The Board

Judith Joan Walker

FOUNDER Director

Judith has been focussed on proving new techniques and best practices for distributing renewable energy technologies that put the focus on excellent customer services and accurate data collection in order to create replicable methods of distribution to underserved populations.

Judith was named 2016 Forbes Top 30 Under 30 European Social Entrepreneur, a finalist for the Ashden Awards 2017 for the ‘Clean Energy and Women & Girls’ category and a Global Finalist in the 2017 Global Inclusion Awards.

HUmberto Tan

Board Ambassador

Humberto Tan, is a Dutch radio and television presenter, sports journalist and author. From 2013 to 2018 he hosted the popular late night talk show RTL Late Night on RTL 4. Humberto is an ambassador for the WWF, and the Red Cross and since 2014 an advisor to the court of Overijssel. In 2015 he joined the board of the Fonds Slachtofferhulp. In 2018 he travelled with Judith and Alice to Lesotho to visit the target beneficiaries of ACE and saw with his own eyes the dire need for energy access and financial support in the rural regions. It was on this trip that he documented the stories of these rural customers through stunning portraits, with which the SDG ACE Foundation launched officially at a fundraiser hosted by the Impact Hub Amsterdam in November 2018

Alice Troostwijk

Secretary of the Board

Alice Troostwijk has been living in Lesotho for the past 12 years and was closely involved in founding African Clean Energy BV. She has been actively involved in managing the distribution of energy systems in Lesotho since 2014 as well as the managing of ACE BV’s loan portfolio. It was through these activities that she and Judith decided there was a more active role they could play in ensuring access to finance for their most vulnerable customers. Alice lived and worked in China, Vietnam and Thailand with her family and was active in the Board of multiple of her children’s international schools as well as working as an executive secretary of the Dutch Business Association Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City from 2001-2005.

Linda Sjöström

Vice Chairperson

Linda Sjöström, is a Sustainability Coordinator at Wavin and is responsible for integrating social and environmental considerations into core strategic decisions which is also a valuable quality for the SDG ACE Foundation. She has a background in finance and was employed by Svenska Handelsbanken AB (in Sweden and France) between 2002 - 2013 with 5 year leave of study in between. At Umeå University, Sweden she studied Management with a focus on Sustainability and Business Ethics. She has also done university studies in San Sebastian, Spain and Cambridge, UK. From 2016 and onwards, Linda has been active in other non-profit organisations such as the Swedish Women's Educational Association (SWEA, treasurer and later president for SWEA Netherlands). Linda is very passionate about humanitarian work, ethics, philosophy and sustainability.

Rolijne van Houten

Treasurer

Rolijne van Houten joined the board of the foundation early 2020 in role of Treasurer. After studying business economics and management at RijksUniversiteit Groningen, she joined Akzo Nobel. Next to her first job she graduated as Registered Controller at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. She has an extensive career in various controlling functions, of which 2002-2020 at Nuon/Vattenfall a Swedish state owned energy company. Having travelled around the world first with her husband and in more recent years as a family with three children, she is aware of inequality and has a wish to act. She has the ambition to increase the number of cookstoves reaching the rural households significantly. In her role as Treasurer she focuses on the establishment of a sustainable revolving fund with transparent reporting to stakeholders and donors.

All board roles are voluntary and the board members are not paid for their contribution to the foundation in accordance with the requirements for the foundation to acquire and then maintain ANBI status. The SDG ACE Foundation does not currently have ANBI status, but hopes to gain this charity status in the latter half of 2023.