The ombudsperson can be reached confidentially via the email address and telephone number below. You can call or email to make an appointment for a personal meeting (on location or online).

T: +31 (0)20 525 2501
E: ombudsfunctionaris@uva.nl

Samera Hartog-Ouchene started as the UvA's ombudsperson on 6 September 2021. She has been appointed for a period of four years, with the option of being reappointed for two further terms. UvA ombudsperson is a full-time appointment.

Samera (1977) is a lawyer and worked for the Dutch Ministry of Finance in various managerial positions for many years. She supervised professionals working together on issues in the fields of enforcement, oversight and integrity.

'Employees and students can come to me if they need to tell their story, independent and confidential advice or mediation. Meaningful work, because I can help others and thus contribute to social safety within the UvA. A pleasant working and studying environment is important to us all and an essential condition for good education and research.

We strengthen social safety in particular by investing in a learning organisation: by learning from cases and paying attention to prevention. We do this by investing in the development of awareness and signalling and starting conversations about behaviour. We can help each other by giving and receiving feedback, encouraging debate, investing in professional courage and ethical leadership and leading by example.

It is a joint responsibility to continue to work actively on social safety. After all, we can only strengthen social safety together.'

Jennifer Aggus, advisor ombudsperson

Jennifer Aggus joined the office of the ombudsperson as advisor on 1 June 2022. Jennifer graduated from the UvA with an MSc in Sociology in 2010. Since then, Jennifer has worked for a number of international NGOs. For the last 10 years, Jennifer has worked with Doctors Without Borders where she worked on strengthening social safety and ensuring a comprehensive response to reports of inappropriate behaviour within the organisation.  

Jennifer is originally from Canada, is interested in the social causes and consequences of behaviour and looks forward to making a meaningful contribution towards ensuring a safe work and study-environment for all, in particular individuals who are underrepresented or experience marginalisation within the UvA.

'A precondition for students and staff to thrive is that they feel safe and respected for who they are. When this goes wrong – we are, after all, humans with diverse experiences, expectations and boundaries – it is essential that a safe and confidential manner exists for individuals to report, and that these reports are addressed. Within the office of the ombudsperson, we offer this safe channel to report concerns related to structural social safety.'

Wendy Potman, personal assistant ombudsperson

Wendy Potman started as the personal assistant to the ombudsperson at the University of Amsterdam on October 1, 2024. In this role, she supports the ombudsperson in her duties and serves as the first point of contact. Wendy moved from Enschede to Amsterdam in 1998 and has since worked at various companies as an administrative assistant. For the past eight years, she has worked as a personal assistant in real estate. Her strengths lie in relieving others of their burdens and organizing things in a way that is not only efficient but also secure and reliable. Integrity and confidentiality are important to Wendy.

'My love for Amsterdam has to do not only with its beautiful architecture and fascinating history but especially the people. Creativity, free thinking, and good citizenship have been core values of Amsterdam for centuries. Social safety is essential in this regard. At the UvA, it is no different; when students and staff feel safe, they can bring out the best in themselves. When that is not the case, it should be possible to discuss it. A safe place to do this confidentially is with the ombudsperson.'

The ombudsperson carries out their duties independently and impartially and is not subordinate to any body in the performance of these duties. The ombudsperson has a duty of confidentiality. The tasks and authorities are laid down in the Regulations Ombuds Officer University of Amsterdam 2021 (adopted by the CvB on 12 October 2021).

Key tasks of the ombudsperson:

• Handling reports from employees and students: advising, mediating, investigating, assessing and/or referring.
• Signalling developments and patterns within the organisation and making recommendations to the Executive Board and the dean or director of the faculty or service concerned.

The ombudsperson contributes to increasing trust in the university community with regard to social safety. Our ability to realise a safe and diverse study and work environment depends on many different factors, and an ombudsperson can important contribution to this.