She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1995 as a diplomat and was stationed in Cairo until 1999, focusing on culture and human rights. From 1999 to 2004 she worked in Damascus, Syria, focusing on asylum and human rights issues. In 2004, she was recalled to the Netherlands where she served as senior policy official for the Dutch foreign ministry until 2005. From August 2005 to August 2009, she served as deputy head of the North America department in the ministry. Her diplomatic role and expertise was acknowledged by several authors in their respective publications.
