About us

Team member description

Benard Okollah is an advocate for transparency, accountability, and equity in governance and social justice. With over 20 years in humanitarian aid, auditing and private sector, he has also worked in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda.

His career is marked by a commitment to ethical leadership, inclusivity, and the pursuit of equity, aiming to secure fair resource access and protect marginalized communities. Benard excels in financial management and optimizing organizational operations. He is dedicated to compassionate governance focused on public well-being.

Diogene is a Rwandan practitioner and researcher with extensive experience in managing community-level projects. He holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Project Management from Jomo Kenyatta University in Rwanda, as well as certificates in genocide and mass atrocities studies, human rights, and conflict management. He also holds an Accredited Diploma in Groupwork Practice and is a qualifying Group Analyst. Diogene has served as a Participatory Action Researcher for four years and is an experienced trainer in community-based sociotherapy and grassroots advocacy. He has built the capacity of CBS trainers and facilitators in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

Angela holds a Bachelor Cultural Anthropology and a Master International Development Studies from the University of Amsterdam with a specialisation in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. She is a PhD candidate Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ) at the Stellenbosch University, South Africa. From 2008 onwards Angela has worked with several non- government organisations in the Netherlands, Haiti, Cameroon and DR Congo which focused on peacebuilding in conflict or disaster affected settings. More than ten years ago, in 2013, Angela started working with community- based sociotherapy (CBS) in Rwanda. She has been involved in programme management and coordination, project development, knowledge exchange and initiating innovative research designs. Angela is one of the co-founders of ICBS.

Nadine is a dedicated communication professional with nearly five years of experience in content creation, with a desire to serve in the human development sector. Her expertise includes external communication, design, social media management, public speaking, and content development. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and has completed a training course in International Strategic Communication. Nadine co-develops and implements communication strategies, creates supporting materials, and enhances organizational visibility through event planning, graphic design, and social media management.

Yolanda is a mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) professional and specializes in community-based sociotherapy. Since 2003, she has leveraged her experience as a sociotherapist in both traditional and modern psychiatric settings in the Netherlands and abroad to support MHPSS and peacebuilding projects in local communities within in refugee and post conflict environments. As the Training Lead in ICBS, Yolanda designs and coordinates projects. She supports organizations on the ground in setting up CBS projects by contextualizing the CBS approach and providing trainings and supervision at various levels across different countries. Yolanda is one of the co-founders of ICBS.

Annemiek, MD, anthropologist, is emeritus professor culture, health and illness Leiden University Medical Center and staff member of the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. From 2005 onwards she has contributed in a number of leadership capacities to the development of community-based sociotherapy in Rwanda. Her current research interest is mental health and psychosocial recovery intersected with peacebuilding across the generations in the aftermath of mass atrocities. The majority of her publications over the past years focus on research addressing themes that emerged from the practice of sociotherapy in a post-conflict society

Carolien holds a bachelor’s degree in social work, master’s in International Relations and Advanced Master in International Development (AMID). She completed the post- graduate training Community-Based Sociotherapy in post- conflict context at the Hogeschool Leiden in 2010, facilitated by Cora Dekker. Carolien has over 15 years working experience in project management, monitoring and evaluation, policy development in the Netherlands and Liberia. After working for the Ministry of Foreign affairs in the Netherlands, she moved to Liberia where she worked as program advisor for ZOA Liberia and later as an independent CBS specialist. Carolien is an expert in community-based sociotherapy with a rich background in social development, project management, and policy development. Her strengths are in programme management, network building, and donor relations. Carolien is one of the co-founders of ICBS.