Delegate Biographies

Allison Geduld is a senior lecturer at the University of Johannesburg. She teaches Jurisprudence and Interpretation Theory. Her research interests include Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law and Human Rights Law. Her hobbies include spending time in nature, reading and cooking. 

I AM: Education- Learning support Teacher. Love to engage with other people, Love learning new languages and have fun (whether to unwind or educational).

I like any type of ice cream as long as there are NO nuts or coconut visible in it. 

The moment: My Spiritual being and FAMILY is my sanity and safe space. HOPE is what's on my mind. I hope for a better future, new learning experiences and to get married hahaha:). 

Educator, Innovator, Entrepreneur

I am Anri Magerman, currently working for the Dell Young Leaders Foundation - passionate about personal and community development.

Working within student support and extending my network beyond Stellenbosch University's borders keeps my passion burning. I find inspiration in helping others achieve their potential and fostering meaningful connections.

Playing the piano and writing are my sanctuary. These creative outlets provide balance and tranquillity amidst life's demands.

At this moment, I am deeply focused on the transformative power of education. It's a window into my heart, as I believe in its ability to unlock boundless opportunities and shape a brighter future for all

As I sip this coffee, I note a deep capacity for authenticity, a capacity to pause. I’m a candidate attorney in Employment practice. Curiosity, laughter and Neo Soul moves me. Since earning a LL.B and a LL.M (ADR) at Stellenbosch University and two Rector’s Awards for Excellent Achievement, I recognize a need for more equity and accountability. Let’s start the conversation.

Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes is a mother, daughter, educator, organizer, author, event producer, performance artist, and community servant. Most know her by her many pursuits, but the way this writer knows herself and the world around her, is through her exploration of the word.  Embedded in the cultural soil of New Orleans and watered by the writings of her literary idols, Kalamu ya Salaam, Sonia Sanchez, and Toni Morrison, Asali has grown to bask in the sun of her literary heritage—from the sages who transformed pharaoh to God in Ancient Khemet to the Spy Boys who chant the way clear for Big Chiefs on Carnival Day.  Ms. Ecclesiastes excitedly brings her deep roots in New Orleans’ indigenous culture to her work as the new Executive Director of Efforts of Grace and Ashé Cultural Arts Center. 

I am ontologically black, existentially queer, and spiritually Christian. Chosen family who hold me accountable keep my flame alive. The hobbies I enjoy most are reading and writing poetry. At the top of my mind is the hope—desire and yearning—for a more just world for all.

 Author/co-author (Scattered Assets (2023); UWENZI (2016); Taking UBUNTU beyond abstract concept and theory (2022)). Mathematics faculty member (FSCJ). And, just a Bantu. From a Diaspora slant, my heart and mind promote Afrika and Global Afrika as resources for uplift, leverage and empowerment. Watching old movies (on YouTube), walking, and listening to music (especially Old School R&B and contemporary Jazz) allow for a level head. 

I am an historian currently completing my PhD at UCT while lecturing at UFH. I am passionate about people, places, and storytelling. My current favourite hobby/activity is attending music festivals. I enjoy being in nature, so having moved closer to the beach this year has been an absolute treat.

Curtley Solomons is a researcher at the Transformation Office at Stellenbosch University. He’s passionate about discovering untold histories and learning about different peoples’ “lemon juice making process” within their specific contexts.

Eduard Beukman is the Transformative Education Policy and Programme Lead for Oxfam in Africa based in Kampala, Uganda. Education is his passion for how it shapes past, present and future, which has contributed to being a bibliophile. In his spare time, he loves surfing/swimming, kenjutsu, gaming and anime.

I'm a student at Stellenbosch University, shaped by the love and resilience of my hero, Veronica Buys, my mother. My passions are football, gardening, and most of all eating delicious food. My mission is to inspire growth and kindness within myself and others. Above all, my heartfelt desire is to always wear my heart on my sleave and show love and empathy along the way.

I am Francisca Nduom, a graduate of UCC with a bachelor degree in Communication Studies. Ghana is my home and I am a tour guide(volunteer) in Cape Coast Castle. Writing and ministering spoken word is my springboard and the Trinity God is my manager.

Dr. Frederick Gooding, Jr. is the Dr. Ronald E. Moore Endowed Professor of Humanities at Texas Christian University and has a specialized passion for critically analyzing race in mainstream media. He serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Hip Hop Studies with his latest book, The Griot Tradition as Remixed through Hip Hop: Straight Outta Africa, published  in August, 2023. 

