Between 2020 and 2025, Van Peski undertook a series of high-stakes international assignments, each situated at the intersection of strategy, security, and complex operational environments. In Afghanistan, she served with the NATO Resolute Support Mission (RSM) within the Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan (CSTC-A), focusing on the development of sustainable Afghan security institutions and the operational readiness of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). Her tenure coincided with a decisive and turbulent period in Afghan history, just months before the fall of Kabul, demanding acute strategic foresight, resilience, and adaptability in an environment of historic significance.

Within the CJ5 Strategy and Planning Cell, she provided decision support, prepared analytical reports, and contributed to planning phased withdrawal operations. She designed a campaign plan for the future ANDSF and implemented a dashboard to monitor logistics and operational performance, enabling senior leadership to make timely, informed decisions. “Working in CJ5 required constant adaptability; responsibilities shifted with the dynamics of the mission, sometimes within hours,” she reflected at Camp HKIA Kabul, 2021. This assignment combined operational complexity with the profound human dimensions of institutional reform, testing both analytical skill and leadership under pressure.

From 2022 to 2023, Van Peski chaired the German-Netherlands Military Mobility Office in Ulm, Germany. In this capacity, she oversaw initiatives to enhance cross-border operational capabilities and strategic coordination between allied forces. The role required precision, diplomatic acumen, and foresight to ensure seamless collaboration in a multinational framework. “Effective coordination relies not only on planning but on understanding the subtle dynamics between partners,” she observed during a briefing in Ulm, 2022.

In 2024, she was deployed to the US Security Coordinator Office for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, stationed in Ramallah, West Bank. The mission unfolded during a tense period following the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, marked by heightened security risks and intricate political dynamics. She worked closely with local authorities, international partners, and security stakeholders to support stability, conflict prevention, and operational cooperation. “Strategy is most effective when it accounts for the realities of the people it is designed to serve,” she noted during a NATO workshop in Brussels, 2021. Across Afghanistan, Germany, and the West Bank, these experiences highlighted her ability to navigate historic, high-pressure environments, balancing operational rigor with strategic vision and practical diplomacy.

Between 2014 and 2019, Van Peski focused on humanitarian and peacebuilding operations in some of the most challenging international contexts. In 2014, she was deployed to Ukraine with the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), operating in Donetsk, Kherson, and Mariupol during a period of escalating conflict and unrest. As Second-in-Command of the Mariupol Patrol Hub, she led monitoring teams, facilitated ceasefire enforcement, and coordinated the delivery of humanitarian assistance, often in situations of considerable personal risk. “The eyes of those affected by conflict are the most profound teachers,” she observed in an interview with Ukraine Magazine, 2015. “Even in the midst of crisis, communication and patience can transform impasse into understanding.”

Following her work in Ukraine, Van Peski joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as Chief of the Peace Programming Section at UN Volunteers (UNV), overseeing early recovery, peacebuilding, and post-conflict electoral processes across twenty-five post-crisis and fragile contexts. Her work involved coordinating international teams, supporting local governance, and ensuring that recovery programs were participatory, sustainable, and sensitive to the social dynamics of each context. “Peace is enacted in communities through collaboration, trust, and inclusion,” she stated during a UNDP seminar at the Alte Abgeordnetenhaus in Bonn, 2017.

Additionally, she continued to strengthen her expertise in democratic processes and human rights, advising governments and international organizations on governance, institutional reform, and conflict prevention. These years solidified her capacity to lead in environments of uncertainty and complexity while maintaining a focus on sustainable, community-centred outcomes. “Effective leadership in fragile contexts requires not only expertise but an understanding of the human dimension that underlies all operational success,” she remarked during a regional peacebuilding forum, Geneva, 2018.

