Jacklyn Cock is Professor of Sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She has written extensively on gender, militarization and environmental issues. Her latest book is 'Melting Pots and Rainbow Nations: Conversations on Difference and Disadvantage' (with Alison Bernstein) (University of Illinois Press, 2002).
Mr Ashley Green-Thompson (Chair)
Born in KwaZulu Natal, Ashley graduated from the University of Witwatersrand with a Bachelor of Arts in African Politics and Law. He was involved in the Young Christian Students movement, who he represented in the UDF Area Committee in Johannesburg in the late 80s. He was part of the first IEC in 1994, and went on to become the first black lay South African to run the SACBC Justice and Peace Department in Pretoria. He spent a year as Programme Manager at the South African National NGO Coalition before joining Themba Lesizwe in 2002. He became Director in March 2004, a position he continues to occupy.
Mr Jody Kollapen
Mr Jody Kollapen is the Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission, a constitutional body set up in terms of the South African Constitution to protect and promote human rights. A lawyer by training he practised law in Pretoria, South Africa from 1981 to 1992 focusing on public interest law. He joined Lawyers for Human Rights, a human rights NGO, in 1992 and served as its National Director from 1994 until 1995. He was appointed to the Human Rights Commission in 1996 and was elected chair of the Commission in October 2002. His areas of interest include human rights within the administration of justice, equality and the advancement of socio-economic rights. He also serves on the boards of various national and international human rights bodies and was part of the panel appointed to interview and shortlist members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He is married and has three children.
Mr Godfrey Letlape
Godfrey is a founding member of Mafori Management Consultants, a consulting firm founded with Pakie Mphahlele in 1998, specialising in micro and housing finance. Godfrey spent five years from 1993 to 1998 with Deloitte and Touche auditing financial institutions. Godfrey has worked on a number of micro-credit and enterprise credit assignments. Godfrey trained as an accountant and has a strong financial management background. His qualifications include B.Comm, B.Compt (Honours) and CTA.
Mr Frank Meintjies
Frank Meintjies works as a management consultant and specialises in organisational transformation and leadership. He has worked in trade unions, NGOs, the public sector and the private sector. He has qualifications in M. Sc. Urban Development Planning, Dip IBM, and Dip HRM.
Prof Mary Metcalfe
Professor Mary Metcalfe has worked in Education since 1974 in various capacities. She taught in the Department of Education at Wits before being appointed as Gauteng Member of Executive Council responsible for Education from 1994 to 1999. She served as MEC for Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs from 1999 to 2004. In April 2004 she was elected as Deputy Speaker of the Gauteng Legislature. She was appointed as Head of the Wits School of Education with effect from 1st February 2005. Prof Metcalfe's professional and academic qualifications include a diploma in Specialised Education and a Masters Degree in Education from Wits. She has done research work and been published on a variety of education topics, including special education, education transformation and governance. She has two teenage children.
Mr Ahmed Motala
Ahmed Motala, Executive Director of the Centre since 1 June 2005, is a human rights lawyer and activist who has worked over the past 16 years on an array of human rights and development issues at the national, continental and international level. Most recently he has been Executive Director of the Human Rights Institute of South Africa, a position he took up in July 2002 after returning from the UK. Between October 1995 and September 2000 Ahmed held the position of Legal Adviser on Africa at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, and subsequently he worked as Human Rights Officer at Save the Children UK. In these capacities he worked on human rights, child rights and development issues in a range of African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries. From 1989 to 1995 Ahmed worked as a litigating attorney and investigator at Lawyers for Human Rights, South Africa and also managed the Litigation Fund. Ahmed has written on a range of human rights topics including the African Human Rights System and presented papers at numerous workshops and symposia. His formal training includes a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from the American University in Washington D.C.
Ms Sisonke Msimang
Sisonke Msimang is currently the Manager of the HIV and AIDS Programme at the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa. Sisonke obtained a BA in Political Science and Communication Studies at Macalester College in the United States, and an MA in Political Studies at the University of Cape Town. Her thesis analysed women's health activism and policy during and after the democratic transition in South Africa. She has worked in several NGOs in America and South Africa focusing on gender and health issues, and HIV/AIDS, and has worked for the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), managing a capacity-building programme that was set up to provide technical assistance to newly-established government departments in post-apartheid South Africa. Her work has spanned research, training and capacity development. She also worked at the UN Women's Development Fund (UNIFEM), working within the Fund's Human Rights and HIV/AIDS Programme based in New York, and prior to joining OSISA she was Gender Advisor for East and Southern Africa at UNAIDS, based in Johannesburg.
Sisonke has also published a number of articles and book chapters on gender, HIV and AIDS and human rights, including in publications such as the southern African feminist journal AGENDA, Oxfam's Gender and Development and Interfund's quarterly journal Development Update.
Prof Leila Patel
Leila Patel is Professor of Social Development Studies and Chairperson of the Department of Social Work at the University of Johannesburg. Previously, she was Deputy Vice Chancellor at Wits University and Director General for Social Welfare.
Mr Tefo Raditapole
Tefo is a director at Cheadle Thompson & Haysom Attorneys Inc. having started his legal career there in 1990. Prior to the first democratic elections in 1994 he acted extensively for the African National Congress and the Congress of the South African Trade Union. He has also been employed as a special advisor to the Premier of Gauteng Province, Mr M Shilowa, since 1999. He is a professional conflict manager and trainer. He has consulted for various institutions including the International Labour Organisation, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the Electoral Institute of South Africa. He sits on a number of boards including the Resolve Group (Pty) Ltd, Tokiso Dispute Settlement (Pty) Ltd, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and the Ombudsman for Banking Services. He is serving his second term as a Commissioner on the Commission for Employment Equity. He co-facilitated negotiations on the Financial Sector Empowerment Financial Sector Charter negotiations. Tefo is also a co-author of a Juta's commentary on Black Economic Empowerment.
