Meet the team
Paulien de Haas
Paulien has been working as a communications advisor at the Knowledge Platform since 2021. She grew up in the province of Groningen and after high school started studying All-round Styling and Design at the Artemis Academy in Amsterdam. While finishing her studies, Paulien really missed Groningen and returned. After working for three years, she wanted to continue her studies and completed the Master's degree in Communication Studies at the University of Groningen. During an internship at creative advertising agency Studio Plakband, she worked on an assignment for the Aardbevings Academie (Earthquake Academy) and learned about the gas extraction case. A vacancy at the Knowledge Platform was a perfect fit, of course, and so her career began.
In her free time, Paulien is often having drinks with friends, trying out recipes at home or testing new restaurants in town with her boyfriend.
She likes to be outside (when the sun is shining) and can often be found at outdoor cafes or on the balcony with her cats. Other hobbies include traveling, photography and shopping. "I love beautiful and unique stuff." She prefers to buy souvenirs while traveling, but in the Netherlands she likes to visit the thrift store.
Various tasks
Paulien's duties vary from day to day. She deals with the communication strategy, newsletter, advertisements, website and social media channels. Furthermore, she writes and edits texts and takes care of the graphic design of all communications. Paulien also plays a major role in organizing events and devises campaigns to promote the events. She finds the diverse tasks and interacting with different parties the most enjoyable part of her job. Her goals? Among other things, she wanted to improve the visibility of the Knowledge Platform. "That has certainly already succeeded, but there is always room for improvement."
Major impact
Despite having grown up in Groningen, Paulien noticed little of the gas extraction case. "When I started working at the Knowledge Platform, I found out how big the impact is." People's personal stories grab Paulien's attention. "It is very special to work at a platform that has such a social commitment."
A foundation for stray animals
Paulien travels a lot. Yet she still has many places to visit on her bucket list, including: Mexico, Japan, Sicily and the Philippines. Furthermore, she would also like to travel to South Africa to do wine tours and go on safari. Paulien finds it hard to see how hard stray animals have it abroad. "I often give them water or food and some love, but it's frustrating that I can't do more for them." That's why her dream is to start a foundation that takes in stray animals abroad and provides medical care.