EHFCN Office

Office Staff

Anne Pierson

Hello! I am Anne Pierson and in April 2009 I accepted the challenge of leading the EHFCN Office. I have a background in communications and public relations which I acquired through my previous positions at the International Diabetes Federation and at Solidar, a European network of associations in the social and development sector.

 Contrarily to my colleagues, I am from Belgium! I am fluent in English, German, Spanish and Italian, and have a good command of Dutch. I love travelling, foreign languages and international relations and have a great interest in healthcare. This is why I am keen to work with EHFCN, its member organisations and other stakeholders in order to help improve European healthcare systems by reducing losses to fraud and corruption.

Desreé Verlaeckt-Ristow

My name is Desreé Verlaeckt-Ristow. I have recently been given the fantastic opportunity of becoming part of the team at EHFCN as Financial and Administrative Assistant. I feel that accurate work principles and customer service are of great importance in the work place, taking that into account I know my career at EHFCN is going to be very productive and self satisfying.

I am originally from Cape Town, South Africa. Last year I got married and moved to Belgium with my husband. Apart from trying to hold myself back from over indulging in Belgian Chocolates and Waffles, I also enjoy visiting the wonderful sites throughout Europe.

Julie Jensen

My name is Julie Jensen and I am from Denmark, where I taking a Masters degree in European Politics, Communication and English.

I am working as a communications intern at EHFCN and I will be here until March 2012. Before joining the EHFCN I have been working for a Danish NGO, Children of the World - International Childrens Help, as the responsible part for their communication and marketing in Jutland. Prior to this, I have been sent out on behalf of MS to India and Vietnam working with the coordination of volunteers at orphanages. 

Further on, in my sparetime I like to travel around exploring the world, reading and meeting new people.

Previous Trainees

Petra Vledder

Hi! My name is Petra and I am from The Netherlands, where I study International Communications.

I  am working as a communications intern at EHFCN since the beginning of January.  I´ve recently came back from Reykjavik where I studied for 5 months at the University of Iceland. One of the courses I followed was The Politics of Culture, where several topics about EU Affairs were discussed. I´ve always been interested in European issues, and living in the capital of Europe is the ideal way to learn more about it. Working for EHFCN gives me the opportunity to learn more about the specific topic of  fraud and corruption in the healthcare industry, which I consider to be very interesting.

Further on, in my free time I like to travel and explore Brussels, hang out with friends, meet new people and improve my photography skills.

Attilio Cotronei

Hi, my name is Attilio and I am from Italy.

I am working from January as a communications intern at the EHFCN office. Before joining the EHFCN project I graduated in Brussels at the International Master in European Studies, which gave me the opportunity to improve my knowledge regarding all that is related to the structures, policies and projects of the European Union.

EHFCN is the only European organisation dedicated to combating fraud and corruption in the healthcare sector across Europe and I found from the first time its topics really interesting. Since I started this experience in the EHFCN office I am learning a lot about communication thanks to a wonderful working group.

María Del Campo Cuadrado

Hi! My name is María and and I am a graduate in Journalism at the University of Valladolid (Spain).

I began to work in EHFCN a month ago. My main motivations to do an internship here are to gain experience in an international organisation and to be able to work in a foreign language. EHFCN is giving me the opportunity to work in other areas of the field of the communication in which I had not worked until now. Furthermore, I have learned a lot about the fraud and the corruption in the healthcare, a topic that it is very interesting and it affects too many EU citizens.

I am studying a Master in European Union by distance, because in the future I would like to work in an EU institution or as a correspondent in an EU media.

In my free time, I like reading, going to the cinema, travelling and meeting new people.

Judit Jordan

My name is Judit and I am from Hungary, where I studied Public Administration at University Corvinus in Budapest.

I exercised the practical sides of what I studied at the Constitutional Court of The Hungarian Republic, The Mayor's Office of Bad Cannstatt-Stuttgart, The Mayor's Office in Budapest as a communicational trainee and I was a board member of the Academic Students Association Zoltan Magyary during the semesters. Now I am a communications & event organisation intern at the office of the EHFCN with the Leonardo-grant. I came here to try myself in working in English, to do my best abroad and to spend some time in an international company in the capital of Europe.

In my aspect the work here is my delight and gives a great impetus to my subsequent challenges. I love the people I've met here and the beautiful buildings, parks and streets make me do not mind the rainy weather in Brussels.

In my spare time I act as a tourist: I travel, take photos, try the foreign cuisine and explore local arts.

Sylvie Delbecque

Hello! My name is Sylvie. I am a last year student in Management assistant.

I have worked with EHFCN since the end of January because the sector of healthcare is quite important and needs to be improved. In working here, I wanted to be immersed in a European context. It gives me the opportunity to make contact with authorities from a lot of countries, to understand their healthcare system during meetings or through reports or articles. In addition I can improve my English. I have already met a few active members and I really appreciate these contacts and their availability. I have just finished 5 months of being an Erasmus student in Mechelen.

Outside of the office, I like drawing and travelling. Indeed, when finishing High School, I took 1 year off to develop my language skills. Holland, Canada and the US were the places I lived in. This encourages me to work internationally.

Hope to meet you soon!

Sylvie

Olga Radzienczak

Hi! My name is Olga. I just finished my undergraduate degree in European Studies at the University of Strasbourg (France).

I have been working at the EHFCN since June. My main motivation to do an internship here was to gain some practical experience in the international organisation. In addition to that I think that healthcare fraud and corruption is something which concerns every citizen of the EU. Thanks to my internship I can learn more about this problem and European issues in general.  Of course I also wanted to practice my English and be able to communicate in other languages such as French or German. In September I will start my Master degree (European Studies) at the University of Brussels. In the future I would like to work within the international organisation, in a NGO or one of the EU institutions.

Outside the office, I used to train Capoeira (I am going to start again in September) – Brazilian dance and fight, I enjoy taking pictures, reading, playing the piano, travelling and meeting new people.

Rochelle Sampy

Hello, I'm Rochelle Sampy and am studying for a degree in Law with International Studies at the University of Surrey. Currently, I am on my placement year and have just spent the last five months studying at the University of Ghent which was an experience I never want to forget.

I wanted to do an internship with EHFCN because I wanted to gain practical experience in the area of fraud and corruption which I covered academically whilst studying at Ghent. I am also more of a wannabe policymaker rather than a wannabe lawyer. I believe that most situations in the EU and UK legal system, especially in relation to health, could be ameliorated and so interning with EHFCN would provide me with experience of working in a policy based atmosphere. And where better to gain policy experience than in Brussels which is the centre of policymaking.

When I graduate I would like to work in public affairs where I can use both my legal and political knowledge. Moving away from the world of work and study, I enjoy playing basketball, rowing, dancing, learning new languages, meeting new people and freelance writing.