Leyla van der Waarde is Collaboration Manager at the Humane Urbanism Foundation, a non-profit organisation that supports cities in recovering from and preparing for extreme conditions such as disasters and conflicts in a more people-centred way.

Trained as an architect, she works at the intersection of design, governance, and community engagement, building partnerships between international institutions, local actors, and communities to support inclusive and sustainable urban recovery. She is currently leading dialogues with partners across the Middle East and Northern Europe.

Leyla is also the founder of the Architectural Recovery Team (ART), a Delft-based initiative that designs and develops modular, long-term housing solutions for disaster-affected contexts in Hatay, Turkiye.

She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at Delft University of Technology, where her research focused on architectural strategies for disaster resilience and prevention in urban environments.