March ISU Space Café with the Netherlands Embassy

The International Space University - USA Alumni Association’s Washington, DC Chapter is pleased to present our next monthly event! These events bring together prominent experts on space, ISU alumni, the space community, and the interested public in a casual forum that encourages interaction and discussion.

Date: Monday, March 30th 2026

Time: 6:00pm - 8:00 pm

Venue: 4200 Linnean Ave. NW, Washington​, D.C., 20008

• Present government issued ID upon entering the embassy
• Parking spots are limited, but there is enough street parking available.

Marcella Kneppers is currently Senior Advisor for Innovation, Science, and Technology at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Washington, DC. In this role, she focuses on innovative ecosystems, technological and scientific developments, and policy trends in the aerospace and energy sectors in both the United States and the Netherlands. Her work centers on identifying synergies, fostering international collaboration, and enabling knowledge exchange.

Prior to joining the embassy, she worked in the private sector in the Netherlands as a consultant on large-scale data science projects. Marcella holds a double master’s degree in Data Science from NOVA IMS in Lisbon and Innovation & Business from VU University in Amsterdam.

Bastiaan van den Berg is Counselor for Transportation and Environment at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He represents the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in the United States. Before that, he acted as Senior Advisor International Affairs in the staff of the Director-general of Rijkswaterstaat, the executive agency of the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. He also held various roles at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Directorate of International Affairs of the Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports. He was for example the right hand of the former vice Prime Minister of the Netherlands who successfully negotiated the relocation of the European Medicines Agency from London to Amsterdam. Bastiaan started his career as consultant at EY, advising on Information Management. He holds a MA degree in Ancient History/ Archaeology from Leiden University in the Netherlands and the Royal Netherlands Institute Rome.

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Host or Publisher International Space University US Alumni Association