About THUJA

About THUJA

Meet Nanke

Nanke Lavrijsen – Nanke was born to Dutch parents on the African continent. She spent her early childhood on a Kenyan coffee plantation, then moved to the seaside on Cabo Verde and later to Harare, Zimbabwe.

It’s Nanke’s life work to unravel the journey of the leader all the way down to its very essence. Through her background in Industrial engineering and Management, her successful career in corporate consultancy, her lifelong experience in moving between different worlds, and her unshakeable love for nature, Nanke developed a unique style of guiding leaders on the road of their professional development and self discovery. 

CHECK OUT Nanke's profile on LInkedIn

Meet Marieke

Marieke van Werven – Marieke gets people moving. She is sharp and intuitive in her observations and knows how to get to the essence. 

Marieke has been providing leadership programs with impact for 15 years. With many years of experience as a product manager within FMCG and her background in management consultancy, she is a pro in designing and delivering impactful learning programmes. In guiding people and organisations she observes and analyses from a systemic point of view. As a result, she creates awareness with regard to deeper patterns. She always works from a sense of interconnectedness and with a clear goal in mind. Her values: fun, connection, love and adventure.

CHECK OUT Marieke's profile on LInkedIn

"We are fiercely passionate about guiding leaders on their path, it's where all the dots connect for us"

"We are fiercely
passionate about
guiding leaders
on their path,
it's where
all the dots
connect
for us"

Finding the way

Nanke founded THUJA from her desire to guide leaders on their journeys to each finding their own unique way to serve the world.

Nanke’s own trials and tribulations led her to explore the wisdom teachings of the world. She is a student and teacher of Vipassana meditation, Yoga, Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism and Shamanism as well as in more contemporary approaches such as Transformational Psychology, Theory U and Leading Mindful Change. Over the past decade, she has found new depths in the healing power of the nature, which she had grown to know so intimately during her African childhood. Nanke is passionate about bridging the gap between the business and the natural world, because she knows this is the only way for the future.

Marieke is an adventurous soul who loves discovering new terrain, in both the inner and outer world. She lived and worked abroad and experienced the power of nature, silence and alone-time during transformative experiences in her home country and in the desert of Morocco. She is also trained in Mindfulness, NLP and Transformational breathing.

Finding
the way

Nanke founded THUJA from her desire to guide leaders on their journeys to each finding their own unique way to serve the world.

Nanke’s own trials and tribulations led her to explore the wisdom teachings of the world. She is a student and teacher of Vipassana meditation, Yoga, Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism and Shamanism as well as in more contemporary approaches such as Transformational Psychology, Theory U and Leading Mindful Change. Over the past decade, she has found new depths in the healing power of the nature, which she had grown to know so intimately during her African childhood. Nanke is passionate about bridging the gap between the business and the natural world, because she knows this is the only way for the future.

Marieke is an adventurous soul who loves discovering new terrain, in both the inner and outer world. She lived and worked abroad and experienced the power of nature, silence and alone-time during transformative experiences in her home country and in the desert of Morocco. She is also trained in Mindfulness, NLP and Transformational breathing.

When you find the way
others will find you
passing by on the road.
They will be drawn to your door.
The way that cannot be heard
will be reflected in your voice.
The way that cannot be seen
will be reflected in your eyes.

~Lao Tzu

When you find the way
others will find you
passing by on the road.
They will be drawn to your door.
The way that cannot be heard
will be reflected in your voice.
The way that cannot be seen
will be reflected in your eyes.

~Lao Tzu

Collaboration

In line with Nanke’s African roots we strongly believe in the power of community. As they say in Africa ‘If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together’. For Thuja’s journeys, intensives and organisational change interventions, we collaborate with other professionals and a circle of dear friends from the field of leadership development and coaching.

"I am because we are"

~The essence of Ubuntu

The meaning of THUJA

Thuja is the scientific name for the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is a widespread myth or archetype in the wisdom traditions across the world, symbolising the connection to both heaven and the underworld, and ultimately connecting all forms of creation. The sap, bark and twigs of Thuja also possess healing properties.

Thuja’s work is rooted in the vision of Interconnectedness and it is Thuja’s mission to bring not only intelligence and experience to the leadership arena but also a healing presence.

 

We're curious about you!

Get in touch