Brenda Cooper was for many years the Director of the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town, where she is an Emeritus Professor. She held a joint appointment at UCT as a Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in African Literature from the University of Sussex in the UK and in 2001 she was awarded a Fellowship at the University of Cape Town in recognition of her research excellence.

She has published five academic books, five books of materials for use in schools and many journal articles and book chapters on African and Diasporic fiction, literary theory and African Studies. The books are To Lay These Secrets Open, (1992); Magical Realism in West African Fiction (1998); Weary Sons of Conrad (2002); A New Generation of African Writers (2008) and a co-edited a book with Rob Morrell, entitled Africa-Centred Knowledges: Crossing Fields and Worlds (2014). She published a cross-genre book that is a mixture of life writing, Diasporic African art and literary studies (2016). It is entitled Floating in an Anti-bubble from South Africa to Salford: A mosaic of pictures and stories.

In 2009 she moved to Salford in the UK where she was an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Manchester and started an academic-writing consultancy called BURNISH. She returned to live in Cape Town in 2015 where she continues to run BURNISH and is currently researching a book entitled But is it academic? Playing with strategies of scholarly writing. More information about BURNISH and a full CV is available on her website www.burnishwriting.org

Faadiel is a recently qualified Science and Engineering librarian with an Honours degree in Library and Information Sciences. He specialises in research software such as EndNote, Refworks and Nvivo. Innovation in research is a passion for Faadiel and he enjoys supporting researchers to help them achieve their goals.

Hallie Eakin is a professor in the School of Sustainability and affiliated professor in the School of Urban Planning and Geographical Sciences and the School for the Future of Innovation in Society. She researches processes of adaptation, resilience and transformation in rural and urban social-ecological systems, with an emphasis on concerns of governance, social equity, politics and power. She acquired her PhD in geography from the University of Arizona and she completed postdoctoral fellowships at the U.S.-Mexican Studies Center of the University of California-San Diego and the Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.  She joined ASU in 2008 from the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Jiska de Groot is an Energy and Development Geographer with a keen interest in providing access to energy in a sustainable and equitable manner. Jiska joined the University of Cape Town in 2015 after completing a PhD in Human Geography at Plymouth University. She is currently employed at the Energy Research Centre, where she leads the Energy, Poverty and Development research group. She further holds an AXA Future Research Leader Fellowship on Energy Transitions and a Joint Senior Research Fellowship in the ACDI Chair Programme on the inequalities of climate change mitigation, sustainable energy and poverty. Her work focuses on the social processes surrounding changes in energy use, access to clean and reliable energy technologies and energy transitions, as well as considerations of fairness and justice in energy systems. Jiska has experience with the design, management, implementation and dissemination of a range of Sub Saharan African research projects, including as team leader for South Africa on the UK’s ESRC/NRF’s Newton Fund Programme on Urban Transformation, and the British Academy project on Energy Innovation in Low Income Housing in Cape Town and Bangalore. She further leads the South African team at UCT for a research project within the UK DfID’s Energy and Gender research programme, which investigates gender and energy for productive uses, and delivers training and assistance to countries under UNFCCC’s Technology Needs Assessment. She currently is component lead for Skills and Expertise Development in Sub Saharan Africa under DfID’s Transforming Energy Access, and also functions as research uptake manager for this same region. Jiska regularly publishes in acclaimed academic journals, presents at (international) academic conferences and has contributed to several edited books in the field of energy and development.

Email: jiske.degroot@uct.ac.za

Lucy is an independent consultant, experienced facilitator, and a certified professional development coach, specialising in organisational development. She holds an MSc in Wellbeing and Human Development from the University of Bath, UK and works with individuals and teams from civil society, academia and the private sector to spark development and growth. She has worked with nine African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centres of Excellence to develop and implement capacity building processes on safeguarding in international development research.

Dr Mandy Barnett is Chief Director of the Adaptation Policy and Resourcing Division at the South African National Biodiversity (SANBI). SANBI is a public entity and dedicated national biodiversity institution that bridges science, knowledge, policy and implementation. The purpose of the Division is to elevate the role of Nature based Solutions, such as Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Ecosystem-based Mitigation, in South Africa’s response to climate change, and to secure international climate finance for the implementation of these approaches via the Direct Access modality. SANBI co-led the process to develop South Africa’s national EbA strategy and associated guidelines with the National Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment and has a portfolio of Adaptation Fund and Green Climate Fund EbA projects under implementation and in development .

Marieke Norton joined the ACDI as Masters Convener in January 2017. She has a background in Social Anthropology, with a focus on environmental anthropology. She completed her PhD at UCT in 2014, on the topic of marine resource law enforcement in the Western Cape, as a transdisciplinary project between Social Anthropology and the Ma-Re Institute. Her personal and research interests are on the interactions between humanity and the environment, and the relations between these spheres that sustain, shape and change each other. Her research and publications have been specifically geared towards re-thinking the relations between the natural and social sciences, in order to establish modes of collaboration that reframe the issues of climate change and sustainable development as interdisciplinary projects that support and innovate human and non-human well-being. Marieke also holds a Masters in Social Anthropology (on the topic of marine resource governance) and a degree in Media and Film Studies.

Email: marieke.norton@uct.ac.za

Dr Sumetee Gajjar is a PlanAdapt Fellow and associated Senior Researcher. She has more than a decade’s experience in policy advocacy on climate change adaptation, ecosystems-based solutions and sustainable development, and is based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Sumetee has led PlanAdapt’s work in the following projects and initiatives:

• What Does it Take to Bridge the Gap between Adaptation Research and Action? – A Review of Good Practice in the Global South

• Making the Case for Action-Oriented Research on Climate Adaptation – Evidence Review

• Ecosystem-Based Flood Risk Management – A Lasting Solution to Perennial Flooding

Sumetee contributed to PlanAdapt’s work in the following projects and initiatives:

• Climate Justice for People and Nature through Urban Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) – A focus on the Global South

• Resilient Governance Regimes That Support Urban Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Cities: Learning From Local Challenges

For more info, please see Sumetee’s Researchgate profile.

Sumetee holds a PhD in Public Development and Management from the School of Public Leadership, University of Stellenbosch (US), South Africa (Scholarship from the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies, US). She also holds a Master of Science degree in Project Management (Best Student Award) by University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa and a Bachelor of Architecture (First Class) degree, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, India.

Tamzyn Suliaman is a librarian who oversees the Research & Innovation department at UCT Libraries. She is formerly a medical librarian and she specialised in systematic reviews. In her current role in research and innovation, she is involved with training for postgraduate researchers, she develops new services across the UCT libraries, and she is involved in open publishing.

Whitney is currently a PhD Candidate in Energy and Development at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She also holds a Masters in Energy and Development from UCT and a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from the University of Johannesburg. She combines research and project experience in off-grid energy access business models, social entrepreneurship, and the gender-energy nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a Research Fellow for the Umbane project, working on research design, data collection and research outputs. She has also served as a Research Fellow the Transforming Energy Access Learning Partnership at the ACDI, where she supported the TEA-LP in mainstreaming gender into energy-related Masters programmes.