Ms Gail Campbell is Chief Executive Officer of the Zenex Foundation, a non-profit, independent donor organisation that supports mathematics and language education. She has been involved in developmental grant making for over 15 years with a particular emphasis on school education.

Ms Campbell has a Social Science background and practiced as a Social Worker working primarily with women and youth. She also lectured in the field of Social Work at the University of Natal for five years before joining ABSA as General Manager of Corporate Social Investment where she was responsible for the ABSA Foundation, pioneering the Employee Involvement Programme.

Gail currently serves on the boards of a number of non-profit organisations including the National Research Foundation, Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, the Gauteng Education Development Trust and the KwaZulu-Natal Education Development Trust. She also serves on the recently formed, National Education Council which is part of the National Education Collaboration Trust.

Dr Fatima Adam joined the Zenex Foundation in 2012 after serving as programme director for Open Society Africa and in enrolment planning at the University of Johannesburg.

Fatima provides specialist input into all programme/project evaluations commissioned by the Zenex Foundation, develops the organisation’s research strategy and agenda, and manages its research grants. She also has responsibility for the Foundation’s communication strategy and positioning the organisation as a thought leader.

The holder of a PhD in Higher Education Transformation, Fatima’s academic qualifications include a B.Sc. (Chemistry) and a Master’s degree in Critical Thinking. The prospect of developing solutions to education challenges through the application of systematic project design and rigorous research design principles and practices, is one of the big motivators for Fatima to be part of the Zenex Foundation team.

Mr Thami Kubheka joined Zenex in September 2023 as Manager: Corporate Services and Finance at the Zenex Foundation. He is a Professional Accountant with over 20 years’ experience in the public and private sectors. He has served as Board member of various entities in the private and public sectors.

Thami holds a National Diploma in Accounting, Intermediate Diploma in Advanced Accounting with University of Natal, Certificate in Financial Management with UJ and he has completed his articles with KPMG.

Through KMPG, he worked on several public sector clients and had joint assignments with the office of the Auditor General. He served as Acting Chief Financial Officer of the International Marketing Council (now Brand South Africa) for the 2011 financial year and Chief Financial Officer of the National Arts Council (NAC) of South Africa in 2012. He left the NAC in 2014 to pursue business interests.

Between 2014 and 2023, he held various positions in the private sector as a Chief Executive Officer of Khathide Consulting, CFO of Kutleng Engineering Technologies (Pty) Ltd and Business Executive of Bolivia Technologies (Pty) Ltd.

Ms Lauren Fok is a Programme Manager at the Zenex Foundation. She completed her Honours in Social Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, having done her undergraduate studies at the University of Witwatersrand.

Her background and work experience spans 24 years of working in the development sector in the spheres of labour, health, gender, and information and communication technology for development, in a range of capacities including office management and administration, strategic planning, organisational development and project management.

Ms Thabisile Zuma is a Programme Manager at Zenex Foundation. Her role includes co-designing and managing education projects targeted at reducing learning backlogs and improving curriculum coverage in South African schools. In her professional career of more than ten years, she has had the privilege of working for a range of organizations within the public and private sectors. The various roles have afforded her the opportunity to gain experience and a solid grounding in leading and managing large research and evaluation projects, building organizational capacity, and packaging and disseminating knowledge products to a range of stakeholders. 

Prior to becoming a PM, Ms Thabisile Zuma was a Knowledge Manager at Zenex Foundation for five years where she led the development and implementation of knowledge management activities, including,  research and evidence generation and embedding practices for the production and sharing of knowledge outputs. It is during this time that she deepened her knowledge of the education sector and its challenges. 

She started her career at the Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation as an Evaluation and Research intern in May 2012, moving up the ranks to Evaluation Officer in 2013 and then Assistant Director in 2015. In 2016, Thabisile joined Genesis Analytics, as an analyst in the Evaluation for Development Practice and then joined Zenex Foundation in February 2018.

Thabisile holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, an Honours degree in Politics, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management, majoring in Monitoring and Evaluation, and a Master of Public and Development Management (MM). She is passionate about making knowledge accessible and contributing to an improvement in the education system and ultimately the lives of South Africans.

Emisang Machedi is a Programme Manager at the Zenex Foundation. He is a seasoned professional with over a decade of experience in programme management, data analysis, and process improvement within the education NGO sector. Holding a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Physics from North West University, his journey demonstrates a steadfast commitment to fostering positive change in education.

In his leadership role as the Chief Programme Manager at Numeric, he contributed to the company’s vision, managed afterschool programmes, and cultivated vital stakeholder relationships. Beyond his professional capacities, he actively contributed to education as a Teach SA Ambassador and Co-Founder of Thought School (NGO), helping in curriculum development and educational improvement.

His commitment to growth is underscored by his role as a Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, where he collaborated on research data compilation in the Faculty of Education.

Ms Ruth Rakosa is a Communications Manager at the Zenex Foundation. She is responsible for content development and management of the website and social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn), event and brand management, and content editing.

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She has 11 years’ experience in the development sector in the areas of grant management, information management and communications. She held various positions in the financial services sector at Investec Asset Management and Momentum Wealth, prior to joining the Zenex Foundation.

Ruth holds a Masters in Development Planning from the University of the Witwatersrand and Programme in Economics and Public Finance from UNISA.

Ms Nompumelelo Nkabinde is a Grants and Information Specialist. She is responsible for the management, maintenance and integrity of all project-related information on Zenex’s Grant Management System. Nompumelelo brings her 10 years prior working experience in Information Management to Zenex. She was previously Grant Administrator at the Foundation for Human Rights, and has worked as a specialist librarian at the University of Johannesburg.

Nompumelelo holds an Honours Degree in Information Science from UNISA.

Nolwazi Kunene is Executive Assistant at the Zenex Foundation. She is responsible for and plays a high-level role in supporting the functioning of the office of the CEO; building and maintaining professional relationships with Zenex stakeholders, and ensuring that HR, and training administrative systems function effectively. Nolwazi obtained her degree in Child and Family Psychology at the University of Johannesburg. Upon graduation, she did her Psychology internship with City of Johannesburg and then moved on to be an Operations Manager for Regus in 2013. She joined the Oliver & Adelaide Tambo Foundation in 2015 as Office Manager responsible for all administrative operations, day-to-day running of the office, assistant events coordinator, report writing and research. After six years at Tambo Foundation, she moved on to Zenex Foundation in February 2022 as Executive Assistant to the CEO. Nolwazi is a dedicated, driven and vibrant professional who always strives for excellence in her work and being of full support to various units of the organisation.

Lerato Khoza joined Zenex Foundation in June 2024 as a Senior Bookkeeper and Office Manager. She will be working closely with and providing support to the Finance Manager.

Lerato brings with her nine years prior working experience in bookkeeping having worked in the private sector. She has held roles such as Junior Accountant, Office Administrator (Manager), Financial Administrator and Bookkeeper.

Lerato holds a National Diploma in Internal Auditing, National Higher Certificate in Accountancy and is currently busy with her Degree in Accounting Science with Unisa.