Our Team

Mkhuseli FakuChairperson Mkhuseli started his career in the oil industry with Shell, as a Retail Territory Manager and proceeded to be the Managing Director of Afric Oil, South Africa’s first black oil company. As the founder of Calulo Investments, he is one of the authors of the South Africa’s first Black Economic Empowerment charters, the Liquid Fuels Charter. He is the founding member of the SA’s World Petroleum Congress and Nepad Energy, having served on both committees. He serves in several boards both listed and unlisted and is a Governor of the board of Rhodes University. He is an alumni of Rhodes University, Wits Business School and Harvard Business School in Boston United States of America, where he read legal studies, industrial sociology, advanced management skills and Executive Leadership and entrepreneurship.

Dr Connie BitsoTrustee Dr Bitso is the Library Director at the University of Fort Hare where she is also the digitisation and estrategist spearheading Research Data Management. She has PhD from University of Pretoria and Master’s from University of Cape Town. Having started career as a high school teacher, she has knowledge of the school system and understands the critical role of information in research, teaching and learning. She has recently written a chapter on Research Data Management and scientific evidence as a strategic imperative for UN sustainable development goals. Her research interests include metadata; resource description and discoverability; and information seeking behaviour.

Alide DasnoisTrustee Alide Dasnois is a former editor of Business Report, the Pretoria News and the Cape Times. She has degrees in economics from the University of Cape Town and Sorbonne Université in Paris. As editor of Cape Times she helped to launch the newspaper's Library in Every School project, which, in partnership with Equal Education, later became The Bookery in its present form. She now works part-time as associate editor at online news agency GroundUp (www.groundup.org.za).

Theresa de YoungTrustee Theresa de Young works at the South African Astronomical Observatory (a facility of the National Research Foundation) managing a library and information service to support scientific research. She is a qualified teacher and librarian having obtained her qualifications at the University of Cape Town. She has a vast amount of experience in school library and information services having previously worked for the WCED as the Coordinator: School Library and Information Services. She served as a member of the National Council for Library and Information Services (NCLIS), the statutory body that advises the SA Government Ministers on library and information related issues. She an active member of the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA)and is a member of it's Professional Body Board.

Janice BleazardTrustee Janice Bleazard is a practising advocate and member of the Cape Bar. She has an LL.M. from New York University, an LL.B. from UCT and a B.A. (Honours) in History from UCT. Prior to joining the Bar, she clerked at the Constitutional Court of South Africa for Justice Skweyiya, and worked with Equal Education to establish the Equal Education Law Centre in Cape Town of which she is also a Trustee.

Zephne LadbrookTrustee Zephne Ladbrook is Chief Executive Officer of the Otto Foundation. She holds a BA (Hons) (Stell) in Philosophy, and a BA (Hons) (Wits) in Psychology. Zephne has been spearheading the Otto Foundation's strategy development and project implementation since its inception in 2017.

The Otto Foundation is an education-focused philanthropic organisation established in 2016. They support primary schools in becoming (i) sites for quality education; and (ii) safe and nurturing spaces for children. They have a particular focus on improving early literacy and fostering a love of reading among learners from disadvantaged communities, understanding that access to books and excellence in reading is a critical element underpinning a good education.

Michelle LouwTrustee Michelle Louw is the Financial Director of a group of companies operating in the petroleum industry. She is responsible for the financial and corporate reporting of the group as well as compliance with laws and regulations. She is an alumnus of The University of Cape Town, and is a qualified CA(SA), with 8 years of post article experience in the petroleum sector. She is a registered SAICA member.

Jeremy Raizon Trustee Jeremy Raizon is a practising advocate and member of the Johannesburg Bar. His focus is on constitutional and public law generally. He has an LL.M. from Harvard University and an LL.B. from UCT. Prior to joining the Bar, he was a visiting researcher and teaching fellow at Harvard Law School and clerked at the Constitutional Court of South Africa for Chief Justice Ngcobo and Justice Skweyiya.

Noncedo Madubedube Noncedo is General Secretary at Equal Education.

Yana van LeeveTrusteeYana is an attorney. She commenced her career in constitutional litigation at the Legal Resources Centre, founded by Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson. She later specialised in education law and policy and currently serves as the Chairperson of the National Council of Equal Education. Following a year of clerking at the Constitutional Court for Justice Edwin Cameron, Yana joined Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. Yana practices primarily in the Public Law Sector, focusing on constitutional, administrative, and regulatory law.