We are:An internationally based group of (very) queer individuals with experience in queer healthcare, and activism-fuelled hearts.
Meet our Board
Treat it Queer’s Board represents a collection of bright, passionate individuals who embody TiQ’s mission, vision, and core values. Their diverse array of knowledge, expertise, and life experiences translates in dynamic leadership and work deeply grounded in the needs of our communities.
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Chair of the Board
[He/Him]
Juan is a Nicaraguan Public Health Communicator with over 10 years of experience in the healthcare sector. Juan describes himself as a doctor making health communications respectful, inclusive and science- and experience-based. He practiced medicine in Nicaragua for over 6 years, and supported by his therapist, re-engineered his project of life, moving to Public Health in 2021 where he found his call. Juan studied Public Health in Spain and Governance and Leadership in European Public Health in the Netherlands. He is passionate about health equity and social justice, and advocates for the protection and promotion of LGBTIQ+ (health) rights. Currently, Juan works on infectious diseases and devotes his 9-to-5 to tuberculosis, stigma reduction, person-centeredness, and health and community systems strengthening at KNCV Tuberculosefonds. He believes that queering public health includes the representation of underserved communities in decision-making settings for health systems strengthening. Juan claims that rights-based approaches and person-centered initiatives are cornerstone to any (and every) health intervention.
Juan enjoys living in cities with rivers and bridges, and is eternally in love with Maastricht. He also loves getting his nails done with crazy art designs, taking pictures of sunsets and traveling.
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Co-coordinator of the Education Team
[She/They]
Marina Bikou is a Greek medical doctor and psychiatry resident currently on their 4th year of training at Attikon University Hospital in Athens. She holds a medical degree from the Democritus University of Thrace and a Master’s in Forensic Psychiatry from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Her clinical experience spans psychiatry, general practice, and rural medicine, with a strong focus on providing care in diverse communities to marginalized populations, including refugees and incarcerated individuals.
Marina has completed extensive psychotherapy training, including a 4 year full training course in Gestalt Therapy, Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, and Systemic/Family Psychotherapy, as well as specialized affirmative psychotherapy for LGBTQ+ individuals.
In 2025, they founded Psych in Colour, a Greek social media initiative dedicated to promoting accessible, accurate and queer informed mental health education and awareness.
In her spare time, you could probably find her reading, making coffee or petting every furry friend that is willing to keep them company.
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Co-coordinator of the Education Team
[They/Them]
Meg McGrath is a consultant and educator through Queer & Trans Specialist, LLC as well as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry through Boston University School of Medicine. Previously, Meg served as the Behavioral Health (BH) Clinical Lead for Boston Medical Center’s GenderCare Center where they provided individual therapy, conducted surgical referral letter assessments, and served as an advocate for and provided training about gender-affirming care across the healthcare system. Prior to joining BMC, Meg served as an integrated behavioral health provider within primary care and family medicine settings at Fenway Health, an LGBTQIA+ mission driven health center, in Boston, MA. While there, they also oversaw the behavioral health department’s monthly continuing education program for the 85-person BH department and managed an annual advanced training program hosting candidates for behavioral health related master degrees during their final year practicums. Additionally, Meg served as a faculty member for the National TransECHO program providing clinical education and support to a cohort of more than 50 participants across 20 health centers within the contiguous United States, including Puerto Rico and Hawaii, all seeking to expand their ability to and capacity for providing gender-affirming care. As a faculty field liaison at Simmons University’s School for Social Work, Meg worked to ensure the integrity of students’ field education placements, served as a resource to agency field instructors, and helped students achieve their educational goals within the field placement. They are also co-author of a chapter on gender identity emergence in adulthood within the first case-based, comprehensive textbook to address the unique health care needs of transgender and gender diverse adults. Meg earned their Master of Social Work at Smith College School for Social Work.
In their spare time, Meg enjoys hiking, swimming, and spending time with their pups.
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Co-coordinator of the Communications Team
[He/They]
Brendan Clay is currently completing their Masters of Information Science at the University of Ottawa. They hope to become a librarian in order to aid in the creation of safe and welcoming environments to help foster community. Brendan has followed Treat it Queer since day one and looks to bring their voice, expertise and support to the organization.
Brendan has spent the last seven years as a public servant with dreams of being able to use this knowledge and the experiences they have gained though their own journey of sexual and gender identity to help the queer community.
In their spare time, Brendan enjoys reading, playing table top games and spending time with his friends, family, and pets.
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Treasurer
[She/Her]
Momo Wijngaarde is in training to be a medical doctor and clinical researcher at Maastricht University. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Amsterdam. She is currently completing the final phase of her Master's at the department of Vascular Surgery in the Maastricht UMC+.
Momo has extensive experience working with people both within and beyond the healthcare sector. After discovering Treat it Queer through the Queer Intervision project in collaboration with Roze in Wit, she joined the organization with the aim of contributing to the creation of a safe and inclusive healthcare environment for sexual and gender diversity and actively combating stigmatization. This motivation stems from her personal experiences struggling with her sexuality and 'not feeling queer enough'. Her Japanese and Surinamese background further contributes to her awareness of diversity and the importance of inclusive care.
In her spare time, she enjoys different sports (mainly tennis, running or spinning), discovering new coffee spots, creative or outdoor activities, and being with her loved ones.
Meet the Advisory Group
The Treat it Queer Advisory Group is composed of TiQ’s co-founders and previous Board members. As an ancillary organ to TiQ’s executive, the Advisory Group members remain engaged in TiQ’s myriad activities and provide strategic guidance to the Board.
