Work Experience

Van Oord is a Dutch family-owned company with over 150 years of experience as an international marine contractor. Marine ingenuity is the main signature and the spark that lights the spirit in the company.  It is the driver to contribute to a better world for future generations. Having a corporate strategy including a sustainability programme, Van Oord is a leader in implementing large-scale projects in dredging, offshore wind, infrastructure in the Netherlands,  and offshore business units.


As Sustainability Project Lead, I have been working on incorporating the four pillars of the Sustainability Strategy, including enhancing energy transition, empowering nature and communities, achieving net-zero emissions, and accelerating climate actions. 

The four pillars are part of the Van Oord Corporate Strategy 2030 and our commitment to creating a better world for future generations.  

In addition, I am actively working on tools and standardization of processes to introduce sustainable opportunities into projects and tenders across the business units. 

Van Oord is a Dutch family-owned company with over 150 years of experience as an international marine contractor. Marine ingenuity is the main signature and the spark that lights the spirit in the company.  It is the driver to contribute to a better world for future generations. Having a corporate strategy including a sustainability programme, Van Oord is a leader in implementing large-scale projects in dredging, offshore wind, infrastructure in the Netherlands,  and offshore business units.


As Environmental Engineer, I contributed to the tendering processes of offshore wind farms worldwide by providing input to mitigation measures in terms of ecology and social aspects of the projects as well as permitting processes. 

As part of the Environmental Engineering Team, we supported all business units to address environmental and societal challenges.

As part of Horizon 2020, RECONECT aims to enhance the European reference framework on Nature-based Solutions (NBS) for hydro-meteorological risk reduction by demonstrating, referencing, upscaling and exploiting large-scale NBS in rural and natural areas.

In an era of Europe’s natural capital being under increased cumulative pressure, RECONECT will stimulate a new culture of co-creation of ‘land use planning’ that links the reduction of hydro-meteorological risk with local and regional development objectives in a sustainable and financially. 

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RECONECT draws upon a network of carefully selected Demonstrators and Collaborators that cover a diverse range of local conditions in terms of social, cultural, economic, institutional, geographic and technical settings. 

As a researcher,I applied and develop GIS tools for the assessment of Nature-based Solutions for flood risk reduction considering The Dutch Case study Room for The River as a model, and the Serbian Collaborator as a practical case study.

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On the other hand, I analysed the barriers, enablers, benefits and co-benefits for upascaling and replication potential of NBS, furthermore I focused on development of business cases and financing mechanisms for implementation of large-scale NBS. 

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Finally, I analysed the European public policies in terms of initiatives, regulations, and frameworks regarding Nature Based-Solutions for urban and rural areas. 

The Regional Autonomous Corporation CAR and CORTOLIMA are governmental entities that are the authority in regions delimited by river basins including in rural areas. These agencies are in charge of the protection of fauna, flora and rivers by developing social and environmental policies. At the same time, they control and watch every project that is or will be developed in the areas where the environment can be affected. 

As Technical Advisor in Sanitation, I analysed the technical feasibility of discharge permits in urban and rural areas into surface water such as rivers. On the other hand, I did the environmental monitoring of projects developed near or on the rivers, following the standards and regulations stipulated in Colombian law. 

As part of the Colombian Government, the SPDU is an entity with constitutional rank in accordance with article 370 of the 1991 Political Constitution. This branch of the central government is in charge of the inspection, surveillance and control over the entities and companies that provide domestic water supply, sanitation, energy and gas to the Colombian citizens.

As Advisor in water supply and sanitation, I watched and controlled the water utility companies all over Colombia in terms of technical, administrative and commercial aspects following the Colombian regulations and law. 

On the other hand, I worked closely with the public utility companies that were in a critical state working on improvement plans to reach the standards and regulations stipulated by law. 

Finally, I participated in committees composed of different entities focused on public policies transformation and design, more specifically technical strategies to improve the water supply and sanitation sector in Colombia.  

HIDROZON SAS is a private company dedicated to designing domestic filters, UV treatment for households, and on the large scale, they design and maintain water treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants for diverse purposes. 

As Technical Designer in water supply and sanitation systems, I developed a pilot treatment wastewater treatment plant specialised in leached water from landfills.  In addition, I tested and developed new technologies for water treatment such as inverse osmosis membranes, resins, micro and ultrafiltration (UV).

Finally, I contribute to the company in multiples opportunities during the period written above.