About our People
Our People.
Our People
Our Board Members
2017 – Present: Founder of Aarya Legal – a 100% black women owned and staffed – legal, B-B BEE and transformation consultancy providing commercial legal, labour law and governance services to entrepreneurs, non-profit companies, corporates and schools. Wenwork with a number of incubator and accelerator programmes.
2013 – July 2017: Novate Legal – I co-founded a law firm based on providing innovative fixed fee legal services to entrepreneurs and non-profit companies. We focussed on commercial legal services, labour law, transactional work and broad-based black economic empowerment strategies. I pioneered the Board Ready Woman program in conjunction with the 30% Club of South Africa.
2011: Researcher in the Business and Human Rights unit of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights. This
position involved in-depth research and case preparation.
2008 – 2011: Associate at Webber Wentzel, a corporate law firm. I worked in the labour department and insurance and aviation
litigation department.
2006 – 2007 Candidate Attorney at Webber Wentzel.
2005 – 2007 Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand in the laws of Succession and Family Law.
2005: Legal Researcher to the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Arthur Chaskalson and, later, to the Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Dikgang Moseneke.
An experienced accountant with over 15 years in the audit and accountancy space in both the private and public sector stemming from her roles at Xolani Phumeza & Associates and later KPMG South Africa. Linda holds a Bachelor in Commerce (Accounting) Degree and Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of Fort Hare – Nkuhlu Department of Accounting.
Linda completed her South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) accredited articles at KPMG Johannesburg. She stayed on as an audit manager in Financial Services before establishing her consulting company, Nomatshawe Group, in 2020.
Linda is a Fellow of the 4th Class of the Young African Leadership Initiative – South Africa (ALI – YL), an extension of the Aspen Global Leadership Network fellowship.
Linda has an inherent passion for business, people, development and transformation.
Nompumelelo Sibalukhulu (formally Runji) is a socio-political analyst, researcher, entrepreneur, and published author. She is the founder and managing director n of Critical ThinkAR, a consulting firm specialising in social research, policy analysis, stakeholder and project management, technical assistance, and training. She also provides moderation and facilitation services.
In addition to founding and running a research consulting company, Nompumelelo has worked as a researcher, project coordinator and project manager. She has worked at various organisations including the Institute for Security Studies, Forum for Public Dialogue, Friederich Ebert Stiftung South Africa, the Sowetan (South Africa’s second biggest daily newspaper) and Democracy Works Foundation. She also lectured at the University of Pretoria Department of Political Science, in the subjects of Political Science and Security Studies for several years. She is a life and leadership coach, having completed the Ubuntu Training Course for coaches, which is accredited by the International Coaching Federation, and serves on the board of trustees of the Indlulamithi Scenarios 2030.
She holds a Master of Philosophy in Multidisciplinary Human Rights, a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Political Science, and Bachelor of Social Science in Industrial Sociology and Labour Studies from the University of Pretoria
Tessa Dooms is a Director at the Rivonia Circle, political think-tank and author of the recently released book ‘Coloured’ that explores identity politics in South Africa.
Trained as a Sociologist, development practitioner and political analyst, Tessa started her career in academia. She has worked in diverse sectors including government, NGOs and the private sector, where she did work that aligns the objectives of various institutions and programmes with developmental objectives for the advancement of Africa.
She has 15 years’ experience as a development worker, trainer and researcher with expertise on governance, youth development and innovation, and has worked in over 10 African countries. In 2015 she was appointed to the National Planning Commission to advise the President on the implementation of the National Development Plan of South Africa.
Tessa is a Trustee of the Kagiso Trust. She holds a Masters of Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Our Team
Ms Noluthando Sithole holds a postgraduate degree from the University of South Africa and Undergraduate from the University of Pretoria. She majored in Taxation, Audit, Financial Management and Financial Accounting. She also holds the Initial Test of Competence from SAICA and Advanced Management Diploma in Management Accounting from CIMA.
Sithole has worked on various projects both local and international including being an finance and audit consultant on listed Telecom, Mining Logistics companies and NPO.
Recognitions:
Mail and Guardian 200 Young South African (2023)
News24 100 Young Mandela’s of the Future
Khanya Burns-Ncamashe is a young activist, facilitator, and Programs Coordinator at the Rivonia Circle. Prior to joining the
Rivonia Circle, she was a Research Assistant at Rhodes University, working closely with women who were military veterans during South Africa’s Armed Struggle. Based in Johannesburg, she has demonstratable experience in networking and grassroots
mobilization across various South African Communities and developing programs or initiates for social impact. She is a
consultant for Iliwa Consuntancy, a black, female, youth owned diversity and sustainability consultancy. Since 2014, she has been involved in multiple social movements like #RhodesMustFall, #BlackStudentMovement, #RUReferenceList and #FeesMustFall. She holds a Master of Social Science Degree in Political and International Studies from Rhodes University with a keen interest in black intellectual archives, black social history and the homeland Government System.
Naledi Ngqambela is a researcher and writer with keen interest in development economics, social science, policy and politics.
With at least 4 years’ experience in management consulting and market research on election polls and analysis, she has also worked on several diverse research projects focusing on sectors including telecommunications, NGO, specialised agencies such as WHO, government, private sector and consumer councils.
Ngqambela writes opinion pieces for the Mail and Guardian, and Sunday World regularly on South Africa’s political system, economy as well as social dynamics. In 2023, she was recognised as News24’s 100 Young Mandela’s under the category – Deepening Democracy.
Tessa Dooms is a Director at the Rivonia Circle, political think-tank and author of the recently released book ‘Coloured’ that explores identity politics in South Africa.
Trained as a Sociologist, development practitioner and political analyst, Tessa started her career in academia. She has worked in diverse sectors including government, NGOs and the private sector, where she did work that aligns the objectives of various institutions and programmes with developmental objectives for the advancement of Africa.
She has 15 years’ experience as a development worker, trainer and researcher with expertise on governance, youth development and innovation, and has worked in over 10 African countries. In 2015 she was appointed to the National Planning Commission to advise the President on the implementation of the National Development Plan of South Africa.
Tessa is a Trustee of the Kagiso Trust. She holds a Masters of Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand.
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