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Co-founder
[They/He]
Maddalena Giacomozzi is a medical doctor and a feminist queer activist. They work as an endometriosis doctor at Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, where they also conduct research about endometriosis among transgender and gender diverse people. With a background in international medicine and global health, they have dedicated their career to sexual and reproductive health justice for marginalized groups. Their work challenges normativity within the biomedical paradigm through cross-disciplinary research streaming from intersectionality and embodiment theories.
Their research has been published in several academic journals, including BJOG, and it has been presented at numerous festivals and conferences across Europe engaging a wide audience, from academic researchers to queer community groups. Their press coverage includes interviews with Medisch Contact and TRANS Magazine.
Since 2017 they have been coordinating community-based initiatives such as LadyFest Maastricht, Do It Your Health and the Queer Health Youth Exchange.
Their favorite color is red.
Photo: Harmen De Jong
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Co-founder
[They/He]
Stéphane is a graduate of McMaster University’s Master of Science in Global Health program, and previously obtained an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry with specializations in Microbiology, Virology, and Immunology from the University of Ottawa. It was this interest in infectious disease epidemiology, combined with their time spent volunteering at the university’s Pride Centre and interacting with the broader 2S/LGBTQIA+ community that led them to Global Health research and health policy. Now, Stéphane works as a Standards Associate with Ottawa’s Health Standards Organization, and strives to embed principles of queer healthcare throughout their work and Canadian health systems. They are also interested in principles of pleasure-centred care and the ways in which we can re-frame and re-shape sexual health and education.
In their spare time, Stéphane is constantly doing something creative, whether drawing, sewing, leatherworking, or playing the piano and cello, and enjoys creating the farmstead life of their dreams with their husband, two cats, and many, many chickens.
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Co-founder
[They/She]
Flori Sintenie graduated in Medicine at the University of Amsterdam in 2021. They were previously employed in Addiction Medicine (building experience regarding substance-use, addiction, and psychiatry) and in Emergency Care (where they came in contact with many aspects of acute medicine). Currently, they are doing their residency in family medicine and training to become a General Practicioner.
As Flori has a background of gender dysphoria and medical transition themself, these themes are well known to them from both a medical and personal perspective. Besides their studies, they have been engaged in feminist and queer activism, having organized several festivals and workshops in the Amsterdam area. Flori’s mission is to make the healthcare system more accessible and adequate, in particular for those who otherwise often experience stigmatization.
In their free time they like to play football, to draw and paint, and to go snowboarding (when possible).
flori.sintenie@treatitqueer.org
Photo: Harmen De Jong
Our Volunteers
Volunteers are at the core of Treat it Queer’s activities, whether they are involved with providing training to care providers and students, monitoring social media and news outlets, designing eye-catching products and tools, or actively participating in projects, research, or other initiatives.
Short or long-term, they are the ones who make the magic happen.
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Volunteer
[He/Him]
Abhijith is a public health and social work professional with over five years of experience managing health programs. He holds an MSc in Public Health from KIT Royal Tropical Institute/VU Amsterdam and has led TB control and community health projects. He has also worked with queer, migrant, and asylum-seeking populations in the Netherlands. He currently works at the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) as a project officer, focusing on monitoring project performance, supporting donor relations, and actively engaging in resource mobilization to sustain and expand the organization's efforts. Outside work, he spends his time reading, cooking, dancing, and biking (yes, adapting and adopting the "Dutch" vibes in Amsterdam).
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Graphic designer
[They/Them]
Elia is a transmasc non-binary, neuroatypical graphic designer and illustrator with disability from Trento, Italy. They have an extensive background as graphic designer and accessibility consultant. Since 2012, they have worked with many cultural events, academic projects and NGO’s, in Italy and abroad.
Their work focuses on the creation of inclusive contents by re-centering marginalized and disabled people, and on the translation of complex concepts into accessible visual forms. They employ a mixed approach to thematic research in their works, through the lenses of qualitative sociology, design thinking, queer and crip studies.
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Researcher
[She/Her]
“My name is Lucinda Tuithof, I am 26 years old and currently in the final phase of my Medicine degree at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. I’m a book nerd who cries at almost every movie, adores my friends and family, and loves hiking (though I have to travel for real mountains). Unlike most people, I’m drawn to the cold, so give me crisp air, fall colors, and the Scottish hills any day.
During my studies, I developed an interest in sexology, and in particular in issues related to gender and sexual diversity. Queer studies inspire me to reflect on existing power structures and blankspots within medicine. In medical education, I often experience that inclusivity and attention to diversity remain underrepresented, even though these are essential elements for providing good and appropriate care.
It is therefore an honor for me to have the opportunity to conduct follow-up research on the Ask&Tell! Toolkit within the Treat it Queer foundation. This project aligns closely with my interests in both sexology and queer studies. The Ask&Tell! Toolkit was developed following earlier research on community needs relating to sex education and it centres the experiences of queer individuals who are neurodivergent or live with a chronic illness or disability.
The Ask&Tell! Toolkit was designed as a resource to improve sex education and make it more inclusive and affirming sex education. During my research internship, I will conduct a qualitative study interviewing healthcare professionals in the Netherlands and Italy who have used the toolkit in their practice. This research aims to provide insight into their experiences with the toolkit and identify barriers, enablers, and recommendations for the improvement and further implementation.
Are you interested in joining these incredible people?