Our Board Members

Ben Knapen (Chair of the Board) studied history and monetary relations, and worked as a foreign correspondent in Germany, USA and Indonesia. After 30 years in the private sector, Ben entered the public realm as a council member of the independent advisory institution for the Dutch government - the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR). Ben served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 24 September 2021 to 10 January 2022. He previously served as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2012 and parliamentary leader in the Senate from 2019 to 2023. Ben has taught as a professor at Radboud University (Nijmegen). Previously he was editor in chief of NRC Handelsblad and later on director-general at the European Investment Bank. 

Diana Eggleston (Secretary of the Board) leads the international program to attract and assist foreign NGOs and impact entrepreneurs to set up their presence in The Hague. With an entrepreneurial mindset and a background in corporate strategy consulting, she strongly focuses on implementation while keeping sight of the big picture. Fluent in several languages and with a multicultural background, Diana is a highly-effective connector, leveraging a substantial network of experts to deliver excellent results for stakeholders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She has worked across Europe, the U.S. and Asia and has extensive experience in coordinating international teams.

 Jill Wilkinson (Treasurer of the Board) is an international leader with extensive experience in industry, consulting, government and not for profit. She is dedicated to advancing sustainability, peace and justice. As the managing director of The Hague Humanity Hub, Jill drives cross sectoral connections and the development of the peace and justice ecosystem of the Hague. Jill has an MBA from York University and a B.A. in German and Linguistics from the University of Toronto. 

Maja Groff, Esq., an international lawyer based in The Hague, is Convenor of the Climate Governance Commission, which seeks to propose high impact global governance innovations adequate to meet the climate challenge. She serves as Co-Chair of the Coordinating Committee and Senior Treaty Advisor for the International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC). She has previously worked on the development and implementation/administration of multiple multilateral treaties. She was a Visiting Professor at Leiden University and is currently Chair of the Planetary Governance Program, The New Institute. She was co-winner of a significant international prize on global governance innovation (New Shape Prize), and is co-author of the book, Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press). She serves on advisory boards for B For Good Leaders and ebbf, organizations devoted to ethical business.

Jasper Meyers spent 32 years’ in Amsterdam and London in various global roles as inhouse legal counsel at AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Networks, focusing initially on M&A and project finance, and later on mobile networks, and application, core and cloud software issues. He started his career with Dentons in Toronto and Allen & Overy in Amsterdam, and has degrees from the University of Cambridge (BA, Philosophy) and McGill University (JD, BCL) in Montréal. He has previously served on the boards of an international school, an alumni association and a technology startup.