Sibongile (Bongi) Mkhabela is the chief executive officer of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. She served as a UNDP (United Nations Development Program) consultant to help establish its presence in South Africa. Bongi is also the chairperson of Black Sash Trust and serves on several nonprofit and for-profit boards including the Legal Resources Centre, the African Futures Institute and Barloworld. Bongi also is a Joel L. Fleishman Civil Society Fellow at Duke University in the U.S. She has authored a book, “Open Earth Black Roses,” based on her role in the June 1976 Soweto student uprising.

Ingrid Srinath is Secretary General of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. She has been in this job since May 2008. Ingrid also serves on the board of the World Economic Forum non-governmental organization (NGO) Advisory Group; International Advocacy NGO (IANGO) Accountability Charter; United Nations Development Programme Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee (UNDP-CSO) and the UN Development Cooperation Forum Advisory Group.

As a journalist working on gender and development issues in Southern Africa, Saeanna has a passion to change how media cover gender issues. Through her work with Gender Links, she also analyzes gender issues that affect countries in Southern Africa and conducts research that is used to advocate for change in the region.

Obenewa is director of fundraising and international partnerships for the Steve Biko Foundation. Her mandate is to foster partnerships to advance the foundation’s vision of restoring people to their true humanity. Prior to joining the foundation, Obenewa was a business development consultant with GoodWorks International, and served at the African Presidential Archives and Research Centre, both of which focus on African affairs.

Amanda Blankfield is the marketing manager of MaAfrika Tikkun, where she has worked for almost three years. The holder of an honors degree in communication, Amanda also has a marketing background, having worked in the field for several years before joining the nonprofit sector. She has been involved in all aspects of the organization’s work in both its offices and community centers.

Father Michael Lapsley is currently director of the Institute for Healing of Memories in Cape Town. He previously worked for the Trauma Center for Victims of Violence and Torture in Cape Town, which assisted the nation’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. After Father Michael Lapsley was exiled by the South African government in 1976, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became one of their chaplains. While living in Zimbabwe he discovered he was on the South African government’s hit list, and in April 1990 Fr. Michael received a letter bomb in the mail that exploded.

Amanda is the audiovisual and exhibition coordinator at the Cape Town Holocaust Centre. She has an Honors degree in social policy and management and has worked as a health sciences educator at the University of Cape Town. Amanda also taught English for two years in Japan.

Bernie has worked in the development sector since 1986. She started her career as an administrator in a large non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Port Elizabeth. She earned a diploma in public relations and marketing and worked as a fundraiser in the economics and community development field. Bernie was founding coordinator of the Development Forum under the auspices of the Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth and was also the founding director of the Ikhala Trust. She says she “has no formal academic qualifications but is a student in the University of Life Long Learning.” She serves as director of the Imizi Housing Association, a social housing organization, and is an advisory board member for Oxfam Australia.

Ela Gandhi is chairperson/editor of the community newspaper, Satyagraha, and is the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, who is known worldwide for his advocacy of non-violent protests for social change. Ela is a social worker, who worked for many years in the child and family welfare field and more recently helped establish a domestic violence helpline. She also serves on the South Africa Legal Aid Board and was a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2003.

Jenny is executive director of the Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF) based in Johannesburg. She has worked in the field of local philanthropy development since 1997 in the former Soviet Union, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

Sue Howell is currently executive director at WHEAT Trust. She is interested in issues affecting women, girls and how women are represented in the media. She also worked to promote young leaders when she served a community of women’s organizations in Southern Africa. Additionally, Sue has worked in organizational and board development in the non-governmental organization (NGO) sector.

Christa Kuljian is a Ruth First Fellow based at the University of Witswatersrand (Wits) Journalism. Christa opened the Mott Foundation’s South Africa office in 1993 and continued as its director through late 2003. Since then, she has turned to writing about development. She completed a Master’s degree in creative writing at Wits in 2007. Originally from Boston, Christa first traveled to South Africa in 1984-85 when she worked for a law office, the Woodmead School, and the South African Council of Churches. That intense year in South Africa has shaped her life ever since.

Shannon Lawder is program director of the Civil Society program at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. She joined the Mott Foundation in 1995 and has served as a program Officer focusing on Russia and Ukraine, and as the regional director for the Foundation’s work in Central and Eastern Europe/Russia. Shannon also manages the Foundation’s Special Initiatives – International program area, which supports philanthropy efforts throughout the world. Before joining Mott, she worked for the Olga Havel Foundation in Prague, Czech Republic.

Since joining GreaterGood South Africa in 2009, Dylan has evaluated projects for the South Africa Social Investment Exchange, engaged in research for corporate and institutional clients and regularly contributes thought pieces and articles for GreaterGood’s newsletters. Dylan refined his analytical skills through his studies both locally and abroad. He holds an MSc in political sociology from the London School of Economics & Political Science. His academic background has a strong focus on South African development issues. While working on his Honors degree, Dylan contributed to a paper on rural responses to AIDS in the Eastern Cape, and his MSc dissertation focussed on the politics of HIV/AIDS policy in South Africa.

Oshadi Mangena is founder of the Pitseng Trust, a former member of its board of trustees and currently executive director of the Trust. Oshadi earned a Ph.D. in the social sciences. She is a former lecturer at the University of Amsterdam and was a consultant in development studies in South Africa. She also is a trained nurse in medical and surgical nursing, midwifery and public health.

Chris Mkhize is currently CEO of the Uthungulu Community Foundation. The organization is based in Richards Bay, on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. Chris has three university degrees and a number of professional certificates. He is also a political commentator, a newspaper columnist and author.

Christine was one of the pioneers of community foundations in South Africa and founded the Greater Rustenburg Community Foundation.She was trained as a social worker and has helped establish several non-governmental (NGO) organizations during the past 25 years. Christine plays an active role nationally, as well as internationally, by serving as an agent of change who strives for social and environmental justice.

Anthony works for the Gordon Institute for Business Science (GIBS), where he has helped build the Dialogue Circle – a series of programs that develop the next generation of South African leadership. Anthony’s professional interests include the study of democracy in countries in transition, social change in the contemporary era and active citizenship. Prior to joining GIBS, he was the founder of the Gumboots Foundation. Anthony also worked as a participatory planner and researcher for CREATE Consultants, specializing in the mobilization of large rural communities to design and manage government-funded development project in Swaziland, Mozambique and South Africa.

Vuyiswa has been working at Mott since January 2005 and has worked in the development sector for more than 15 years. After graduating with a Masters degree in biochemistry from Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, Vuyiswa started working for Sedibeng Centre for Organizational Effectiveness, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that provided organizational development support to other nonprofits. Vuyiswa later joined the United Nations Development Program and was responsible, among other things, for the development of South Africa Human Development Reports. She also has worked for the government and was responsible for donor monitoring and evaluation at the then-Department of Provincial and Local Government. She started as an Associate Program Officer and was promoted to Director of the South Africa office in 2009.