International Journey before founding Attune

My career began in Northern Mozambique as a government advisor in preventive health. I worked five years (1980-1985) on mother & child nutrition and as a TVET teacher for paramedics. The African Ubuntu culture deeply shaped me, personally and professionally.

From 1985–1990, I worked with Novib (now Oxfam-Novib), managing funding for projects in Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries. My later consultancy work (1990–2004) with SAWA, MDF, and Schouten & Nelissen brought me to over 15 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, including Angola, India, Brazil, and South Africa. In the Netherlands, with Schouten & Nelissen I worked as a skills trainer / advisor for leadership and as a business developer for competence development.

These years sharpened my skills in project leadership, intercultural collaboration, coaching, and development, and deeply influenced the way I support my clients today: as a sounding board, mirror, travel guide, and catalyst for transformation.

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2004 — A Leap into Purpose and founding Attune

In June 2004, I founded Attune as a reflection of my passion for personalized, in-depth professional development. After a career with Schouten & Nelissen and years of international work in development and consultancy, I stepped into entrepreneurship. My goal was clear: to support professionals, leaders, and organizations through change and transformation with depth and purpose.

Attune’s early years focused on reintegration, outplacement, and career coaching. We earned the Blik op Werk Quality Mark and became a registered private limited company (BV). I built and led a team of five professionals and together we supported over a thousand individuals in finding roles aligned with their talents and values. We also developed a strong reputation for working with gifted, highly sensitive individuals, and those on the high-intelligence autism spectrum, using a holistic, attuned approach.

2010 — A Strategic Shift

The 2010 financial crisis hit the employability market hard. I made the difficult decision to dismiss my team and continue as a one-woman business. This allowed Attune to remain agile, future-oriented, and true to its core values.

Since then, Attune has operated as a sole proprietorship under my name, Sonja Vlaar. I collaborate with a network of independent professionals and take on projects that resonate with my values of depth, alignment, and curiosity.

2025 — Experience, Freedom, and Focus

This year, Attune celebrates 21 years. I am grateful to work from a place of professional freedom, choosing projects that inspire me. Attune is a registered business, and while many of my professional peers retire at this stage, I continue to work with passion and purpose.

Current Work & Collaborations

  • Coaching and supervision for clients (my ongoing business)
  • Group supervision at HAN University (International Social Work program): ended in September 2025
  • Co-authored the handbook Supervisie voor Coaches, een kwaliteitswaarborg voor Coaching, with Louis van Kessel, published in September 2025
  • Working on the English version of the above-mentioned handbook
  • Researching the heart-brain connection in decision-making (co-authoring article expected in October 2025)
  • Started co-writing a book with a colleague on the nervous system in leadership and professional life
  • Collaborating with the NPN Institute for Applied and Organizational Neuroscience (since 2024) own the Neuroplastician Professional Alignment Review Sessions (NPARS)

More information can be found on my LinkedIn profile.

Personal & Professional Values

  • Enthusiastic
  • Out-of-the-box thinker
  • Passion for reflection and transformation
  • Seeks harmony between brain, heart, and body
  • Relationship-centered in all professional endeavors

Testemonials:

Februari 2021: Sonja’s leeftijd is een pluspunt omdat ze begrijpt wat er speelt bij senior managers met persoonlijke vragen in hun werk. Ik kreeg er zicht op hoe een belangrijke kernwaarde positief maar ook negatief uitwerkt. Sonja acteert op dat wat er in het moment speelt. Ze onderbouwt dit met verwijzing naar theorie, haar ervaring en praktische oefeningen. Het was een eye opener dat ik mijn brein op simpele manieren kan beïnvloeden en dat ik me daardoor ook anders ga voelen. Ik kan nog steeds terugpakken op het Neurozone rapport dat mij nieuwe inzichten en handige tips heeft gebracht.

Mabel Bross, Manager Jeugdbescherming Brabant

The coaching solidified me as a leader to deal with managerial issues, coping with difficult circumstances and getting the best from my team. My ability to confidently lead the conversations with my superiors and colleagues increased significantly. I learned to review issues form various angles. I transformed to be calmer in resolving problems and looking for alternative approaches. There has been no session which I left without learning and with fun! Not tiring at all.

Prudence Masako, EngenderHealth Tanzania

The coaching sessions with Sonja are action-oriented. I developed new habits to better understand myself. I left every session having learned something new, whether it was about myself or a new technique to reflect or to use in reflection. I would recommend Sonja as a coach to anyone who is interested in growing as a leader. Her coaching allowed me to improve my way of showing up every day and in crucial situations, so I could make better choices. I cannot thank her enough for her coaching over the past 6 months – it was always the highlight of my week

Maria Selde, M&E Consultant Guidehouse

Academic Degrees

  • Ir. Nutritionist, Diploma Wageningen University & Research (1983)
  • First-grade Teaching Qualification in Biology, Nutrition, and Preventive Healthcare
  • Master Supervision and Coaching, Diploma HAN University of Applied Sciences (2003)
  • Master Neuroplastician (M.npn), Certification NPN Institute for Applied and Organizational Neuroscience  (2024)

These foundational degrees have shaped a practice grounded in methodology, evidence, systems thinking, and applied neuroscience.

Key Certifications

  • Supervisor (LVSC, VLA001 – S H4, valid through 2028/ ANSE)
  • Behavioral Trainer with several Dutch management training institutes ( e.g. Schouten & Nelissen)
  • Conversational Intelligence® (C-IQ)
  • Neurozone Advanced Coach®
  • Neurostarter® (Prof. Justin James Kennedy)
  • Focusing® Practitioner
  • Whole Brain® Thinking (WBT)
  • ORSCC (Certified Organization & Relationship Systems Coaching with CRRGlobal)
  • Enhanced Narrative Coach® (with David Drake)
  • Team Coaching (TCI)
  • TMAMethod® for Talent Management
  • Applied Neuroscience (various tools and schools)
  • RET® (Rational Emotive Therapy, Albert Ellis Institute)

Attune’s future

Attune continues to evolve. As I support others in transforming their professional journeys, I remain on my own lifelong path of learning, discovery, and connection.