Board

Dr. Harold E. Robles

Founder & President

Drs. Cees Boonen

Chairman of the Board

Dr. Jelle Braaksma

Member

Dr. Bas van Wersch

Treasurer

Dr. Irma Baars

Member

Dr. Harold E. Robles

Founder & President

Dr. Harold Robles, known for his international humanitarian work, became a devotee of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Albert Schweitzer at the age of eight.

In 1999, Dr. Robles founded the Medical Knowledge Institute (MKI), an International non-profit organization that focuses on education and providing information from the conviction that healthcare is a human right.  For his work, Robles received numerous awards such as an Honorary Professorship of the Polish Academy of Medicine, School of Public Health in Warsaw, Poland, honorary doctorates.

On the 29th of April 2009 Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands granted Dr. Robles a Knighthood, “Ridder in de Orde van Oranje Nassau”, and on the 29th of September 2009 the American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts appointed him Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Health, Education and the Humanities.
Dr. Robles has published several books about Albert Schweitzer, which have appeared in the Netherlands, the former East Germany, Italy, China, Korea, Yugoslavia and the United States.

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Drs. Cees Boonen

Chairman of the Board

Cees Boonen (1957) was from 1992 until December 2010 managing director / major shareholder of Optimix Vermogensbeheer NV (Amsterdam; Netherlands). After a study macroeconomics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam he started his professional career in the financial sector at NBM Bank Amsterdam in 1985, and as a fixed income specialist he had several analytic and commercial jobs within the Investment Banking and Securities Division. At Optimix Vermogensbeheer NV Cees was responsible for the corporate strategy with the present company (www.optimix.nl) as the outcome. In 1997 the managing partners of Optimix Vermogensbeheer NV founded “Stichting Optimix” (a private charity foundation) to emphasize “the other site of the money”. Cees is chairman of Stichting Optimix since 2005.

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Dr. Jelle Braaksma

Jelle T.Braaksma. (March 6, 1939), M.D., Ph.D.Obst. Gyn. Free University Amsterdam, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill N.C. USA.
Some previous positions held in (tropical) health, medicine, teaching and management. General Practioner tropical medicine Kakata, Liberia W.Africa. Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Free University Amsterdam Chairman of the Board of the Erasmus Medical School, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Chairman of the Board of the Amref Flying Doctors, the Netherlands Member of the Board of Directors of the Amref Flying Doctors, Nairobi, Kenya. Senior Adviser PUM, Netherlands Senior Experts, Nepal.

Some current positions:
Emeritus Chairman of the Board of the Erasmus Medical School Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Chairman of the Board of the Netherlands Emigration Fund. Vice Chairmanof the Board of Governors of the Kempenhaeghe Institute for Epileptic Diseases, Heeze, the Netherlands. Chairman of the Program of Patientsafety, the Netherlands Instiute for Health Research (ZON-MW), Den Haag, the Netherlands.

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Dr. Bas van Wersch

Treasurer

Bastiaan van Wersch entered the financial world immediately after receiving his Masters Degree in Economics from the Netherlands School of Economics in Rotterdam. He has held senior management positions with leading financial institutions in various countries in Asia. Upon his return to Holland he became an independent financial consultant and led large projects with major Dutch financial institutions. Currently he is managing director of an investment management company. Drs. van Wersch has travelled extensively in developing countries. His experiences en impressions in those countries paved the way for his joining the Medical Knowledge Institute.

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Dr. Irma Baars

Irma Baars (1980) studied health care sciences. After her study and PhD she worked in Surinam where she educated students of the study Health Education. Since June 2009 she works as a consultant at fluent Zorgadvies. Irma was first involved with MKI via fluent; fluent supports MKI with organizational advice.

Irma travelled and worked abroad where she came in touch with other countries, cultures and opportunities for further development. In developing countries she saw and felt the importance of prevention and education. Irma feels concerned with the aim of MKI and supports MKI with much enthusiasm.

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