Meet the board

Lisa Del Grande
Board Chair
Lisa Del Grande is the Municipal Planning Chief Director of the Department of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs of KwaZulu-Natal. Her work and studies have focused on spatial planning, land governance systems, and rural development planning. In the NGO sector, she has worked on supporting community-level advocacy at policy and practical land use planning levels. Her focus areas have been on farm dwellers’ land rights and access to justice, communal tenure systems, community-driven land use planning and management, and later a focus on food security and food sovereignty issues, as well as public employment programmes. Del Grande has two degrees, a Bachelor of Commerce, and a master’s in Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Dr Zamambo Mkhize
Board member
Dr Zamambo Mkhize is a lecturer in gender studies at the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town. Her research focuses on modern polygyny, law, family, Zulu culture, and African feminism. Her book, titled Polygyny and Gender, was released in September 2021, by the University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. Mkhize founded the African STEMinist Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting, mentoring and advancing African women in the STEM fields. She did her undergraduate degree at Florida A&M University, before undertaking her honours in criminology and master’s in gender studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Part of her PhD was done in Pennsylvania as a Fulbright scholar, and she did her postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Critical Research on Race and Identity at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Pontsho Pilane
Board member
Pontsho Pilane is a former journalist turned media and communications specialist and researcher working at the intersections of gender, health, race, media and policy. She is the author of Flow: The Book about Menstruation and Power and Faith: How Evangelical Churches are Quietly Shaping our Democracy. Pilane is a PhD Fellow under the South African Research Chair in Science Communication at Stellenbosch University. Her research focuses on the public communication of obesity research and the discursive narratives underlying the scientific, mass media and public policy texts, particularly concerning Black women. She has a wealth of experience in corporate governance gained through participation on numerous civil society boards and advisory committees

Athandiwe Saba
Board member
Athandiwe Saba is a renowned data journalist and advocate for information access in South Africa. She is currently the Managing Editor of Code for Africa’s iLAB, a team of forensic analysts, investigators and researchers investigating coordinated online behaviour, influence operations, and information manipulation. She served as Deputy Editor at the Mail & Guardian, showcasing expertise in promotion and access to information, newsroom management, editorial leadership, and strategic planning. With a strong background in investigations and data journalism, Saba established the first mainstream media data desk in South Africa. She has presented at the African Investigative Journalism Conference on several occasions and has been a guest speaker at the Transnational Law Institute seminar series at Kings College, London. Honoured with the prestigious News Corp Fellowship, she trained at the Wall Street Journal and The Times in London. Her exceptional work in investigative data journalism has garnered international recognition.

Kerigo Odada
Board member
Kerigo Odada is a human rights lawyer and researcher with a special focus on sexual and reproductive rights, public health policy, global health equity, and gender equality. She is currently a PhD researcher at the University of Pretoria, Centre for Human Rights, where her research focuses on obstetric violence and the legal mobilisation for respectful maternity care in South Africa. In her capacity as a PhD researcher, she also serves as an academic associate for the Sexual and Reproductive Rights program. Additionally, Kerigo serves as a mentor at the Global Surgery Advocacy Fellowship by Operation Smile, Nkafu Policy Institute and the University of Global Health Equity

Yves Vanderhaeghen
Board member
With a long career in journalism and academia behind him, Yves Vanderhaeghen is a strategic consultant and writer for Jive Media Africa, and a research and communication partner to Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation. He previously served as the editor of The Witness newspaper. He lectured on ‘Writing for the media’ at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he received his PhD in communication and cultural studies.

Juanita Williams
Board member
Juanita Williams is managing editor for AllAfrica.com, the world’s largest electronic distributor of African news. Based at their Cape Town office, Williams leads staff working on allAfrica.com from Abuja, Monrovia, Zimbabwe, Nairobi and Washington, DC, while fr.allafrica.com is updated by reporters and editors in Dakar. In her 20-something year career, she’s been a reporter, radio show producer/presenter, news editor, video news producer, media trainer, and board member at a range of organisations, from Africa’s first community radio project Bush Radio to Quote This Woman+, UWC, South African National Editors’ Forum, Independent Online (www.iol.co.za), Graca Machel Trust, and Zoopy.com.