Maartje ten Brummelaar is Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New Zealand since January 2020. She is also Head of the Economic Affairs team at the Embassy in Wellington. In this role Maartje and her team focus on strengthening Dutch-Kiwi connections and identifying business opportunities on the topics of sustainability, climate change, water, agriculture, circular economy and cycling. Maartje joined the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs over 10 years ago and has primarily worked on sustainable trade and production, infrastructure development and strengthening civil society. She was also posted to Madrid (Spain) focusing on political affairs. Maartje holds a bachelor in Language- and Culture Studies and a Master in International Development Studies, both from Utrecht University (Netherlands).

Melissa and Chris Bruntlett are authors and urban mobility advocates who strive to communicate the benefits of sustainable transport and inspire happier, healthier, more human-scale cities. Their first book, Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality, explored the decisions that established the Netherlands as a bicycle paradise, and how communities are translating these ideas to build their own cycling cities. Now based in Delft, Melissa works with Mobycon—a bi-continental mobility consultancy—supporting the promotion of Dutch transport knowledge, policy, and design principles in countries around the world. As Communications Manager for the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Chris uses his knowledge and passion to share practical lessons for global cities wishing to learn from the Netherlands’ extraordinary success. Their second book, Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives, will be published on June 29th (use promo code “BRUNTLETT” for 20% off at islandpress.org).

Anthony Williams is a multi-disciplinary urbanist with broad ranging experience and skills in urban design, urban planning, landscape architecture, urban policy and regulation, transit-oriented development, cross-government collaboration and urban regeneration. He has over 40 years of combined experience in the public and private sectors through his work in the U.K. U.S. Arab Gulf States and New Zealand. While in New Zealand Anthony has worked with the Ministry for the Environment, Wellington City Council and now Auckland Transport. His interests lie in bespoke joined up multi-disciplinary solutions which deliver a competitive advantage, value for money and compliance with a growing list of policy commitments. He has been working in this collaborative and integrated joined-up space since 1985 and finds the biggest challenges lie in the disconnects between organisations and the silos within them.