Velthuis is originally from The Netherlands, but has also spent time in England, Wales, France, Australia and the USA, and has been in Ireland since 1997. She gained a BA in Geography (First Class Honours) from the University of Birmingham and MA in Town and Regional Planning from the University of Sheffield.

Sandra is passionate about the nonprofit sector, in which she has worked for over 30 years as a board member/trustee, on-the-ground volunteer, employee, and latterly, freelance consultant. She set up Volunteer Ireland, the national volunteer development agency, and ran this for seven years, before founding Whitebarn Consulting, a consultancy firm with the goal of “helping not-for-profits to build a better world”. She has worked with more than 100 clients since 2005, with a particular focus on optimising their outcomes, impact and social value. Sandra was Ireland’s first Accredited Practitioner of Social Return On Investment and is now a Level 3 Advanced Practitioner of Social Value. She is a founding member of Social Value Ireland and the primary driver of the goodcharity.ie initiative.

Sandra particularly enjoys helping social purpose organisations to translate theoretical models of good practice to the messy complexity of the real world.