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I am an interdisciplinary social scientist and chief researcher at the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU).  I am deeply committed to understanding the complex and intersecting factors that contribute to social inequality. My research has a particular focus on youth and social policy in Southern Africa. 

My work is driven by the belief that sustainable societal change requires interdisciplinary approaches to:  

(a) identify the multiple challenges that perpetuate cycles of exclusion, 

(b) generate a nuanced understanding of how youth apply their agency despite, and within, these contexts of exclusion, and  

(c) build on this evidence-base to design, implement and test policies and interventions that could effectively shift young people’s life trajectories. 

Two of my current SALDRU projects: 

Youth Explorer, which maps indicators on youth well-being alongside service provision and labour market information. The portal featured in Pres. Ramaphosa's 2021 Youth Day Address. It is recognised as the central platform for the ecosystem mapping approach of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative. 

Basic Package of Support for NEET Youth,  a programmatic and policy-oriented intervention that recognises that young people face multiple, interconnected barriers that hinder their access to services, career pathways, and sustainable employment. The programme is part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative. The approach has been written into the 2020-2030 National Youth Policy (p 21). 

I hold a PhD in Sociology from the University of Cape Town.