OUR TEAM

Dr Debbie Stott

Debbie is our Education Director. She was until recently a senior researcher and the after school Maths Club coordinator for the South African Numeracy Chair project at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. The project works with a number of intersecting communities (teachers, learners, families and researchers) to enthuse mathematical passion and learning. Debbie is a qualified Foundation Phase teacher and has been involved in education of one sort or another her whole life. From teaching primary school children, to teaching at university, corporate teaching and training, to creating educational resources for primary and senior school teachers and learners. She completed her PhD in mathematical education in 2014 with a focus on after-school maths clubs for young primary school pupils. Education and learning are important to her in all its forms – formal and informal. Debbie is passionate about encouraging both adults and children to learn new skills and knowledge, to think for themselves, to understand so that they can grow, be independent, make their own choices and decisions and be empowered to own their own lives.

Sipho Mpisane

Sipho is currently the Programme Manager for our implementation of Thinking Maths and Teacher Development.  He holds a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Witwatersrand in Educational Leadership, Management and Policy Studies.  Being in the education arena for just over 10 years, Sipho is charismatic, driven and powerful in his engagement in leading and motivating others in their own growth, making him an invaluable member of the team.  His areas of interest and study include Cognitive Acceleration through Maths and Instructional Leadership in 21st century education.

Ian McLachlan

Ian, is one of South Africa’s leading educationalists. He has over 35 years of experience leading, building and exploring learning within educational institutions in South Africa. Ian began his teaching career in the Mathematics department at Hilton College before moving onto St Stithians College where he held the post of headmaster from 1999 – 2006. In 2007 he founded the Royal Bafokeng Institute for Education and Human Development where he held the post of Chief Executive during which time he was responsible for overseeing more than 50 schools with 30,000 scholars among them and building several institutions including the Royal Bafokeng Hospitality School, Engineering School, Nursing School and Construction School. He has worked for more than two decades on cognitive development interventions in Mathematics, Science, English, Technology, Music, Art and Drama with Professor Shayer, Professor of Applied Psychology, King’s College, London University.

Noluntu Baart

Noluntu is one of our Advisers. She currently works for the Eastern Cape Department of Education in South Africa. She is responsible for supporting professional development and monitoring grades 4 to 9 Mathematics teachers in the Nelson Mandela Metro. She holds an MEd in Mathematics Education with Distinction from Rhodes University.

Gasenakaletso Hebe

Gasenakeletso is one of our Advisers. She has 33 years of teaching experience in the field of Early Childhood Education (ECE). Currently, she is a Senior Education Specialist responsible for Mathematics at Foundation Phase in the North West Provincial Department of Education, Republic of South Africa. Additionally, she is a part–time tutor for the South African National Tutor Services (SANTS) and has been with the institution since 2009 to date. Her chief responsibilities at SANTS have included facilitating the learning-teaching process for NQF Level 4 and Grade R Diploma Training. In 2018, Gasenakeletso obtained a Master of Education degree (with distinction) in Mathematics Education from Rhodes University. Her study focused on progression of early arithmetic strategies and developing number sense by using the Mathematics Clubs in Early Childhood Education. Gasenakeletso has just been accepted into the PhD (Curriculum Studies) programme by Stellenbosch University for the 2020 academic year.

Colin Beck

Colin is our Program Director. He was a program manager for Standard Bank, where he coordinated large multi-disciplinary projects to launch new customer facing products and businesses. These included the Bank’s first integrated internet banking platform for business, the formulation and execution of the Bank’s original eCommerce strategy, the launch of smart cards and many others including working on large projects with additional parties like MTN, Vodacom, Edgars, ABSA, VISA and MasterCard. He coordinated all aspects of the project from concept formulation to full operation. This included: strategy formulation, business case, product design, tenders, contract negotiation, operations, IT development, business processes, policies and procedures, change management, marketing, PR, sales, legal, compliance, accounting, security, audit, testing, quality control, training, customer support, implementation and operational hand-over. Colin has non-profit experience and was a Director of Ikamva Youth for four years and is a director of the OLICO Foundation which he co-founded in 2008. He holds an M.Phil in Business Ethics and an M.Sc in Computer Science.

James King

James is our Operations Director. He previously held senior management appointments in planning and supply chain Management and was the Woolworths Group Planning Manager for Warehoused Foods. He was part of the management team that developed and opened the world’s largest indoor theme park, Warner Bros. World^TM Abu Dhabi. James has significant operational experience, analytical ability and exceptional people management skills. James has worked in Africa, The Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent, and holds a B.Com(Hons) degree in Business Economics.

Charleen Stead

Charleen is a project manager.  She previously worked as a marketing administrator in the Primary Years Program (PYP) at Northside Primary School in Botswana. The PYP curriculum natures and develops young students as caring, active participants in a lifelong journey of learning. Taking action is an integral part of the learning in PYP. Charleen was also the Chairperson of the PTA (Parents & Teachers association) for 5 years at Northside Primary School and raised P100 000 of Botswana Pula each year. She has extensive work experience in the financial services sector where she worked for over 17 years in customer marketing and product management. She has also worked as a contractor for Mastercard South Africa in the role of Customer Implementation Project Manager for Customer Delivery in Southern Africa. Her responsibilities included auditing, communicating and implementing regional mandates to Mastercard’s customers. She is a Judo accredited Manager with Judo South Africa and it actively involved in the Judo community.

Senzeni Ndebele

Senzeni is one of our Advisers. She has vast experience in Corporate Affairs spanning over 24 years. Her career has seen her oversee areas such as brand management and marketing, internal and external communications, public relations, reputation management, stakeholder engagement, government relations and socio-economic development (CSI). She has worked in industries such as tourism, agriculture, investment promotion, oil industry as well as mining. Her career has seen her implement many projects to improve the lives of people who are disadvantaged. She is currently working as a Senior Manager Corporate Affairs for Airports Company South Africa. She has a B Comm degree, a Senior Management Development Programme post-graduate certificate, diploma in marketing and is currently studying for an Executive MBA through UCT Graduate School of Business. Her passion is reading and she hopes to introduce a programme to encourage young people in disadvantaged communities to read and write more once she has completed her MBA in 2020.

Mpho Mutloane CA(SA)

Mpho is one of our Advisers. He is an experienced Associate with a track record of working in renewable energy and clean technology M&A and Corporate Finance. He is passionate about Finance and South Africa and wants to give his best in uplifting his country. He currently works for Metier Private Equity in the Sustainable Capital Practice that targets Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Water and Waste management investments in Africa. Mpho loves to do sports commentary on radio in his spare time. Mpho is a Chartered Accountant.

Elizabeth Elle

Elizabeth is one of our Advisers. She was born visually impaired. As a young child some of her teachers thought that she could not be taught mathematics. This is both surprising and disturbing given that her father was the first blind actuary in the USA. She feels strongly that math is an important skill for all children to learn. She works at the VA hospital in the Bronx, New York City. In her spare time, Elizabeth is a musician and loves singing classical and Opera.

Dr Laurence Mailaender

Laurence is one of our Advisers. He is a Senior R&D specialist at Futurewei Technologies in New York City, USA. He is part of the Radio Algorithm Research group, developing advanced concepts for the Physical Layer in 5G cellular networks. His main focus is signal processing to reduce cost/power in 5G base stations. He writes system-level wireless simulations, derives new signal processing, writes patents, and supports collaborative R&D projects with major universities. Laurence holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara.