Janneke Niessen - Creator
Janneke is a serial technology entrepreneur, angel investor, speaker, (advisory) board member (UNICEF, FutureNL, CODAM), mentor for start-ups and co-initiator of Inspiring Fifty, an in initiative that aims to increase diversity in tech by making female role models more visible. Her goal with the new girl code is to encourage young girls, inspiring them to pursue a career in technology and invest in an educational foundation focusing on math and computer science. Janneke has won several awards for her work, including EY Entrepreneur of the Year. She also writes a and writes columns about technology for a the most popular women’s magazine in the Netherlands. She is currently setting up her third company: Berlage Capital.
Niki Smit - Original script
Niki Smit is the author and illustrator of the wildly popular 100% series. Girls are massively crazy about the creator of the 100% books. She won the Hotze de Roos prize for her debut book 100% Nina. Almost al of her books were nominated for the Dutch Childrens’ Jury Prize, she got the award for her books 100% Coco and 100% Coco Paris. 100% Coco is sold to Germany (Ravensburger). 100% Coco is made into a very succesful movie by Dutch Filmworks and Nickelodeon and played at de cinemas summer 2017. Niki loves drawing, fashion and Paris.
Josselin Bijl - Illustrator
Josselin is a frequently asked name for several offline and online magazines as beauty-editor, designer, coordinator and illustrator. Her illustrations are drawn with pen and marker and completed with ecoline and published in magazines, online platforms and books. Josselin has been working for all major magazine brands. She studied design and styling at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute where she developed her love for online media and technology. Josselin’s style is refined, feminine and catchy.
Buhle Ngaba - Editor South Africa
Buhle Ngaba is an actress and writer. She studied Acting and Contemporary performance at Rhodes University and also studied Processes of Performance at the University of Leeds (UK). She was a member of Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company, she toured with the critically acclaimed musical, ‘Blood Brothers’, she performed in the world premiere of “Missing”. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for both the Fleur Du Cap and Naledi Theatre Awards. In 2016, Buhle was a recipient of the prestigious Brett Goldin Bursary, with the opportunity to expand her knowledge and acting ability of Shakespeare at The Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford, UK). Buhle was voted number 1 in The Superbalist Top 100 List (2016) and was named as one of the Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans (2016). As the founder of KaMatla NPO and author of The Girl Without A Sound, Buhle seeks to promote diversity in children’s literature and aid the development of the arts in underprivileged communities and to develop the legacy of storytelling amongst the youth.
She was recently acknowledged with a Gauteng Youth Premiers award for excellence. Buhle also recently won two Kanna Theatre Awards including best upcoming artist for her first play, “The Swan Song”. Buhle was recently nominated for a Fleur Du Cap Theatre Award (2018) for “Best Leading Actress”. Through her writing, acting, and inspiring work at KaMatla NPO, Buhle empowers black youth, and especially black young women, to find their own voices in a world where they are often disempowered and dismissed.
Andrea Stanley - Editor US
Andrea Stanley has worked in publishing in New York City for going on a decade. Her writing has appeared in Vogue, Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping, among various other titles. Before moving to Cosmopolitan as Features Editor she worked as a senior editor at Seventeen magazine where she has become fluent in emoji and has reported on stories that directly impact teens’ lives, including mental health, dating and relationships, career, and college. As part of her mission to get more teen girls interested in STEM, her work has included joining forces with Google to offer a coding camp for girls, as well as Dell to send a girl using tech to change the world to their annual Entrepreneurs Women’s Summit.