Retired educator of 25 years. Daughter, Sister, Wife, God-mom, Auntie, Cousin, Mentor. I like to learn new and exciting things, reading (horror, non-fiction), movies, going to the beach, and listening to Old-School R & B and Jazz. Knowing what is going on in my community, especially with my elderly neighbors – making sure that they are ok. 

Greta McHaney-Trice is a Consultant and founder of It Takes a Village Educational Consulting, LLC, specializing in teaching Restorative Justice.   She retired after working in public education as a teacher and administrative assistant.  Afterward, she worked as Executive Director of the Resolution Services Center of Central Michigan, a dispute center for the State of Michigan. She served as Project Coordinator for the Pave the Way Project for the City of Lansing and the Historical Society to document the narratives of African American families dislocated by State highway construction from 1964-70, which recently culminated in a full-length film documentary.  She serves on the Advisory Board for the  Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust.  Greta was honored to present in South Africa with the Michigan State University Ubuntu Dialogues Project.  She passionately advocates for social justice everywhere; enjoys writing, fishing, and her most rewarding role- grandmama

My name is Halla Jones. I believe in the power of relationships, persistance and curiousity to transform our lives and our communities. I am dedicated to undersatnding and discovering alternative ways of being and knowing that set aside urgency and competition. We all want to thrive and we all deserve joy just because we are. How do we live into that together?

Jasper St. Bernard is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Memphis. His work focuses primarily on African American philosophy, particularly that of the late 19th to early 20th century. He is currently working on a dissertation that is attempting to center the social/political thought of Ida B. Wells-Barnett. He is specifically looking at her early anti-lynching work (1892-1905) and examining how she understood lynching effected the intersection of race, gender, and law. One of the goals is to work through how Wells-Barnett’s work can help us make sense of that intersection as it currently manifests itself, especially as it relates to the ongoing oppression of black people here in America (e.g. police brutality, mass incarceration, etc.). 

Jeanine Ntihirageza is Professor and Director of the Center for Genocide and Human Rights Research in Africa and the Diaspora at Northeastern Illinois University. Proud to have recently published a book chapter entitled Education and Epistemicide in Africa: Towards an Ubuntu-Based Comprehensive Model of Education (2022, co-authored). What brings me joy? Being a mother, a wife, and a daughter. I also find peace in nature, particularly along large bodies of water. 

I am a musician, creative and researcher. The most joyous part of my music-making is that it is fundamentally a shared experience. I am a deeply sensitive person, which ultimately allows me to serve with my whole heart and to share profound emotional depth.

Oh, and my favourite ice cream is definitely peanut butter!

Leya Mgebisa is a sociologist and researcher interested in the acts of participatory democracy in society. At present, this is examined through education by focusing on the public schooling system in South Africa. She delights in being surrounding by nature, exploring museums and savouring the wonder that is food.

Historical artist Lillian Young depicts forgotten or not well-known moments in the historical Black experience, focusing on lesser-known Black leaders, stories, events, and objects commonly known within Black communities. Often historical facts have been modeled to fit others' narratives and these changes can affect how we understand and react to current events. Today many people work against understanding facts of history, especially in BIPOC narratives. In highlighting these moments Lillian works to make a connection to the social anxiety felt today from the rise in racism, loss of representation, and her own struggle to continue to fight for equity.

Lillian’s work has appeared in galleries across the United States and is currently on view in South Africa. Lillian is the Family Programs Coordinator at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. She received her BFA in Studio Art from Texas Christian University in 2018. In the Spring of 2022, she received her MFA in Studio Art with a certification in Museum Studies from Michigan State University. Lillian has worked at the Kimbell Art Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The National Portrait Gallery, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

 Founder of Integral Rebirth, a multidisciplinary institute with Ubuntu as bedrock of its products, services, and solutions. Her passion is the revitalization of indigenous knowledge systems as relevant science and practice. She loves music and top of mind is the role of music in education.

I am Marietjie Oelofsen. I am fired up by a passionate connection to South Africa and all her people. I am struggling to figure out what it looks like to live here as a white, privileged person. It is a necessary and a good struggle - one that requires less talking and more listening.  

I am a mother, a scholar, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and a life partner. Having to fight for a world where people of colour have freedom, and can choose how they wish to be represented as they move through the world, is important to me. I enjoy reading and swimming and am an avid watcher of films.

