Nancy Jouwe is a freelance researcher and writer. Previously, she held management positions within the NGO sector for over 20 years, served on several supervisory boards and committees in the Dutch cultural sector, and taught at art academies in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Utrecht.

As an activist, she has been involved in West Papuan human rights issues, the squatters’ movement, and the anti-racist women’s movement.

Her interests include cultural heritage, arts and culture, transnational women’s movements, colonial history, slavery, and its ongoing legacy. She is currently an external PhD candidate in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and is a crown member of the Dutch Council for Culture. She has co-authored and co-edited several books; her most recent co-edited publication is The Gloria Wekker Reader (Duke University Press, 2026).