force for good. She served as Executive Director of the Argidius Foundation, Deputy Director for TechnoServe in Africa and a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. 

Bob van der Zande

A respected urban strategist and advisor to cities, regions, investors and developers, Bob’s areas of specialisation include building-in-wood and mass timber, social impact, inclusive area development, and public-private collaboration via the Triple Helix model. He is director of the Mass Timber Programme in residential development in the Metropolitan Region Amsterdam also organiser of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Waterfront Cities Council, past chair of ULI in the Netherlands, member and past chair of the European Urban Regeneration ULI Council, participant in five ULI Advisory Services Panels, and a global ULI Trustee. Having graduated as an urban designer from the Delft University of Technology, Bob has been working for decades in the public sector with the City of Amsterdam and the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam.  

Amol Mehra

Amol is an international human rights lawyer who believes in the potential for a global economic system that works for all people and the planet. He's focused his career on building just that - from using his entrepreneurial skills to establish an international human rights organization working towards rules for a rights-based economy (as Executive Director of ICAR) to developing philanthropic strategies that impact corporate supply chains and strengthen worker power and protections (as Managing Director of the Freedom Fund).  A respected and credible advisor in business and human rights, Amol also serves as a Founding Member of Funders Organized for Rights in the Global Economy ("FORGE"); as a Council Member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Human Rights; as a Board Member of EarthRights International; on the Advisory Council for the Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern and as a Commissioner on the United Nations Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking ("Liechtenstein Initiative").  

Pablo van der Lugt

With his depth of expertise, passion and combined academic and industry profile, Pablo adds considerable momentum to the Built by Nature mission of accelerating the adoption of mass timber construction throughout Europe and in the U.K. Based in the Netherlands, Pablo has held numerous leadership roles in the green building industry, provided several keynote speeches, and written several books and articles appearing in popular magazines and scientific journals – all to promote his cause of advancing the adoption of innovative bio-based materials and circular building systems. Pablo’s vision is one of a fundamental transformation of construction towards circularity, especially through the ‘renewable route’, with huge potential and opportunities for bio-based materials including mass timber as sustainable alternatives to carbon intensive materials such as concrete, aluminum and steel. With support from Delft University of Technology and AMS Institute, Pablo has most recently written an influential peer-reviewed report dispelling the major myths around mass timber. 

Amanda Sturgeon

Amanda became Built by Nature’s inaugural CEO in May 2022, joining us from Mott MacDonald, where she was the Regenerative Design and Climate Change Practice Lead for the Asia Pacific region. As the former CEO of the International Living Future Institute, based in the US, she spent a decade creating regenerative frameworks such as the Living Building and Community Challenge programmes, scaled the organisation globally and created a global movement around biophilic design. Amanda is an award-winning architect and a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. She is the author of Creating Biophilic Buildings, a TED Speaker on Bringing Biophilic Design to Life, and has an essay in the anthology All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions to Climate Change. Amanda holds a BSc in Architecture from the University of Sydney and an MSc from the University of Wisconsin. 

Tamara Streefland

Tamara joined Built by Nature from systems thinking agency Metabolic, where she had taken on many different roles, including Urban Systems Lead, Consultant and most recently, Consulting Director. Tamara has a comprehensive international background of advising NGOs, industry, and government on building the livable cities of the future and tackling complex sustainability challenges. Tamara has worked on over 30 projects in various global cities and regions, engaging with municipalities, developers, and other urban stakeholders. Tamara holds a Master of Science in Design and Urban Ecologies at Parsons The New School for Design in New York. With Tamara’s background in earth sciences, she is well-positioned to integrate knowledge on ecological impacts with creative solutions that deploy innovative technologies and are sensitive to social issues. 

Karianne Kraaijestein

Karianne is instrumental in directing the communications strategies and deploying a range of tactics consistent with Built by Nature’s commitment to transforming the built environment to work in unison with nature. Karianne brings a depth and breadth of experience across advertising, marketing, branding and public relations functions, having served as an independent consultant and communications team leader across several geographies and industries with a well-earned reputation for an entrepreneurial spirit, strong management qualities and profound knowledge of business management. Most recently, her experience and expertise have been applied at the intersection of the built environment and sustainability, serving for two years as an interim marketing director and consultant in Amsterdam’s real estate sector, while also playing a vital leadership role in two regenerative and biodiversity-focused real estate projects in Portugal and Spain. 

Jeroen Beek

As Built by Nature’s Head of Operations, Jeroen Beek brings a broad range of operational and service leadership to this important role. With over 15 years of relevant experience in international start-up and scale-up organisations and a background in IT with a specialisation in visual communication technologies, Jeroen now plays an instrumental role as a member of the Built by Nature senior management team. Jeroen is responsible for strategic planning, risk and financial management, human resources, governance, organisational development and office/IT management, as well as contract oversight. He also supports the governance of the Built by Nature Fund, focusing on due diligence and financial management. 

Tia Alahuhta

Tia brings a decade of experience in managing strategic partnerships in the sustainability and non-profit sectors, predominantly working with trusts and foundations and bilateral and multilateral funders. Tia has worked as Fundraising and Philanthropic Partnerships Lead at Circle Economy, where she led fundraising efforts and managed a significant funding portfolio of family and corporate foundations. Prior to this, Tia worked for Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) where she coordinated the full funding and project management cycle for governmental and non-governmental donors supporting the uptake of global standards for sustainability reporting. Tia has also worked for small NGOs in the Netherlands, Spain, and Argentina contributing to tackling some of the most critical sustainability challenges of our time.  Tia holds an MSc degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Amsterdam and a BSc degree in Sociology from the Complutense University of Madrid. 

Joe Giddings

Formally trained as an architect, Joe’s most recent experience as a leader in the sustainable construction movement includes his role as Projects & Campaigns Director, Timber Accelerator Hub, an initiative under the Association for Sustainable Building Products, and as a founding coordinator of the Architects Climate Action Network. As an architect, Joe worked at Rock Townsend, and is currently teaching an undergraduate design studio on the theme of bio-based materials at Oxford Brookes University School of Architecture. Joe received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture from Oxford Brookes and a Masters degree from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts – Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation. 

Peter Fraanje

As a recognised expert on circular and biobased construction, Peter has provided guidance and direction for several organisations including the Netherlands Institute for Applied Research TNO and building contractor BAM. He has also served as Director of the Netherlands Association for Construction Suppliers at NVTB, Amsterdam and as a Board Member at Construction Products Europe CPE, Brussels. Peter also was the innovation and sustainability expert for the national association of building contractors at Bouwend Nederland. Peter holds a PhD in biobased materials and has authored numerous books and reports on the benefits of timber and biobased materials including flax, hemp and straw. 

Nicole Clifford

Nicole has worked in finance for many years in both corporate and philanthropic sectors, shifting to the latter five years ago to work for organisations that are making a difference in the world, including Made-By, C&A Foundation, Laudes Foundation and most recently Constanter Philanthropy Services. With her hands-on experience across numerous financial, human resource and administrative functions, Nicole sees the importance of her contribution as providing service for teams internally. Originally from Australia, Nicole has lived in The Netherlands for the past 10 years. 

Julien Vincelot

Julien is an urban planner and strategist with 6 years of experience in health, equity, climate change mitigation, policy, and spatial planning. As Fund Manager at Built by Nature, Julien oversees grant-making activities. Julien recognizes the strategic potential of transforming the built-environment into a carbon sink through timber construction and balanced forest management. Julien previously worked at BYCS and the Bernard van Leer Foundation, coordinating grants, advising implementation, and strengthening networks. Julien holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a dual Master of Science in Urban Policy.