Our Team
THIERRY VANDENBUSSCHE
Executive Director Privacy Salon, Privacytopia and Directo ad interim of CPDP
Thierry Vandenbussche has been organizing CPDP and Privacy Salon events since 2019. He is experienced for organising events and curating thought provoking exhibitions since the turn of the century when he launched Courtisane, a platform for film and audiovisual arts and later Outlandish (photography), stilll gallery and stilll office. In 2019 he co-curated the exhibition 'Festival of Control', a show actually dealing with issues like privacy and data control. He reinforces the team with vivid enthusiasm and a healthy sense of urgency. Thierry is Privacy Salons Art Director, coordinating both the general management tasks and curatorial projects.
JONAS BREUER
Research and Partnership Manager and Directo ad interim of CPDP
Jonas joins Privacysalon with much enthusiasm as Research and Partnership manager to support the growth and execution of new and existing projects. Before, he has been immersed in critical research on data at the Research Group Studies in Media, Innovation and Technology (SMIT) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. His research always centred around the question what role ‘normal’ citizens can play in shaping our rapidly datafying cities and societies, and how we can reinforce their agency concretely. His Phd research in particular focussed on data protection rights and data protection impact assessments, and whether these legalistic instruments could make a real difference for citizens in their everyday lives.
KARIN NEUKERMANS
Financial administrator
Having built a solid and extensive experience in the field of accounting, in 2016 Karin joined the Privacy Salon. She is currently dealing with administrative and financial matters on part-time basis. The rest of the time, Karin is pursuing her and her husband’s dream – the Finca San Vicente Bed & Breakfast in Colombia.
JOREN BAILLIÈRE
CPDP Manager
Joren adds to both the international and the local dimensions of CPDP and Privacy Salon, having lived and worked in Sweden, the UK and Belgium. Educated in philosophy and political science, and with professional experiences from nonprofit organizations, from academia and from the fringes of international relations, he brings insight and synthesis to the CPDP network. He lives in Brussels with his wife, their daughter and his border collie running buddy. He likes to mess around with computers to figure out what they do exactly and he is increasingly passionate about endurance sports.
Ferre Vander Elst
Arts & Production Assistant for Privacytopia and Avatar.fm
After achieving his Master in Architecture at Sint-Lucas Ghent, Ferre graduated from the Advanced Master of Research in Art & Design at Sint Lucas Antwerp. Here he has been developing research that investigates how new narratives about ‘surveillance’ are created through character-design within a (non-)fictional magical world. Ferre is fascinated by the impact of technology on society and the additional processing of data. He creates a fictional world where magical creatures help us re-imagine surveillance.
DARA HALLINAN
CPDP Programme Director
Dara Hallinan is a legal academic working at FIZ Karlsruhe. His specific focus is on the interaction between law, new technologies – particularly ICT and biotech – and society. He studied law in the UK and Germany, completed a Master’s in Human Rights and Democracy in Italy and Estonia and wrote his PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel on the better regulation of genetic privacy in biobanks and genomic research through data protection law. He is Programme Director for the annual Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference, Editor of the Data Protection Insider bi-weekly newsletter and author of the OUP book 'Protecting Genetic Privacy in Biobanking through Data Protection Law'.
Birte Vingerhoets
Communication and Production lead
Birte Vingerhoets joined Privacy Salon as an intern while pursuing her Masters degree in Digital Media in Europe at VUB. After graduating, she became a full-time team member, contributing her expertise and enthusiasm to the organisation. Birte is the creative face behind our newsletters and social media channels. With a strong interest in privacy and data protection, Birte is committed to raising awareness about these critical issues through engaging and accessible communication. During her internship, she co-coordinated the Avatar.fm radio show at the CPDP.ai conference, a role she continues to expand by supporting similar initiatives at Privacy Salon.
Carissa Anderson
Student Communication Assistant
Carissa Anderson is a master's student at the VUB pursing her degree in Digital Media in Europe. She has worked with different companies in Europe and the United States to work towards making online spaces safer for everyone, particularly children and vulnerable populations. She has spoken about AI ethics, safe social media, and youth advocacy in responsible technology at different events and on channels, such as Bosch ConnectedWorld, Jubilee, and All Tech is Human. She is incredibly passionate about ensuring technology upholds public values, and is very excited to have joined the Privacy Salon team to work towards advancing data protection through multistakeholder events and initiatives.