Board Staff

Support & Advice

The Board Staff supports and advises the Executive Board. The team consists of a Board Secretary, two Deputy Secretaries, a Board Adviser and a Strategic Communications Adviser/Speechwriter.

Jessie Rutten — Board Secretary

Jessie is Secretary to the Executive Board—and to the Supervisory Board—of Fontys. She studied law at Radboud University and earned an Executive MBA from Erasmus University. Jessie has worked at Fontys since 2015; her previous role was Deputy Secretary to the Executive Board. Before joining Fontys, she worked as a policy officer and board secretary in the social sector.

Contact: j.rutten@fontys.nl, tel: 08850 74240.

Marjolein Engelen — Deputy Secretary to the Executive Board

Marjolein is Deputy Secretary to the Executive Board of Fontys. She helps prepare Board decisions and ensures these are submitted to the Central Participation Council (CPC). Her portfolio also includes the Supervisory Board’s Education, Research and Identity Committee. She prepares various governance meetings.

Before joining Fontys, Marjolein worked as a board secretary in primary and secondary education. She studied law at the University of Amsterdam.

Contact: m.engelenesman@fontys.nl, tel: 08850 82286.

Esther Tonnaer — Deputy Secretary to the Executive Board

Esther is Deputy Secretary to the Executive Board of Fontys. She provides substantive support and advice on participation and other content-related themes.

She studied Industrial Engineering & Management and holds a master’s degree in Management Sciences. Earlier at Fontys, Esther worked on participation, student participation, student coaching and student well-being. .

Contact: e.tonnaer@fontys.nl, tel: 08850 74705.

Gisa de Jonge — Data Protection Officer (DPO)

Gisa is Fontys’ Data Protection Officer. This is an independent role that reports directly to the Executive Board. The main tasks and responsibilities are set by law (GDPR).

The DPO acts as an independent internal monitor and is Fontys’ key expert on privacy and data-protection law.

Contact: g.dejonge@fontys.nl, tel: 08850 77391.

Sander Peters — Strategic Communications Adviser to the Executive Board

Sander is the Strategic Communications Adviser to the Executive Board of Fontys. In this role, he wrote the strategic plan Fontys for Society. He is also the speechwriter for the three Board members.

Sander studied history and philosophy at Utrecht University in the 1990s. Before joining Fontys in 2017, he gained many years of experience as a speechwriter in the public sector.

Contact: sander.peters@fontys.nl, tel: 06 38110955.

Johan Struik — Board Adviser to the Executive Board

Johan is Board Adviser to the Executive Board of Fontys. He works on strategic, content-related themes, such as the development and delivery of the institutional plan Fontys for Society. Johan’s background is in educational science, and he has worked at Fontys since 2004. From 2012 to 2019, he was Deputy Director of the Fontys Teacher Training College in Tilburg.

Contact: j.struik@fontys.nl, tel: 06 12428395.

Board Staff Support