Georgia Brooks
Founder & CEO
Georgia Brooks founded The Nine & The Nine Equality Initiative in 2020, inspired by the many incredible women and associations she encountered in Belgium. Based in Brussels, she is a passionate advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. Since 2017, she is also the Founder and Managing Director of the Fempower Initiative – a non-profit organisation under the auspices of the King Baudouin Foundation that supports healthcare and education projects for girls and young women throughout the Middle East.
Georgia is originally British-Canadian-Lebanese, and grew up between the U.K., Canada, and Egypt. She holds an MA in Ancient History from University College London and a BA(Hons) in Classics and Ancient History from the University of Warwick. During her undergraduate studies, she spent one year at the University of Bologna as part of the Erasmus programme. In addition to her native English, Georgia speaks French, Italian, Egyptian Arabic, and, in honour of her adopted country, is learning Flemish.
Antonia Ifland-Schräder
Club Coordinator
Antonia’s (Toni) passion for the dynamic Brussels bubble brought her back to the
city six years after her first internship at DIE ZEIT’s EU Correspondence office. With
a strong academic foundation in International Relations and Human Rights, she
complemented her studies with practical experience at various organisations and
initiatives that draw inspiration from confident, resilient, and unapologetically
positive women.
As Club Coordinator, Toni is dedicated to nurturing The Nine’s vibrant and inclusive
community, relishing its dynamic atmosphere and inspiring conversations with
members. With her hands-on mentality, she is dedicated to solving any small and
big issues members might have.
Passionate about fostering collaboration and committed to empowering women,
she also serves as the Monitoring & Evaluation Lead at the Brussels Binder.
Michela Punturo
Bar & Restaurant Manager
Michela is an experienced bar manager with over ten years' experience in the horeca industry. She started her career in 2012, working as a chef in her hometown of Palermo, Italy. After this, she trained and worked for two years as a pastry chef, before moving out of the kitchen and finding her passion behind the bar.
For the last eight years, Michela has trained and worked as a bartender in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and hotels across Europe. She is passionate about everything that can fit in a bottle, and is never happier than when mixing different flavours together to create a unique cocktail for her guest.
Michela moved to Brussels in 2020, and before joining The Nine, worked as bar manager at a leading European hotel chain. In addition to pouring the perfect potion, her passions include plants and cats, and the good Italian that she is, Michela has an especial love of the Negroni. After all, Italians do it bitter!
Coralie Magonet
Club Events Manager
Coralie joins the club after 10 years of experience volunteering at events around Belgium.
After transitioning from roles in e-commerce and fashion, Coralie took the plunge to turn her
passion for bringing people together into a full-time career. Her motto, "There's always time
for a plot twist!" embodies her approach to life and event management.
Belgian by nationality and fluent in both French and English, Coralie studied Law at UNamur
and spent a year in Canada on a Rotary exchange. She has worked at both small and large-
scale events, for private and public organisations such as TEDxUCLouvain and Belgian
organisations.
Coralie is inspired by the people around her and aims to curate events where guests feel
energised, engaged, and connected. At The Nine, her ultimate goal is to bring the spirit and
values of the club to life.
Maria Akram
Kitchen Team
Flora van de Walle de Ghelcke
Communications Intern
Flora’s journey began after graduation, embarking on a year and a half of backpacking adventures through Northern Europe. Now, she's on the brink of completing her bachelor’s degree in Communications at ECS (European Communication School), set to graduate this spring.
Her academic pursuits are enriched by hands-on experience, notably her internship at CHIO Aachen, where she seamlessly merged her passion for events and the equestrian sport, being a rider herself. With roots in both Belgium and Germany, and fluent in English, Flora further expresses her creativity through her freelance photography work.
From a young age, Flora has been a staunch advocate for equality and empowerment, proudly identifying as a feminist. This is now her second consecutive year interning with us, in addition to collaborating with members on other social and feminist projects.
We are honoured to have such outstanding women on our advisory board, helping us to shape and grow the direction of The Nine.
Each are pioneers in their own field, and passionate about gender equality.
