Derek Hanekom
Title: Board Chairperson
Bio: A veteran antiapartheid activist and seasoned public servant who has held key Cabinet portfolios, including Agriculture and Land Affairs, Science and Technology, and Tourism, across successive administrations since South Africa’s first democratic government. After enduring political imprisonment (1983-86), he went on to spearhead landmark land reform legislation, advance national innovation policy, and reposition South Africa on the global tourism stage. He also served as the interim chairperson of the SAA board until July 2025.
Mandla Nkomfe
Title: Deputy Chairperson
Bio: A former anti-apartheid activist in the youth and civic sector, Nkomfe dedicated over a decade to public service in Gauteng. He served as Deputy Provincial Secretary (1998–2010), Chief Whip, and later as MEC for Finance and Economic Affairs (2009–2014). He has been a special advisor in national government departments, including Finance and Public Enterprises, and completed a five-year term on the Financial and Fiscal Commission Board. Nkomfe also serves on the board of MISTRA.
Neeshan Balton
Title: Executive Director
Bio: Balton has served as the Executive Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation since its establishment in 2008. A lifelong community and political activist, his involvement encompasses teacher unionism, civic organising, and youth mobilisation. He played an active role in the Transvaal Indian Congress and United Democratic Front during the anti-apartheid struggle. Balton chaired SANCA/Nishtara Lenasia, Eastwave Community Radio, and the Mathew Goniwe School of Leadership, served on the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, and currently serves on SAFCOL’s Board.
Naweed Hassan
Title: Board Member
Bio: Naweed Hassan is the Chief Executive Officer of Faranani IT Services, a leading South African ICT systems integrator driving public-sector digital transformation. Under his leadership, Faranani pioneered platforms such as the Patient Administration and Billing System used across provincial hospitals. A former activist in Actonville and councillor in the Ekurhuleni Metro, Hassan combines technical expertise with a commitment to social impact.
Cathrine Constantinides
Title: Board Member
Bio: Environmental activist, social entrepreneur, and human rights advocate. A former Miss Earth South Africa (2003), she co-founded Generation Earth, a youth-led sustainability network addressing climate change, food security, and waste management. Through Lead SA and the Miss Earth South Africa Leadership Programme, she has mobilised youth citizenship. Her recent work on Western Sahara focuses on self-determination, engaging in Saharawi refugee camps and with political leaders globally to spotlight the unresolved conflict.
David Everatt
Title: Board Member
Bio: A leading academic, policy analyst, and development researcher. He is Professor of Urban Governance at the Wits School of Governance, former Executive Director of CASE, founding partner of Strategy & Tactics, and founding Director of the Gauteng City-Region Observatory. Everatt chairs the South African Statistics Council, serves on the International Sociological Association’s Advisory Board, and leads an Urban Health Demographic Surveillance Site under the Gauteng Research Triangle.
Rashid Seedat
Title: Board Member
Bio: Director of the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO), where he drives strategic management and the research agenda. With decades of experience in urban governance and policy planning, he has served in leadership roles across government. From 2011–2021, he headed the Gauteng Planning Commission and Delivery Support Unit in the Premier’s Office, and earlier led Johannesburg’s Central Strategy Unit. A committed 1980s activist, he was active in the Lenasia Youth League, Transvaal Indian Congress, and UDF.
Phumla Williams
Title: Board Member
Bio: A veteran of South Africa’s liberation struggle and seasoned public servant, joined uMkhonto we Sizwe in exile in 1978, serving until its disbandment. Returning in 1991, she held senior roles at the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), including CFO (1998–2009), Acting CEO (2012), and was the first woman to be appointed Director-General from 2020. She led government communications through critical moments, including COVID-19, and is respected for her ethical leadership and testimony before the Zondo Commission.
Barbara Hogan
Title: Board Member
Bio: A veteran anti-apartheid activist, joined the underground movement in 1977 after the Soweto Uprising, mobilising white progressives and relaying trade union and civic information to Botswana. In 1982, she became the first white woman convicted of high treason, serving ten years in prison. After her 1990 release, she helped organise the ANC in the PWV region. Appointed Minister of Health in 2008 and later Minister of Public Enterprises, Hogan continues to shape public discourse.
Kgalema Motlanthe
Title: Board Member
Bio: Kgalema Motlanthe was recruited into uMkhonto we Sizwe in the 1970s and spent a decade imprisoned on Robben Island (1977–1987). After his release, he rose through the National Union of Mineworkers, serving as General Secretary (1992–1998) and pioneering worker development initiatives. In democratic South Africa, he became ANC Secretary-General, Deputy President, and President of the Republic (2008-2009) before serving as Deputy President of the Republic until 2014. Today, as Patron of his Foundation, he advances democracy, governance, and social justice.
Zelda la Grange
Title: Board Member
Bio: An author, and philanthropist with a career encompassing public service, executive support, and advocacy. She served in the Department of State Expenditure before joining the Presidency in 1994 and became one of three Private Secretaries to President Nelson Mandela in 1997. Author of the international bestseller Good Morning, Mr Mandela, and most recent, What Nelson Mandela Taught Me. She founded the Zelda la Grange Foundation and speaks globally on ethical leadership, active citizenship, and encouraging unity and compassion.
Prof Andre Odendaal
Title: Board Member
Bio: Historian, author, and activist with a PhD in History from Cambridge and over four decades of scholarship, writing, and heritage leadership in South Africa. A former first-class cricketer who broke racial barriers under apartheid, he later served as CEO of Newlands Cricket and chaired Cricket South Africa’s Transformation Monitoring Committee. As founding director of the Mayibuye Centre and Robben Island Museum, he has championed South Africa’s democratic heritage.
