THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WORK
A dedicated team of education specialists, researchers, and practitioners committed to transforming learning outcomes across Southern Africa.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WORK
A dedicated team of education specialists, researchers, and practitioners committed to transforming learning outcomes across Southern Africa.
Board of Directors
Our board provides strategic oversight and governance, bringing together expertise from education, research, and civil society.
Prof Nicky Roberts
Executive Director at both Kelello Consulting and Kelello Collectives
BSc, HDE, MEd (UKZN), MEd (Cantab), PhD (Wits)
Leads a diverse research team focused on improving learning outcomes. Expertise
spans qualitative & quantitative methods, with evaluation experience across Africa.
Monica Mawoyo
Director of Collectives
Monica is a seasoned professional in implementation, research and evaluation across various sectors including public administration, teacher education, schooling and higher education.
Desnei Leaf-Camp
Non Executive Director
Desnei is the chair of the advisory board. She brings a wealth of business experience in power companies.
Meet The Rest Of Team
Our team brings together deep expertise in education research, teacher development, curriculum design, and programme management.
Dr Stacey Sommerdyk
General Manager
BA (UWO), BA Hons (UWO), MA (York U), PhD (U Hull)
Leader in education research, evaluation & people development.
Skilled in driving projects that enhance learning outcomes.
Speaks English, Dutch & French.
Paula Gomes
Office Manager
Dr Qetelo Moloi
Project Manager & Quantitative Analysis Expert
Dr. Tayla Stephen
Research Associate
Specialist in educational interventions, prosocial education & equity.
Designs professional development and conducts
impact evaluations using longitudinal data.
Luisa Tembe
Intern
BEd (UJ), BEd Hons (UJ), MEd candidate (UJ)
Emerging researcher in early childhood & foundation phase education.
Hands-on classroom experience. Speaks Portuguese, English & isiZulu.
Lebogang Magolego
Intern
BCom Marketing Management Student
A student with Honours underway. A multilingual asset who is
proficient in English, Afrikaans & 7 South African languages.
Refilwe Thobejane
Intern
Sihlosokuhle Zwane
Intern
Meet The Advisory Board
Charted Accountant
34 Years Experience
Her experience spans across education, tax compliance, and financial services. Her background as an educator gave her a deep understanding of South Africa's social development needs. She has built expertise across professional services, banking, and corporate finance through roles at Ernst & Young, Standard Bank, and SABMiller.
Organisational Coach
Cambridge BA in Social & Political Sciences
He has expertise in organisational change and digital transformation. A former Bain & Company consultant, he now leads digital transformation across Africa for Unilever. He has partnered with Kelello for five years as an organisational coach, bringing strategic and people development skills to his board role.
Retail, E-commerce & Strategy
MBA from Harvard Business School
She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and brings 13 years of experience across retail, e-commerce, and strategy. A former McKinsey consultant, she has led growth at the Nalli Group - doubling revenues and expanding to 38 stores. Named by Forbes as one of Asia's Women to Watch, she is a recognised leader in retail innovation and operations.
Commercial Attorney
Litigation, Banking & Finance Law
A former partner at White & Case and Baker McKenzie, Jen now leads her own practice advising banks, private equity funds, and institutional investors on corporate debt, restructuring, and project finance across South Africa and globally. She is particularly active in the renewable energy sector, advising on both debt and equity aspects for sponsors, lenders, and project companies.
Professor & Education Policy Leader
Curriculum, Higher Education, Governance
Mary began her career in remedial reading and teacher education at Wits, before serving as Gauteng's MEC for Education and later Director General of the Department of Higher Education and Training. She is currently Executive Director of PILO, focusing on curriculum leadership across five provinces, and a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg.
Professor of Mathematics Education
Teacher Learning, Curriculum,
Primary Maths
Alf is a Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Bristol, where his research focuses on teacher learning and curriculum innovation. A former school teacher, he has consulted on professional development materials for primary mathematics and recently co-authored I Can't Do Maths, published by Bloomsbury.
Meet The Advisory Board
Chartered Accountant
34 Years Experience
Her experience spans across education, tax compliance, and financial services. Her background as an educator gave her a deep understanding of South Africa's social development needs. She has built expertise across professional services, banking, and corporate finance through roles at Ernst & Young, Standard Bank, and SABMiller.
Organisational Coach
Cambridge BA in Social & Political Sciences
He has expertise in organisational change and digital transformation. A former Bain & Company consultant, he now leads digital transformation across Africa for Unilever. He has partnered with Kelello for five years as an organisational coach, bringing strategic and people development skills to his board role.
Retail, E-commerce & Strategy
MBA from Harvard Business School
She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and brings 13 years of experience across retail, e-commerce, and strategy. A former McKinsey consultant, she has led growth at the Nalli Group — doubling revenues and expanding to 38 stores. Named by Forbes as one of Asia's Women to Watch, she is a recognised leader in retail innovation and operations.
Commercial Attorney
Litigation, Banking & Finance Law
A former partner at White & Case and Baker McKenzie, Jen now leads her own practice advising banks, private equity funds, and institutional investors on corporate debt, restructuring, and project finance across South Africa and globally. She is particularly active in the renewable energy sector, advising on both debt and equity aspects for sponsors, lenders, and project companies.
Professor & Education Policy Leader
Curriculum, Higher Education, Governance
Mary began her career in remedial reading and teacher education at Wits, before serving as Gauteng's MEC for Education and later Director General of the Department of Higher Education and Training. She is currently Executive Director of PILO, focusing on curriculum leadership across five provinces, and a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg.
Professor of Mathematics Education
Teacher Learning, Curriculum, Primary Maths
Alf is a Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Bristol, where his research focuses on teacher learning and curriculum innovation. A former school teacher, he has consulted on professional development materials for primary mathematics and recently co-authored I Can't Do Maths, published by Bloomsbury.
Our Values
The principles that guide how we work, how we partner, and how we show up for the communities we serve.
Evidence-Driven
Every decision we make is grounded in rigorous research and evidence. We do not guess - we investigate, test, and refine.
Collaborative
We believe systemic change requires collective effort. We work alongside universities, government, funders, and communities.
Impact-Focused
We are relentlessly focused on outcomes for learners. Everything we do is measured against its contribution to improved learning.
Contextually Relevant
We design solutions that are grounded in the South African context - culturally, linguistically, and systemically appropriate.
Accountable
We hold ourselves accountable to our funders, partners, and the communities we serve through transparent reporting and evaluation.
Sustainable
We build programmes and partnerships designed for long-term sustainability - not short-term fixes, but lasting systemic change.
Join our mission
Whether you are a funder, university partner, or education practitioner – we would love to connect.