Between 2008 and 2014, Van Peski’s work concentrated on democracy, governance, and human rights in over thirty post-conflict countries. She collaborated with the UN, European Commission, Council of Europe, OSCE/ODIHR, and NGOs, providing election observation, policy advice, training, and capacity-building programs. Her responsibilities included preparing assessment reports, facilitating electoral monitoring missions, and advising local and international stakeholders on democratic consolidation and governance practices.

Alongside her fieldwork, Van Peski pursued advanced academic studies, completing postgraduate programs in Civilian Personnel in Peacekeeping (UNITAR-POCI, Pisa) and Russian Language and Culture Studies (Pushkin Institute, Moscow), while undertaking doctoral research at Maastricht University on democratization and electoral processes. “Understanding local culture is never a luxury in international work; it is a prerequisite,” she noted during a Yabloka Symposium in Moscow, 2009. “Language, context, and history shape the possibilities for cooperation and reconciliation,” she added during a lecture at Maastricht University, 2011.

Her expertise in elections and governance was complemented by practical engagement in diverse cultural and political settings. “The integrity of elections requires both vigilance and encouragement; it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure citizens’ voices are heard,” she remarked at a panel discussion of ENEMO, Brussels, 2010. Through this work, she developed the ability to combine analytical rigor with practical strategy in supporting the development of resilient democratic institutions and human rights frameworks.

Van Peski’s early professional years were grounded in education, training, and applied psychology. Initially, she trained adults in managerial and secretarial skills, before joining SOM, a state-owned educational counseling service, as an educational psychologist. In these roles, she refined her skills in assessment, coaching, mediation, and the design of individualized learning programs, emphasizing both personal development and organizational improvement.

Subsequently, she joined Fontys University of Applied Sciences, leading initiatives on international exchange and global citizenship. She established partnerships with universities across Europe and beyond, attend annual international meetings of the European Association of International Education (EAIE) and the North American Association of International Educators (NAFSA), designed curricula, and mentored students from diverse backgrounds. “Understanding the individual allows one to address wider social and organizational structures,” she noted at the Fontys International Summer University on Active Global Citizenship, 2005. “Education is both a tool and a lens for interpreting the world,” she added during a keynote lecture, Technical University Eindhoven Course on “Engineering a Peace Architecture”, 2006. These experiences laid the groundwork for her subsequent engagement in international development, peacebuilding, and governance.

During her adolescence and early adulthood, Van Peski engaged with CISV International, participating in youth peace programs focused on cross-cultural dialogue, civic responsibility, and global understanding. She subsequently served as trustee for CISV Netherlands and as a member of its International Expanded Executive Committee, contributing to program development, strategy, and organizational governance. Participation in European Commission youth programs further enhanced her understanding of inclusion, youth participation, and international cooperation.

Academically, she studied Educational and Cultural Psychology at Tilburg University, supplemented by degrees in Traumatology, Global Education, and International Development Studies. “Responsibility is enacted through action, not inherited,” she stated during a CISV Youth Forum in Riga, 2000. “The world opens when one listens first and acts thoughtfully thereafter,” she reflected at the European Youth Forum in Budapest, 2001. These experiences reinforced her commitment to civic engagement, leadership, and sustained international involvement.

Born in 1970 in the Netherlands, Van Peski spent her early childhood in Switzerland, within a family engaged in theology, diplomacy, and public service. Her upbringing in a vicarage exposed her to philosophy, ethics, literature, art, and international perspectives, fostering reflection, curiosity, and critical thinking. Frequent intellectual debate and exposure to visitors from diverse backgrounds encouraged observation, openness, and discernment.

Family traditions of inclusion and cultural exchange, combined with frequent relocations, cultivated adaptability, resilience, and a broad perspective on social dynamics. “Understanding people begins with listening; the home was my first classroom, the world an extension of that learning,” she recalled in an interview with BNR News Radio, 2018. “Leaving familiar places teaches that continuity is found in values, not merely in geography,” she noted in a personal essay for Fontys Alumni Review, 2020. These formative experiences laid the foundation for a career dedicated to global justice, education, and international engagement.