Welcoming Dennis

My name is Dennis Jamie Jansen, and I will be joining the team at Dembrane part-time!

First of all, I'd like to share that these past three weeks have been an absolute pleasure working with founders Jorim and Eve. Thank you for hiring me! Now, onto the blog.

About me

I see myself as a community worker, musician and adventurer. You might find me on a festival stage with my tribute band, Rage Against the System, climbing a mountain, or generally embarking on an adventure. I enjoy learning about the world, meeting new people, and believe that life begins at the end of my comfort zone.

Why I decided to join Dembrane

What draws me to Dembrane is that the company is stakeholder-driven, adding a crucial layer of bottom-up movement often missing in organised social structures. I believe most of us strive for equality, and it's not morals we lack but the methods and tools to accommodate this. The drive for this seems to be in Dembrane's DNA, and I am eager to be a part of it.

Living in the same building (which is also a community project by Trudo), I met Jorim and Eve well before I joined. They even invited me to participate in a community project at Strijp-S. After sharing that journey, they asked if I would be interested in working with Dembrane. Although my answer was a resounding "Yes," I had to embark on a long-planned quest to explore Latin America. Having the journey of a lifetime, I came back to land into the next adventure.

My former work experience

For the last eight years, I've been involved in community work in various capacities, and more recently as a community youth worker. I've undertaken many projects that were for or initiated with and by the people in the communities I've served. An illustrating example is building a skatepark with teenagers. Working in diverse communities with people from all walks of life, I dare say, has given me significant insight into communal problems and solutions.

I have always had a heart for social causes and believe empowering communities is something I can significantly contribute to. Overall, I would say my greatest strength is that I have worked on a multitude of different projects, which has made me a jack of all trades. This experience has allowed me to communicate with people from all walks of life, both professionally and personally, giving me the ability to connect with almost anyone.

Final thoughts

I feel that Dembrane's company culture allows us to be ourselves within our small but growing group of sparkly brained professionals. We authentically make a difference by empowering communities with people-driven, scalable solutions. I can't think of many other missions that would resonate more with my desires for the world.