Staff

Neville Gabriel Executive Director:
Neville coordinated human rights and public policy advocacy work for the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, before joining Oxfam as an advisor. He has been involved in building civil society campaigns such as Jubilee 2000 and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, and also serves as a non-executive director of several civil society organisations.

Petronilla Ndebele Head of Operations:
A well known television personality in Zimbabwe, Petronilla has strong senior management experience in communications, having worked for seven years at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) secretariat as the media, public affairs and publications manager and acting head of corporate communications. In 1999, she received an award for excellence in business and economic reporting from the Federation of African Media Women Zimbabwe (FAMWZ). She holds a Master of Arts degree in International Communications and Development, from City University in the United Kingdom.

Themba Mhlongo Head of Programmes:
Themba has extensive experience in regional co-operation and integration issues. He was the chief director of the SADC Secretariat responsible for strategic planning, gender, and policy harmonization, a department that he established and through which he drove a number of key SADC developments. He was instrumental in the development of SADC’s Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP). Previously, he served as the chief director for industry and technology strategy in the South African department of trade and industry and as the manager of economic research at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa.

Lusungu Kanchenche Programme Operations Manager:
Originating from Malawi, Lusungu has more than sixteen years working experience in development in the British government’s Department for International Development (DFID), most recently as Programme Manager for DFID’s Southern Africa division’s regional portfolio in South Africa and earlier for DFID’s Central Africa division in Malawi. She previously lectured in office arts at the University of Malawi and worked in office management and administration in the Office of the President and Cabinet of Malawi. Lusungu holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pretoria, and a Bachelor of arts degree from the University of South Africa, majoring in Development Administration and Information Science.

Ashley Green-Thompson Grants Manager:
Ashley was the director of the South African Network of Trauma Service Providers, where he started working as the network’s grants manager. He was previously the programme manager of the South African National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO) and director of the Justice and Peace Department of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Ashley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the university of the Witwatersrand and is currently completing a Masters degree in management at the same university’s school of public and development management.

Emert Nkhatu Finance Manager:
Emert has extensive experience in financial management and accounting. He joined the Trust from South Africa's National Consumer Tribunal, where he worked as the corporate services administrator responsible for the management of finances, human resources, and corporate governance. Prior to that, he was the finance manager for the Treatment Action Campaign. Emert also worked as the registrar (manager) and accounts administrator at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). During his career, he has been recognized for Best Managed Function: Finance when he was at the CCMA and received a Top Performance Award for financial administration at Eskom. He completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Cape Town in 2000.

Mpho Kgosidintsi Communications and Partnerships Manager:
Mpho joined the Trust from the SADC Secretariat where she was the assistant manager for corporate communications and logistics. Originating from Botswana, Mpho previously worked as the programmes acquisition officer and a news reader for Botswana Television. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Communications from Ellis College in the United States of America.

Jabulile Ndinisa Office Manager:
Jabu joined the Trust from the Zenex Foundation where she worked as a grant projects administrator and office administrator for six years. She is currently studying for a Diploma in Administrative Management (Financial) through UNISA.

Bruno Umba Dindelo Coordinator: Multi-Stakeholder Policy Dialogue:
Originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Bruno worked as a consultant for the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Institute of Security Studies (ISS). He previously served as advisor to various ministers in the DRC government, including the ministers of higher education, transport, communications and defence. He was also a trade representative for public corporations. Bruno holds a Masters degree in Diplomatic Studies from the University of Pretoria and is currently a candidate for a PhD in International Politics with the university of South Africa (UNISA).

Itumeleng Mataboge Senior Financial Accountant:
Itumeleng joined the Trust from Swiftnet, where he was a Financial Manager responsible for internal control compliance, reconciliation of balance sheet accounts, policy development, preparation and analysis of monthly management accounts, budget and variance reports, and annual financial statements. Prior to that, he worked for First Rand Bank Limited as a consolidations accountant analyzing group investments. He also worked for the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) as a trainee accountant. He completed an Honours Degree in Accounting at the University of Natal after completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. Itumeleng is from South Africa.

Thapelo Sekoma Personal Assistant to the Executive Director:
Thapelo volunteered as an assistant librarian in the Nokeng tsa Taemane Municipal Library before taking up a post as a driver at Buche Executive Travel. He has an NQF4 certificate from the Academy of Business and Computer Studies; an IT diploma from PC Training and Business College; and can speak seven South African languages.

Shupikai Gwabuya Grants Officer:
Shupikai has very strong regional experience in grants administration, having worked with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as a fund assistant for the Environmental Responsive Fund. She also gained administrative experience while working for the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and Union Network International (UNI-Africa) in Zimbabwe.

Sheilla Dotoro Grants Officer:
Originating from Zimbabwe, Sheilla has over 10 years of experience in capacity development and grants management. She worked in various capacities at the Zimbabwe AIDS Network (ZAN), most recently as Deputy Director . At ZAN, she was responsible for organisational and institutional development, resource mobilization, managing and mentoring HIV and AIDS service organizations and the network of people living with HIV. She led the process of establishing a grants management facility for ZAN which included the development of the necessary procedures manual, tools, and structures. Sheilla holds a Master of Science degree in Strategic Management from Chinhoyi University of Technology in Zimbabwe and has worked with organizations in Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

Elias Swandle Information Technology Officer:
Elias is experienced in information and communications technology having worked for the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) where he served as an IT specialist for user support. He previously worked as a network administrator (IT) for Palace Consulting Engineers, and as an IT technician for the Tshwane University of Technology. He has a National Diploma in Engineering Computer Systems from Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa.

Taziona Sitamulaho Programme Assistant - RPO:
Originally from Zambia, Taziona joined the Trust from Action Aid where she worked for 3 years. She has experience working with women on issues regarding their rights. She Previously worked with a number of community based organization including the Community Based Tuberculosis Organization (CBTO) where she was a counselor. Taziona holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Work from the University of Zambia.

Boitshepo Kubu Finance Administrator:
Boitshepo holds a National Diploma in Marketing from the Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa and previously worked as a senior sales consultant.

Abelphard Murimbika Website Administrator:
Originating from Zimbabwe, Abelphard has hands-on experience in graphic design and web development. He joined the Trust from TN Financial Holdings’ TN Bank Limited where he worked as a SharePoint & Rubikon Banking System Administrator. Prior to that, Abel worked as a website developer with Netware Design where he was responsible for websites and web applications development. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (Honours) in Computer Science from the Midlands State University, Zimbabwe.

Leigh-Ann Luthuli Administrative Assistant:
Leigh-Ann has vast experience in administration. She joined the Trust from the Imperial Group where she was an administrator for 5 years.

Benjamin Seitlhamo Project Officer:
Having worked with the Trust for a while as a student attaché from Wits University, Benjamin joined the Communications and Partnerships Unit as the Project Officer. He has a postgraduate degree in development studies. Moreover, he has various interests ranging from politics to sports.