Dr Batseba Mofolo-Mbokane holds a PhD (Mathematics Education, 2011) in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics from University of Pretoria after graduating from the University of the Witwatersrand with BSc (1993, majoring in Mathematics and Industrial Psychology); HDipEd (1993) and Bed (1999) and MSc in Science and Mathematics (2003). She joined the University of the Witwatersrand in 2018 as a Lecturer in Mathematics Education, teaching mathematics content and PGCE Methodology.
DR Ruth Nombuso (Zanele) Zuma is a feminist researcher and a Post-Doctoral fellow under Female Academic Leaders Fellowship (FALF) affiliated with the University of Witwatersrand University (Wits) in Johannesburg. Her focus area is Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education Institutions in South Africa. She shares interest in the lives of the youth, particularly girls that informed her PhD study. Zanele is highly passionate about the education of the girl-child, particularly from rural areas.
My name is Tsepang Leuta, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand. I have a PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Master’s Degree from the University of Pretoria. I have over 15 years’ experience conducting research on urban development challenges in the fields of open space development, management and use; cemetery planning and development; sustainable human settlements; local economic development in small towns; and global environmental change. My research broadly sits within the disciplines of Geography, Planning and Culture, and brings the subjects of Urban Sustainability and Resilience into conversation.
A lecturer at the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand with a PhD in Botany and a Bachelor of Science with Honour’s degree in Biodiversity Conservation from Rhodes University. I am a young ecologist and an emerging academic with expertise in microbial community ecology and Acarology. In 2019 I was recognised by the Mail and Guardian as one of the top 200 influential young South African in the Science and technology category. My research focused specifically at documenting the plant-mite mutualism from an African perspective, a topic that is understudied and which I am pioneering in South Africa as one of the few acarologists in the country.
Glodean Tintswalo Qondile Thani, PhD, is a lecturer at the Wits School of Education’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) Division where she teaches on policy. She holds a PhD in Education Policy Studies from the University of the Free State. She is a qualified Research Psychologist from the University of Pretoria and is registered as an Independent Psychologist with the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Her research focus on gender and diversity mainstreaming stems from her interest in the collective commitment to the South African Constitution and the democracy project.
Jessica holds a Bachelor of Fine Art degree (with distinction in Drama and Sculpture) from Rhodes University and a Masters degree in Digital Arts (Interactive Media) from Wits University. Jessica has also taught various classes at the University of Pretoria Drama Department namely Digital Media in Theatre; Acting and Identity Politics in Film. In addition to teaching she has also been part of a number of art exhibitions namely Dakar Biennale (2012); Turbine Art Fair (2014) and SculptX at the Melrose Gallery. Currently she lectures at the Theatre and Performance Department at Wits and works as a freelance actor and artist. Her research interests include challenging the representations of the black female body in theatre performance. She is currently pursuing her PhD titled, "Changing performance narratives of the black female body as a site of trauma: A quest for retribution through the figure of the divine feminine warrior"
Laetitia Petersen is a passionate social worker and lecturer; dedicated to serving the needs of the people of South Africa, student development in creating professional, effective and efficient social workers for the South African context, enabling and receptive to the transformation of the curriculum, appreciating diversity and indigenous knowledges, and facilitating the health of others.
Lebogang Maseko is a lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Therapeutic Sciences, and Occupational Therapy Department. Her responsibilities in the Occupational Therapy Department include teaching and research supervision on both the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Lebogang Maseko coordinates the final year occupational therapy programme as well as the rural community fieldwork for the final year Occupational Therapy students. Her research interests are in the field of public health, particularly health systems and policy research.
After earning my BSc in Physiotherapy from the university of Cape Town in 2000, I entered the clinical world to explore my passion for paediatrics, adult neurology, and pelvic health. I have extensive experience in paediatric rehabilitation as well as medico-legal work and have obtained both my MSc (2010) and PhD (2018) in paediatric physiotherapy from Wits. Currently, I work as a Senior Lecturer at the university of the Witwatersrand, where I'm focused on undergraduate teaching, postgraduate teaching and supervision, and research in the field of childhood disability.
Name: Dr Magdeline Mmapaseka Stephen
Institution: University of Witwatersrand
School and Division: Wits school of Education- Science division
Research area: Teaching and learning of STEM subjects in rural schools
Title of project funded by FALF: An investigation of the factors that influence female learners in rural communities NOT to choose STEM subjects when they move from the GET phase to the FET phase: A case of two rural secondary schools in Mpumalanga province
FALF seeks to develop a pipeline of South African, African and Africans of mixed ancestry female academic leaders in tertiary institutions (Chancellor’s Fellows).
This initiative was informed by the slow racial and gender transformation at leadership level in tertiary institutions nationally, especially when it comes to black females.