Our Team

Professor Bheki Peterson is Associate Professor of African Literature at the University of the Witwatersrand. He has been active as a participant and commentator on Black cultural practices since the late seventies. He has held Fellowships at Yale University and Birmingham University. He has sat on various editorial, statutory and artistic committees, juries and boards across the continent. He has published extensively on African Literature, Performance, Cultural Studies and Black Intellectual Traditions in South Africa. His last book is Monarchs, Missionaries and African Intellectuals: African Theatre and the Unmaking of Colonial Marginality (Wits Press, 2000). His film credits include producing and writing the screenplays for The Children and I (1993, directed by Ken Kaplan) and the acclaimed features film Fools (1997) and Zulu Love Letter (2004), both directed by Ramadan Suleman. He has also served as a creative consultant and producer on numerous projects including noted documentaries such as Dumsani Phakathi’s Wa’n Wina (2001) and Rehad Desai’s Born into Struggle (2004).

Colin Beck has over 20 years’ experience in assisting with the development of community and volunteer-based organisations including IkamvaYouth where he helped to establish IkamvaYouth Gauteng and served on the board of IkamvaYouth from 2009 to 2013. In his professional capacity Colin has a wealth of project management experience having coordinated a number of significant research and development projects for Standard Bank including, the initial launch of Business Online, bluebean.com and the roll-out of chip and PIN cards in South Africa. Recently, Colin was involved in Standard Bank’s Inclusive Banking project and is currently working on the development of innovative mobile payment solutions in a joint venture company formed between MTN and Standard Bank. He’s current projects include the launch of MasterCard Mobile South Africa and the international roll-out of a new innovative payment product called payD. Colin’s extensive project management and IT experience, specifically focused on finding innovative solutions to perplexing problems, combined with years of experience working with and in community based organizations provides an invaluable source of leadership, guidance and oversight to the project. Colin holds a Masters degree in Computer Science from the University of Pretoria, a Masters degree in Philosophy (business ethics) from St Augustine College, a B.Sc. Honours degree in Computer Science from UNISA and a B.Sc. degree in Physics and Computer Science from Rhodes University.

Andrew Barrett holds a Masters in Philosophy from the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) and received the Wits Postgraduate Merit Award in 2006. He also holds a BA in Psychology (2003). In 2010, Andrew completed the Social Entrepreneurship Certificate Programme at the Gordon Institute of Business Sciences (GIBS) and was awarded Best Action Learning Research Project for his research into the effectiveness of IkamvaYouth and its potential for scale. Prior to his involvement with OLICO, Andrew worked for two years for the Department of Social Services in the United Kingdom and for a variety of NGOs in South Africa. He has coordinated numerous programs for OLICO in education and established the Gauteng branches of IkamvaYouth and SAEP’s ADT Teach programme. In 2012, Andrew was included in the Mail & Guardian’s list of 200 Young South Africans: http://ysa2012.mg.co.za/andrew-barrett

Kingsley Webb holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Psychology from the University of South Africa. Kingsley has extensive experience in the field of HCI – Human Computer Interaction and has been studying his Masters in Software Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand. Kingsley has worked as a software developer with experience in various business fields which include sales and banking. His highest position was as team-leader for the First Rand Group in the telephony and Integrated Voice Response systems department for call centres across South Africa. Kingsley’s primary developments there were the voice-recognition systems and specifically the Speech Banking application within First National Bank amongst others. Kingsley is currently contracting for the Rand Merchant Bank – Morgan Stanley joint venture, engineering a replacement equity administration system as well as working on the electronic trading desk as a Software Architect, Solutions Architect and Trader. Kingsley has also worked as a volunteer in the social work department in an honorary student position at Tara, H. Moross Centre for two years as part of his Psychology studies. He believes that empowerment though education and the communication of career options are important for community development in South Africa. Kingsley is passionate about using open-source and innovative technology to aid the education process.

Ruby Beck started her career teaching Mathematics, Computer Science and Accounting, before moving into consulting. She currently runs her own booking-keeping practice and has extensive experience in working with community based organizations. Ruby holds a B.Sc degree in Information Processing and a Higher Diploma in Education from Rhodes University.

In March 2013 Lynn Bowie submitted for her PhD in Maths Education at the University of Witwatersrand. She currently holds a MEd in Mathematics Education from Georgia State Unversity; a MSc in Mathematics Education at the University of Cape Town (UCT); a Higher Diploma in Education (UCT) Passed with distinction; a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics (UCT) First Class; and a BSc with majors in Mathematics and Psychology (UCT). Lynn is a member of numerous professional associations including: the Association of Mathematics Education of South Africa; Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics; Science and Technology Education; Mathematical Association of America National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. She is currently a lecturer in the Division of Mathematics Education at the Wits School of Education where she supervises post-graduate education students, designs curriculum and lectures prospective intermediate phase mathematics educators. Lynn has extensive experience working with leading content providers including Mindset and the Numeracy Centre at UCT as well as contributions to the Maths for All textbook series. She also acts in an advisory capacity to Umalusi and is actively involved as a contributing researcher to the JET Services Educational Trust. Lynn has published extensively on Mathematics Education.