Esther den Hartog

Esther works as a Senior Advisor Institutional Development at the Centre for International Cooperation (CIS) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is passionate about supporting people, teams, and organizations in their development – with a focus on personal leadership, collaboration, and sustainable change.

Trained as an organisational Advisor, Trainer and Life Counsellor, Esther offers a combination of years of project management expertise, developing and facilitating tailor-made training programmes and offering one-on-one counselling.
Over the past years, Esther has built long-term collaborations with universities, ministries, and NGOs across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. These (50+) partnerships involved regular in-country visits, capacity development projects, and joint training programmes, giving her a grounded understanding of working across cultures and institutional contexts. Through this work, she has learned how to bridge perspectives, co-create change, and strengthen institutions in diverse cultural settings.
Esther is a firm believer in the power of collaboration, which is a key driver behind her interest in joining the PIE Board. In the current climate—marked by significant budget cuts in both Higher Education and International Cooperation—she sees an urgent need for organisations to unite, leverage each other’s strengths, and look for shared opportunities. Rather than viewing one another as competitors, she advocates for embracing collective strength, thereby making use of each others’ experience, creativity, and commitment to contribute to a better world.