Sophie Williams de Bruyn
Title: Board Member
Bio: A liberation struggle veteran and icon of South African democracy. She began as a textile worker and shop steward, rising to executive leadership in the Textile Workers’ Union and co-founding SACTU. At just 18, she co-led the historic Women’s March of 9 August 1956. After years in exile, she returned in 1990, playing a vital role in the country’s democratic transition and continuing her lifelong activism in education, gender equality, labour rights, and human resource development.
Shafee Verachia
Title: Board Member
Bio: An alumnus of Wits University, where he earned an Honours in Actuarial Science, served as SRC President, and participated in the #FeesMustFall protests, demonstrating early commitment to student activism and social justice. He has worked in trade and finance analytics at FNB and conducted research on inequality and the future of work at Wits Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, co-authoring papers translated into multiple languages. He serves on the board of the O.R. Tambo School of Leadership and is pursuing a Masters of Finance at Cambridge’s Judge Business School..
Razia Saleh
Title: Board Member
Bio: Director of Archive and Research at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, with over three decades advancing archival preservation and historical memory in South Africa. She served as ANC Archives Project Coordinator (2001–2006), managing exile-period records, and helped establish the South African History Archive to safeguard UDF records. Beginning her activism with the UDF and Transvaal Indian Congress, Razia’s lifelong work reflects a commitment to transparency, human dignity, and historical accountability through preserving and providing access to information.
Nompendulo Mkhatshwa
Title: Board Member
Bio: Shaped by student activism and public service, she played a central role in the #FeesMustFall movement. In 2019, she was elected one of the youngest Members of Parliament and served as Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation from August 2021 to May 2024. She currently serves as Spokesperson for the Ministry in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, continuing her advocacy for equitable education and social justice.
Fahdiel Moosa
Title: Board Member
Bio: A community leader and activist with decades of involvement in political, civic, and social structures. His political journey began in the early 1990s, and he served as a local government ward councillor from 1995 to 2011. He has contributed extensively to community development, chairing and serving on boards including Helen Joseph and Coronationville Hospitals, the Sophiatown Community Policing Forum, Meals on Wheels, Joran House for the Aged, and the Gauteng Taxi Licensing Board.
Caryn Abrahams
Title: Board Member
Bio: Senior lecturer at the Wits School of Governance and holds a PhD in Social and Political Science from the University of Edinburgh. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on urban food systems, anti-racism, social cohesion, and urban inclusion. Formerly a senior researcher at the Gauteng City-Region Observatory, a postdoctoral fellow at UNISA, and Research Manager at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, she leads initiatives at the intersection of governance, equity, and everyday urban life in South Africa.
Sello Mlangeni
Title: Board Member
Bio: Co-founder, Trustee, and Managing Director of the June and Andrew Mlangeni Foundation, established in 2010. A former senior project manager and electrical engineer, he joined the anti-apartheid struggle in 1976, studying abroad in Russia, Germany, and Denmark while supporting liberation activities. Born and raised in Soweto, he continues to serve his community through his Foundation, assisting orphanages, schools, old-age homes, and people with disabilities with food, clothing, and educational support.
Prema Naidoo
Title: Board Member
Bio: A veteran anti-apartheid stalwart and leading organiser of the 1970s. Detained, tortured, and convicted under apartheid for harbouring a political prisoner in 1982, he endured months of solitary confinement and interrogation. Released in 1983, he helped found and shape the United Democratic Front, facing further detention during the 1985 State of Emergency. After 1994, Naidoo dedicated decades to public service as Johannesburg city councillor and Chief Whip, retiring in 2016.
Rekgotsofetse Chikane
Title: Board Member
Bio: A lecturer at the Wits School of Governance, political commentator, activist, and author of Breaking a Rainbow, Building a Nation: The Politics behind the #MustFall Movements. A graduate of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, he earned his Master in Public Policy in 2017 and a PhD at Wits. He serves as Research Associate at Wits ISR, Education and Learning Manager for Tayarisha, and Deputy Chair of the National Committee of Defend Our Democracy.
Achille Mbembe
Title: Board Member
Bio: A globally renowned historian, political theorist, and a pioneering voice in postcolonial and critical theory. He is the author of influential works including On the Postcolony, Necropolitics, Critique of Black Reason, Brutalism, and The Earthly Community, examining colonial legacies, power, race, and global futures. Through his scholarship and public engagement, Mbembe advocates for an “earthly community” centred on justice, memory, and a planetary ethic, and is head of the Innovation Foundation for Democracy.
Sivi Moodley
Title: Board Member
Bio: A seasoned entrepreneur and civic philanthropist. He is the Founder and Group CEO of Macrocomm, a South African technology group established in 2005, which has grown into a leader in smart solutions and data-driven enterprise systems across public and private sectors. Under his leadership, Macrocomm has become a recognised pillar in South Africa’s tech ecosystem. Moodley also supports social-impact initiatives, including literacy and educational programmes across the region.
David Makhura
Title: Board Member
Bio: Served as the sixth Premier of Gauteng from May 2014 to October 2022. Active in student and youth politics during the 1980s and 1990s, he participated in the Azanian Student Movement, COSAS, SASCO, and the South African Youth Congress, and joined underground structures of the ANC and SACP. He held leadership roles, including Gauteng Provincial Secretary (2001–2014). As Premier, he focused on economic modernisation and revitalising township economies.