She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences (summa cum laude; major tracks: anthropology, psychology, sociology) from University College Utrecht and a Diploma in American Studies from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. She received her Master of Science degree (cum laude) in Comparative Studies of Migration, Ethnic Relations, and Multiculturalism from the University of Utrecht in May 2006. She received a PhD degree (cum laude) at the department of Culture, Organization, and Management at the Vrije University of Amsterdam. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Halleh Ghorashi she investigated the sense of belonging and participation/integration strategies of women of Moroccan and Turkish descent in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.