Natasha Coltman has been the Administrative Officer at SU Museum since 2016. Her daughters, Julia (11) and Jamie (9) keeps her busy and crafting keeps her sane. Losing her husband and father-in-law in 2022 has been extremely difficult but she still tries to keep moving forward.

Nosipiwo is a socialist and a womanist, for feminism is not enough. Her research interests include Museum Studies (visual & discursive framings of anthropological exhibitions), Higher Education, and Black Feminist Praxis. Using Black feminist epistemology as a critical lens, she examines the multiple & complex ways in which structures of power reproduce marginality in Black student’s lives.

Dr. Moyo is a Professor and Program Director at the Indiana University School of Social Work – South Bend. Dr. Moyo's scholarship focuses on social development issues in Southern Africa, interrogating racism in human services and higher education, unlearning everyday violence, decoloniality, and social change as it pertains to Southern Africa, Africans in the diaspora and indigenous communities. 

Personal bio: Loves flower gardening, visiting flower gardens! Dabbles into poetry and art to keep alive!

Pearl Mamathuba was born in Limpopo South Africa; She has co-curated exhibitions in the city of Johannesburg at the Bag Factory studio, collaborated in group exhibitions “Zoo City” at the Constitution Hill gallery in Johannesburg South Africa. In 2019 she completed her MSc degree in Forensic Art and Facial Identification at the University of Dundee (Scotland), making her one of the two academically qualified Forensic Artists in the African continent. Pearl is currently a Print-Media Lecturer, VIZ.Lab research fellow and PhD candidate at Stellenbosch University at the Department of Visual Arts.

Ni NwaNgobeni (Priscalia Khosa), tokolo wa Gavaza Makhubele. I was raised by my great grandmother in rural Limpopo while my mother was working as a domestic worker in Johannesburg. I was the first in my family to go to university. Not because those who came before me did not wish to pursue higher education, they did, but were not afforded an opportunity to do so due to circumstances beyond their control. I therefore come as one but stand on the shoulders of all the matriarchies in my family who came before me.

I am Marietjie Oelofsen. I am fired up by a passionate connection to South Africa and all her people. I am struggling to figure out what it looks like to live here as a white, privileged person. It is a necessary and a good struggle - one that requires less talking and more listening.  

I am Marietjie Oelofsen. I am fired up by a passionate connection to South Africa and all her people. I am struggling to figure out what it looks like to live here as a white, privileged person. It is a necessary and a good struggle - one that requires less talking and more listening.  

I am Marietjie Oelofsen. I am fired up by a passionate connection to South Africa and all her people. I am struggling to figure out what it looks like to live here as a white, privileged person. It is a necessary and a good struggle - one that requires less talking and more listening.  

I am Marietjie Oelofsen. I am fired up by a passionate connection to South Africa and all her people. I am struggling to figure out what it looks like to live here as a white, privileged person. It is a necessary and a good struggle - one that requires less talking and more listening.  

As a theatre practitioner and academic researcher, I have a keen interest in exploring the role of the arts and how it shapes and influences culture, relations and behavior. I continue to being spired by how academic and arts based creative research endevours such as drama and theatre spark and facilitate dialogue, discussions, teaching and learning. I am passionate about using Theatre as a means to open up spaces for dialogue in communities for critical reflection and intellectual engagement. My current PhD research project at Stellenbosch University (Centre for Theatre& Performance studies and Historical Trauma & Transformation Studies) examines the role and contribution of Ubuntu in Community Theatre, inspired by my own upbringing in the community as well as involvement in community Theatre spaces. I am interested to examine the ways in which the practice of Community Theatre allows narratives of Ubuntu, creativity and collaboration to pave the way for social change among youths and the broader society.

I am Marietjie Oelofsen. I am fired up by a passionate connection to South Africa and all her people. I am struggling to figure out what it looks like to live here as a white, privileged person. It is a necessary and a good struggle - one that requires less talking and more listening.  

I am Marietjie Oelofsen. I am fired up by a passionate connection to South Africa and all her people. I am struggling to figure out what it looks like to live here as a white, privileged person. It is a necessary and a good struggle - one that requires less talking and more listening.  

I am Marietjie Oelofsen. I am fired up by a passionate connection to South Africa and all her people. I am struggling to figure out what it looks like to live here as a white, privileged person. It is a necessary and a good struggle - one that requires less talking and more listening.  

On a clear night sky, I never miss the opportunity to gaze upon our neighbouring planets. Aways fascinated about why things are the way they are in the world within and around us. I love science because of how it allows one to learn and understand how things function.