Being a passionate loveaholic, Marlou is on a mission to change the world. With a Master’s in Global Health, she found her purpose of empowering young people to reach their full potential and bring positive change to the world through World Merit and has been part of building the organisation since the very beginning in 2013.

As the Chief Executive Officer of the World Merit charity, she is leading all aspects of the organisation, including a growing global community of 120,000+ changemakers. Across 125+ Country Offices and 500,000+ acts of merit, World Merit has achieved a reach of over 7,5 million people globally. Marlou is a creative person who is not afraid of a challenge. Her drive and passion for setting up new initiatives has, among others, led to the founding of her own organization and company.

Marlou founded Run for Life in 2010, a Dutch organisation where people commit to running the New York City Marathon in order to raise money for the Cancer Society. To date, Run for Life knows more than 180 runners and has raised over €275.000,-. Marlou is also a Trustee of Postcards for Peace and a Project Soar Board Member. She is heavily focused on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, like everyone should be.