Sevim Aktas
Sevim Aktas is a policy officer at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Climate Action. Prior to her role in DG CLIMA, Sevim worked in the energy market unit in DG ENER and has experience in the private sector with Knauf Energy Solutions.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Sevim is passionate about fostering understanding and engagement in EU energy and climate matters. She founded EU Green Deal Brief, an Instagram account with around 30k followers, to provide accessible and engaging briefings on EU energy and climate topics, as well as career tips for aspiring sustainability professionals. As the co-chair of Brussels New Generation, a networking community for young professionals in Brussels, she collaborates with the British Chamber of Commerce.
Sevim holds a degree in Energy Engineering from the University of Twente and the University of Oxford. She was born in the Netherlands, grew up in Germany, and is of Turkish descent.
Louma Albik
Louma Albik is the CEO & Founder of SB Overseas (Soutien Belge Overseas), an international humanitarian aid organisation. She is an expert in the Syrian conflict and refugee crisis, often working as an immigration consultant. Passionate about women's rights and high-impact leadership, Louma further advises on sustainability action plans, focusing on overcoming barriers and creating a sustainable business. She holds a Master’s in Business Economy from the University of Aleppo, and a License in Communication for Influence and Impact from the University of Cambridge. In addition, Louma holds several certificates in leadership, organisational management as well as war trauma training, NLP, TOT and coaching.
Louma has been widely honoured for her work on the refugee crisis and in empowering women, most recently by the King of Belgium and the Vice President of the EU. She believes in inspiring and motivating others to drive forward sustainability and innovation, and in empowering women to find the key to their lives and achieve meaningful change.
www.sboverseas.org
Roberta Avelino
Roberta works as a methods engineer at Audi, Brussels – the first female methods engineer in the
history of the company. She aims to shape the future of mobility with passion through sustainable
and innovative solutions, specialising in resource efficiency for "Mission Zero," the company’s global
sustainability project.
Roberta founded the official women’s initiative at her company, empowering women and allies
about the importance of gender equity and taking a prominent position in a predominantly male
environment. With this project, she was globally chosen to represent Audi at One Young World,
becoming a reference in female leadership.
Roberta is also a volunteer and speaker at various women’s associations around the world, such as
PWI and Rise & Lead. She also launched the ROCKET mentoring programme, aiming to empower
leaders to reach their potential with confidence.
Currently, she is writing a book on trust and women in the workplace, and previously co-authored
two books on female leadership in Portuguese and English. Her ongoing dedication is driven by her
purpose to help more people have a voice and positively impact the world in all areas of human
behaviour, thus building her legacy for the next generations.
Sabina Ciofu
Sabina Ciofu works as Head of EU and Trade Policy for techUK, the largest trade association for tech businesses in the United Kingdom. Based in Brussels, she manages techUK’s EU policy priorities as well as the international trade agenda. Sabina leads the engagement with the European Union institutions, as well as the EU Member States. Outside of the EU, her work is focused on key trade partners, such as the USA and Japan, as well as key international organisations, such as the WTO and the OECD. Previously, she worked as Policy Advisor in the European Parliament for almost a decade, where she specialised in tech regulation, international trade and EU-US relations.
Sabina is the founder of the Gentlewomen’s Club, co-organiser of the Young Professionals in Digital Policy and a member of the Global Shapers Brussels Hub, where she led several youth civic engagement and gender equality projects. She holds an MA in War Studies from King’s College London and a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge. She loves bringing people together, building lasting connections and creating meaningful interactions. And she’ll always choose ‘people time’ over ‘me time’. It’s where she gets her energy, inspiration and joie de vivre from.
Eva Gerhards
Eva Gerhards is the Deputy Head of Cabinet of the European Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli. A German national, she has been working in the European Commission since 2004, first in DG Enterprise (specializing in e-business and innovation), later in the Cabinet of Commissioner for Energy Guenther Oettinger. In his team, Eva was responsible for renewable energy, energy efficiency, legal matters, competition and state aid. She then joined DG Energy where she was in charge of energy policy coordination and legal matters.
Before joining the Commission, Eva worked in the private sector, as an associate consultant in a management consultancy, and as a competition lawyer in an international law firm. Eva is a lawyer by training and studied in Germany and Switzerland.
Valerie Kinoo
Valérie Kinoo is a strategic advisor and creative consultant. She helps CEOs, leaders and companies develop their projects, concepts and businesses.
A multilingual entrepreneur holder of two Master Degrees in International Relations and Economics, Valérie did both her theses on gender equality-related topics.
