photographer: carly wollaert © | make-up artist: violeta marinova from art of colors
rahel de vriend(she/her)
director research and innovation strategy at nlmtd
about
i am rahel, the director of research and innovation strategy at nlmtd, where i help organisations navigate complex technological challenges from aviation to public infrastructure. early in my career, i was often the only woman in technical rooms, which made me question whether i truly belonged. research helped me realise the issue was not personal, but structural barriers. that insight shaped how i work and what i advocate for. today, i work to make innovation more inclusive and speak publicly about technology, diversity, and the future of work. i hope to show girls and women that there is no single path into stem, and that different perspectives are not a weakness, but exactly what these fields need.
why do you think it is important that role models need to be visible?
role models are most powerful when people can relate to them. we do not need one or two visible women in tech. we need many, with different backgrounds, different paths, and different perspectives. when a girl sees someone who looks or thinks like her working in this field, it makes the path feel possible. visibility also works on a deeper level. the more our brains are exposed to women in stem and leadership, the more it reshapes what we expect and accept as normal. i have seen this in small moments. a girl at a school event, a woman in the audience saying “”it all makes sense now.”” change happens one person at a time.