OUR TEAM
Femke Schootstra
Board 2024 - 2026
I'm Femke, student Global Political Economy at Radboud University. With Rethinking Economics I want to empower students to speak up about their ideas and values in Economics, and to be critical young pioneers in new ways of thinking. My personal interests are the macro-economic puzzles of degrowth, and the (hidden) political and colonial nature of economics. I want to contribute to creating a place for these topics in university education.
Wiktor Adamiec
Board 2025 - 2026
I am a political science student, currently doing a minor in economics. Coming to economics I was deeply surprised by the stark contrast between the way economics and political science are being taught. I think like any social science, economics studies should be a place of debate and interaction between students and lecturers, so we can better understand what is happening around us and can analyze it from many different perspectives. I like to play football and tennis. I play right wing, and I am working on a one-handed backhand. Apart from that, in my spare time I like talking with people and seeing their perspective and reading, mostly non-fiction books. I am really happy to be a part of this student-led change!
Benjamin Heaton
Board 2024-2026
I’m Ben! I’m a philosophy student at Erasmus University Rotterdam, but I also have a degree in Economics, three semesters of Engineering, and years of varied experience working in the actual economy. I believe economics has a lot that it can teach us, but it has abandoned its roots and lost its humility. With Rethinking Economics, I hope to help revitalize the discipline such that it is capable of tackling the pressing issues for which it is depended upon.
Valentina Castañeda Morales
Board 2025-2026
Hi, my name is Valentina! I’m currently pursuing my master’s in Finance and recently completed my Bachelor’s in Economics and Business Economics at the University of Amsterdam. I am very excited to join the Rethinking Economics board this year!
My goal within the organisation is to amplify students’ voices and foster meaningful conversations with professionals and institutions to make economics education more holistic and inclusive. I am interested in decolonisation and sustainability, and I see RE as a great opportunity to deepen my understanding of diverse schools of thought. I hope to see our education better reflect the reality and the complexity of our current systems. Above all, I want this to be an open space for debate and conversation—one that invites reflection, curiosity, and open-mindedness.
Vera Breugem
Board 2024 - 2026
My name is Vera, I am a Sociology student at the University of Amsterdam, and completed MSc Organising Social Impact at Utrecht University. During this master’s I got interested in cooperatives, community/local economies, and the ideologies behind current economic curricula. With Rethinking Economics, I hope to contribute to build a vibrant student network through which we can broaden our and others' perspectives on economics.