Julie Lejeune has been appointed as ECRE Director. She will replace Catherine Woollard who stepped down on 30 June.
Julie has been involved in ECRE for some time, most recently as director of ECRE member organisation director of NANSEN – the Belgian Refugee Council. She gained her extensive experience in fundamental rights and issues related to international protection and statelessness through her active involvement in legal support to individuals, technical legal analysis, advocacy and capacity building for legal professionals. Prior to leading NANSEN she held various positions in Belgian civil society organisations, the Belgian Federal Migration Centre (Myria) and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions.
“I am thrilled and honoured to have been appointed as the next ECRE Director,” Julie said in a message to the Secretariat. “I’m well aware of the incredible work that has brought the alliance to where it is today, and I want to start by expressing my respect for the dedication and professionalism that stems so clearly from your collective action”.
Speaking on behalf of the ECRE Board, Chairperson Sadhia Rafi said: “We are delighted that Julie will take up the leadership of ECRE. We are convinced that she will lead the alliance with vision, determination and a strong sense of purpose in these challenging times”.
Julie will assume her new role on 1 October. In the meantime, the day-to-day running of the ECRE Secretariat will continue to be led by the Senior Management Team under the supervision of the Board.
For more information, please contact Ben Moore (E-mail: bmoore(at)ecre.org; Tel. 0032 472 23 00 41).