On January 1, 2021, I was appointed as Professor in Disability Studies at the University of Humanistic Studies in Utrecht on behalf of Disability Studies in Nederland. 

From an early age I have been interested in how people live with disabilities, because disability has been a natural part of my life, something I can relate to personally and also from a distance. As a teenager, I started with a voluntary job in the disability field, and from that experience onwards I have had various roles in this field: As a researcher and leader, as a volunteer and activist, as a mother and friend.

Since the mid-1990s, my research focus has been on Quality of Life, Social Inclusion and Inclusive Research. In recent research projects, I focus on the impact of disability on quality of life in social relations; mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion within families and communities; and transdisciplinary and collaborative research.

For the past two decades I have been active within the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), currently as Vice-President.

I'm involved with two international journals as associate editor, and active in several (inter)national committees.
Also, I'm a member of the supervisory board of a care provider for people with support needs, Humanitas DMH: this role is important to keep myself involved in care practice.

I'm married, and I have three children and a dog. In my daily life disability labels are all around, with all their consequences: sometimes ordinary, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes confronting.