NORA Team
Secretariat
Hein Sas
Secretary
Hein Sas (July 12, 1956) is a freelance consultant and researcher, based in Amsterdam. He has studied experimental physics and after working 20 years in environmental research and consultancy he decided to become independent and devote his professional career, and much of his personal life, to restoring estuarine and marine ecosystems. About 10 years ago, Hein became aware of the -almost total – eradication of native oyster beds in the European marine environment and the ecological disaster which this entailed. So he decided to start raising interest in native oyster restoration and, if possible, helping to fund and develop restoration projects. In 2016 thisled to the creation of the Dutch native oyster consortium, in which Wageningen Marine Research, Bureau Waardenburg and Sas Consultancy cooperate in designing and executing restoration projects. The interest and amount of projects in the Dutch North Sea area has been growing rapidly since then, so Hein is currently setting up a Dutch native oyster network, in which all interested parties, ranging from nature restoration NGO’s, industry, government and science cooperate. Hein regards NORA as the essential organisation through which this type of cooperation can be achieved on a European level.
Katrin Wollny-Goerke
Assistant secretary
Katrin Wollny-Goerke is an independent freelancer, based in Hamburg with her small enterprise meeresmedien www.meeresmedien.de. She studied geography and made her diploma in 1991. Focusing on marine nature conservation issues and environmental education & information, she worked at the Seal Rehabilitation Center in Friedrichskoog, Schleswig-Holstein / Germany, and also became head of the Center. In 1998, Katrin began to work as a freelancer for several nature conservation institutions, realizing different media products for exhibitions, educational and information purposes about marine fauna, flora and nature conservation, mostly in a network with other freelancers. During her long-lasting contracts with the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Katrin got in touch with European Oyster restoration. She developed several media products for BfN about the Native Oyster, together with Andreas Essenberger (a freelancer colleague). They were also involved in the organization of the first NORA meeting in Berlin 2017, in close cooperation with Dr. Bernadette Pogoda from AWI. For NORA 2, Andreas and Katrin organized the registration process in order of Heriot-Watt University.
Philine zu Ermgassen
Scientific Officer
Since completing her PhD Philine zu Ermgassen has gained fifteen years’ experience in oyster restoration science and marine coastal habitat restoration. While based in the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh she developed ecosystem service models for oyster and other coastal habitats in the US and globally. She is now a freelance researcher based in Berlin. Philine had the pleasure of being a member of the Secretariat of the Native Oyster Restoration Alliance initially from 2019-2021, supporting the network in developing several practical guidelines, as well as supporting NORA conferences 3 and 4. She has authored numerous marine restoration manuals to help to translate the science into policy and practice. She rejoined the Secretariat as Scientific Officer in 2025.
Andreas Essenberger
Web services & Graphic design
Andreas Essenberger is a multimedia designer and runs Essenberger Design, an interactive media and design agency in Husum, a small port town in Wadden Sea National Park on the west coast of Germany. The agency produces designs for corporate identity, advertising and marketing and also websites and interactive applications for terminals in nature conservation information centres and exhibitions. The agency offers a full range of services for the implementation of projects. From consultation, planning and conception to design, production and reproduction, as well as technical services for the operation of applications. In collaboration with Katrin Wollny-Goerke (meeresmedien), he works on wide-ranging communications projects, such as a long-term project for the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation or Marine Mammals Science Education, a European project carried out by several countries.
He designed and implemented the website for NORA and handles tasks related to visual and digital communication and the operation of the website.