Ellen Heesen-Hiemstra
Director, House o orange
Ellen has worked in the cultural exchange field for more than 17 years. She is a founding member of the Dutch Branche Organisation BONAPA and has been on its board, the board of ECAPS and currently the IAPA board. She owns House-o-Orange Au Pairs in the Netherlands and House-o-Orange Au Pairs in Cape Town, South Africa. Ellen has a degree in Marketing/Communication from The Hague University and an international background that includes O’levels obtained in Oxford, UK as well as an International Baccalaureate. Although Ellen grew up in Asia (Tokyo, Japan) she did not visit mainland China until 2017 and when she finally did, she came back for a second visit in that year and was able to strengthen her ties with current and new partners. She has been working with China for a number of years now, sending and receiving au pairs. Ellen speaks Dutch and English fluently, some French as well as understanding Afrikaans, a little German and Japanese.
