Education
MSc. in Animal Science at Wageningen University. Specialized in Aquaculture and Fisheries.

Experience

As a child she developed an interest in exploring, and was especially fascinated by the underwater world. She dreamt of being a diver rescuing sea life from nets and protecting them from fisheries.

Later in life, she found a practical use for her interests at Wageningen University. As part of her MSc thesis, she joined a fisheries management project in Mauretania, West Africa, for the Dutch National Institute for Fisheries Research (IMARES), and the Mauritanian Institute for Oceanographic and Fisheries Research (IMROP). After graduation, she continued working for this project, studying the migration patterns of pelagic fish species off the coast of West Africa.
 

I am deeply convinced that we need to conserve nature’s beauty and pureness in order for all future generations to keep eating and drinking.

After two years in the desert, she joined the FAO in Vietnam as a Fisheries Consultant. Her work encompassed the drafting of a national strategy for fisheries management and development, in co-operation with the Ministry of Fisheries. Inspired by Vietnam’s booming economy and the developments in the fishery sector, she continued working from Vietnam as an independent regional aquaculture and fisheries consultant.

Seeking to team up with like-minded passionate people, Siebe and Irmen founded Fresh Studio in 2006. Initially working on aquaculture projects, she is now responsible for Quality Assurance and internal company procedures.

She feels very much involved in the challenges between the demand for, and lack of, safe and high quality agricultural products.

Fresh Studio®
As the Quality Assurance director of Fresh Studio, she is leading a team of QA consultants who work in the field of crops and aquaculture. Quality Assurance is an integral part of all activities we undertake in Fresh Studio, both externally and internally. Through the implementation of international and privately owned standards in agriculture, food processing, and ethical production, we assure producers and processors produce safe products.

What makes Irmen tick

The challenge of food security on one hand, and conserving the environment on the other, intrigues her. Irmen’s experience in many countries has taught her that before people begin to work on environmental issues, they first need access to the basic needs of life: good quality, nutritious food, and clean water.

She is also deeply convinced that we need to conserve nature’s beauty and purity in order for future generations to keep eating and drinking safely. These essential needs must be preserved simultaneously, and that is what she wants to work on, making her own little contribution.