Daan joined ORS in June of 2022 and brings over five years of experience facilitating participatory research and designing and implementing evaluation processes that center marginalized communities. He has a background in Human-Centered Design, Qualitative and System Evaluation Methods, Applied Measurement, and holds a BA in European Studies from the Hague University. 

Daan is committed to community-centered work that is inclusive of underrepresented voices across different sectors, including human services, education, government, and business. By listening to feedback from partner organizations and community members, Daan fosters true collaboration that leads to collective action towards meaningful goals. He promotes every opportunity to share power with those whose voices are often ignored or minimized.  

He recently authored “Low-income Families Guide Innovation: Application of Human-Centered Design,” which was published in the Journal of Participatory Research Methods (2020). This peer-review process revealed that when participatory methods are implemented with integrity, participants feel authorized to focus, guide, and operationalize programs that are relevant to their communities. 

Originally from the Netherlands, Daan moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2017. After several years of living in Seattle, he moved to a lake community near the mountains where he’s building a home for his expanding family.