Valérie started her professional career in politics as Chief of Staff for a city councillor in Brussels in charge of gender equality, with whom she started La Maison des Femmes in Schaerbeek.
In 2012, Valérie co-founded The Digital Leadership Institute, an international NGO whose mission is to bridge the gender gap by raising awareness around women in STEM and empowering young girls and women to become tomorrows digital leaders.
In 2015 she opened her boutique coworking space 'Coworking Les Galeries' in the 1847 historical Brussels monument Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. She was one of the first female founders of coworking spaces in Europe.
In 2020, Valérie started working as a consultant for Contemporary Art Museum, Kanal Centre Pompidou and helped with the concept creation, implementation & execution of a coworking space in the museum.
In her podcast and networking events 'Biz & Soul', Valérie interviews artists and creatives about the Future of Work and New Ways of Working, exploring their insights to help us navigate the complexities of the changing work landscape.
Dr. Audrey-Flore Ngomsik
Audrey-Flore is TEDx speaker, multi-awarded leader, whose mission is to help CEOs place corporate social responsibility in the DNA of their corporate strategy, and leverage social, economic, and environmental sustainability to boost their profitability, competitiveness, and attractivity. PhD in Physical Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry from the University of Paris VI, Audrey-Flore has centred her career on the promotion, development, dissemination, implementation and commercialisation of innovations in green chemistry and sustainable development, in order to reduce the carbon footprint of companies.
She has developed more sustainable, i.e. less polluting processes, helping industries avoid the pollution she used to clean up. This involved the development of new materials and green processes based on technologies such as (bio)(nano)materials, ionic liquids, and super-critical fluids, in a variety of sectors (such as food, cosmetics, waste valorisation, biorefineries, textiles, material sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals).
Part of the management team of the Brussels Binder, she advocates that diversity should not be denied in policy debates, as much as it should be included in the growth strategy of companies to foster innovation. Convinced that the biggest threat to the planet is the belief that it does not concern each and every one of us, Audrey-Flore is co-writing a blog to demystify CSR and is one of the laureates of the Studiotopia program, where scientists and artists unite to explain sustainable development to the general public.
www.science-by-trianon.com
Jessica Ramos
Jessica Ramos is the Head of Regulatory & Oversight Affairs at EBA CLEARING which she joined in 2018. Since 2011 she held a number of positions at SWIFT, namely in Oversight Affairs, Legal & Compliance, Finance and as Chief of Staff to the global CEO. At SWIFT she was also responsible for diversity and inclusion initiatives for the business. She started her career as an Associate in Consortium Central America in 2006, focusing on banking, finance, and corporate law.
Jessica is currently a member of the Belgian Company Lawyers Bar, the New York Bar, the Honduran Bar and the In-house Competition Lawyers Association. In addition to her law degree, Jessica holds an MBA in Finance, an LL.M. in Corporate Law from New York University (NYU), and an LL.M. in Competition Law and Economics from the Brussels School of Competition.
Jessica founded Mizbiz in 2016, an organisation aiming to connect, inspire, and empower women in Belgium. She is a Board advisor to CyberWayFinder and a mentor for ConceptionX.
Dr. Beatrice Vos
Dr Beatrice Vos is a partner at the Stonehaven Cozmix Group and leads its transactions advisory practice which offers end-to-end M&A and other transaction advice to the life sciences sector.
She is a corporate lawyer and has been leading legal and compliance departments in the pharmaceutical industry for the majority of her career, most recently as VP Legal of Elanco Animal Health, a spin-off of Eli Lilly and Company and a leading global innovator of veterinary medicines and other animal health solutions. Beatrice started her career in private practice as a competition lawyer and M&A lawyer with the international law firms Freshfields and Allen & Overy.
Beatrice is an avid supporter of gender equality and female empowerment in the workplace. She is a strong believer in flexible working hours and flexible work locations (remote / hybrid) as a way of empowering working mothers to pursue meaningful, rewarding careers and enjoy motherhood at the same time. She practices what she preaches and has a large group of engaged full-time working mothers in her team.
Beatrice is currently a member of the Cologne Bar, the New York State Bar and the European Company Lawyers Association. In addition to her law degree from University of Cologne, Beatrice holds an LL.M. in corporate law from New York University (NYU) and a Ph.D. in corporate law.