Fighting for Justice
since 2014
Our History
Our foundation was officially established in the Netherlands in 2014 in order to create awareness for Clinton Young’s death penalty case. Our legal director Merel Pontier joined in 2017.
In 2020, the foundation was officially established by Merel in Texas. Over the years, the foundation has grown into an international team of dedicated and passionate volunteers with diverse backgrounds, expertise, and experiences, focusing on wrongfully convicted and disproportionately sentences individuals in Texas.
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Our Mission
The Clinton Young Foundation is committed to supporting wrongfully convicted and disproportionately sentenced individuals in Texas, through advocacy, legal representation and rehabilitation support, striving to create fairness and integrity in the pursuit of justice.
Our Team
Board Members
James Peterson
Board Member (US)
Marlou Cornelissen
Board Member (US & NL)
Tamara Hussein
Board Member (US & NL)
Staff
Merel Pontier
Legal Director & Co-founder
Merel is a licensed attorney in the State of Texas and has law degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the Erasmus School of Law in the Netherlands. Merel has worked for renowned law firms in New York, Louisiana, Curacao, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam and has 5 legal publications, including two books. Merel founded CYF US and works for CYF in Austin, Texas.
Marlies van der Wee
Education & Awareness Officer
Marlies has a background in transformative education and sustainable development. She currently works at a Dutch University of Applied Sciences as a lecturer, researcher, and educational developer. Marlies volunteers for the Foundation since February 2025. She is involved in the Foundation’s educational and awareness activities.
Arianne Hoefs
Legal Assistant
Arianne serves as a legal assistant at the Clinton Young Foundation since 2025. She holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from the University of Amsterdam and has since dedicated her career to advancing justice. Before joining CYF, Arianne worked as a lawyer at the Violent Crimes Compensation Fund in The Hague, the Netherlands, and held positions at various Dutch law firms.
Alex Buitenwerf
Financial Officer
Alex has a degree in IT and currently works as the manager of a team of software testers for the Dutch government. Alex has been involved with the foundation since the start in 2014 and takes care of the financial side of the foundation.
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