Mary Metcalfe, Chairperson

Professor Metcalfe is Director General of Higher Education. Until recently, she was Dean of the Faculty of Education at Wits University. She was previously MEC for Education in Gauteng, and Deputy Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. During this time was a member of the ANC PEC in Gauteng. Prior to democracy she worked on education policy for the ANC. She has a history of activism with the Black Sash, Detainees' Parents Support Committee and the National Education Crisis Committee, amongst other organisations. Mary is a qualified teacher and has worked in teacher training.

Crain Soudien

Professor Soudien is Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Cape Town. Previously he was head of the School of Education at UCT. His interests include sociology of education, race, class and gender; policy shifts in education; museum and heritage education. To date, Soudien has published 58 journal articles and 55 book chapters. He is the founder of the Southern African Comparative and History of Education Society, is a member of the American Educational Research Association, and was the president of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies in 2007. In 2008, Crain was a committee member for the Ministry of Education's Teacher Education Advisory Committee, and chair of the Ministerial Review Committee into transformation in higher education.

Zackie Achmat

Zackie Achmat became an activist in 1976, and thereafter became a leading figure in the youth activism that developed in the Cape. As an anti-apartheid activist and ANC member he was repeatedly imprisoned and spent time underground and in exile. He later formed the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality which successfully campaigned for non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. He spent time working at the AIDS Law Project, and in 1998 formed the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) which campaigned prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and for the rights of HIV-positive people. This won Zackie numerous awards, including a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. Recently he founded the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) which works against social inequality and violence.

Nathan Geffen

Nathan Geffen joined the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in 2000 and has since served as its National Manager and Director of Policy, Communications & Research. He is presently Treasurer of TAC. In his position as Director of Policy, Communications & Research, Nathan oversaw the development of TAC publications, the development of its advocacy around medicines, and the development of materials for mass public education on HIV. His activist interests have included Zimbabwe, Palestine/Israel and the rights of foreigners. His book on the history of AIDS denialism will be published soon.

Paula Ensor

A leading educationalist, Paula Ensor has been Dean of Humanities at the University of Cape Town since 2004. Her research interests lie mainly in the sociology of education and pedagogy. Her work in mathematics and teacher-education has received much recognition and has been widely published locally and internationally. A National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher, Professor Ensor has served in a range of capacities within the NRF appraisal system and is a regular reviewer for prestigious international educational journals. She is a member of numerous professional associations and, most notably, has served as president of the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. Paula's undergraduate studies were in economics, followed by an MSc in education and PhD in mathematics education. Politically active during her undergraduate career, she held leadership positions in the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS). Eventually banned in terms of the Suppression of Communism Act by the apartheid regime, she travelled to Britain, where she lived in exile for 15 years, and continued her anti-Apartheid activity.

Doron Isaacs

Doron Isaacs is the co-ordinator of Equal Education. See his biography in the staff section.