I grew up in South Africa in a very small, rural town called Butterworth. I went to the local schools there until 11th grade, when my parents decided to send me to a better school in Johannesburg to finish high school. I really focused on getting good grades and I was able to attend the University of Cape Town (UCT) once I finished high school. That experience, in addition to being raised by parents who are teachers, solidified the importance of quality education for me.

My experience at UCT also helped me better understand and articulate a guiding principle for my life: Wherever citizens are deprived of access to quality services — healthcare, water and sanitation, or education — they will fall short of their potential. As a result of this, I became interested in understanding how to deliver quality services to communities where they are lacking. Focusing on education seemed like a great starting point.

In my work as a graduate researcher at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at UCT, I wanted to understand exactly the things that make a good school and yield good results for parents and students, outside of money. What can communities invest in that leads to improved school results for children? I focused on elementary schools because of the importance of those foundational years in overall school outcomes. What the research highlighted was the importance of leadership, accountability, and good governance — a lot of the same things we talk about when we look at countries developing to reach their full potential.

I’m a lifelong learner. When I was a graduate researcher conducting fieldwork, I realized that to truly make an impact I would need to broaden my expertise. At Jackson, I was excited about the curriculum, first and foremost, and the ability to take courses across Yale. I wanted to take history courses to learn more about Africa and understand the historical context of the current issues in Africa — the course on African history taught by [Yale professor] Dan Magaziner really stood out. I also took courses with Mike Boozer, who is director of the International Development Economics program, and courses on economic policy and strategy at the School of Management. I also had many conversations with Jackson dean Jim Levinsohn, who has deep knowledge of South Africa and its economy and has connections to UCT. The entire academic experience helped me gain problem-solving tools that fit within my interests.

One of the things that left an impression after attending Jackson was the benefit of learning from a diverse, international cohort. I absorbed so much from my classmates who came from all walks of life, and who were brought up and lived all over the world. But where Jackson really challenged me was sharing my own experiences from my country — where we can improve, how we approach our own development — and that really began to open my mind. It was incredibly beneficial.

I first chose development consulting because I would learn as much as possible working on projects in different countries — I’ve worked in over 10 different African countries — and with various stakeholders, like national governments and regional leaders in multilateral development institutions. I worked for Dalberg Advisors which has offices across the world, allowing me to collaborate with colleagues in Asia, the U.S., and South America — each with their own challenges and goals. But, most importantly, I was able to travel across the African continent, collaborating with incredible people who are tackling complex problems related to education, economic development, and public health, giving me a solid cross-section of the world that I wanted to work in.

Then, when the pandemic hit, I wanted to be a part of the response efforts. The South African government was looking for folks who were keen to assist and I was able to join the president’s Project Management Office (PMO) which was tasked with coordinating the response. My interactions with the president’s office began while I was still at Dalberg Advisors. The team began to dissolve a year later as the pandemic was brought under control, but there was still a need to support economic recovery — which also happened to be a goal of the president even before the pandemic started. So, the president’s office asked if I would be interested in a director position in the PMO and this focused on addressing issues such as energy security, attracting skilled labor, water security, and digital infrastructure, all in an effort to improve the South African economy. In that role, I collaborated closely with experts to help craft policy and write legislation that targeted those issues.

I currently work in the office of the Africa Director at the foundation and support the foundation’s work across the continent, even though I am based out of our offices in Johannesburg. My role is to implement strategic initiatives within the foundation that allow us to deliver impactful programs in different countries.

The Gates Foundation’s programs are vast but ultimately, they are focused on global health and economic opportunity. I work closely with five offices across Africa and colleagues based in our Seattle head office. We’re focused on reducing the burden of major diseases including malaria, polio, tuberculosis and HIV. We also focus on continent-wide issues such as poverty and economic development.

The work being done by the foundation is rigorous — identifying partners, engaging stakeholders, understanding how governments want to intervene to address challenges in health and development. I think that is where my experience has lent itself well to my new role, by being able to take an idea and communicate it so that we can reach the solutions that we need.

I love talking to prospective students, new students and those who are looking to pursue careers in fields similar to mine. I often talk to them about working on the continent, the development landscape, and the importance of networking.

Connecting with alumni is how I was able to get my summer internship while I was at Jackson, and this turned into a job for me. This is among the reasons why I will always be available to spend time with folks in the Jackson community.