Ayanda Radebe was the Communications Officer at The Mandela Rhodes Foundation. She was responsible for supporting the Foundation in building its presence by delivering compelling thought-leadership content through a variety of media channels, showcasing the story of Scholars in Residence, and handling the Foundation’s general media and communications needs.

Previously, Ayanda worked at Thumbtribe Media as an Account Manager tasked with managing brand loyalty campaigns as well as creating digital content for a number of FMCG brands. She was also a World Economic Forum Global Shaper within the Durban hub where she assisted with existing local projects geared towards identifying and remedying social issues. While in Global Shapers she developed a communications strategy for the team to assist in reaching relevant stakeholders. She has written and published work in the Mail & Guardian, Marie Claire SA and Kwesefied.

Ayanda was born and raised in KwaZulu Natal. She matriculated in 2009 from Queensburgh Girls’ High School; completed a Bachelor of Social Science degree majoring in Media and Cultural Heritage studies and English at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and went on to obtain an Honours degree in Brand Leadership from Vega School of Brand Leadership. She later returned to Vega in 2018 to lecture second and third year Digital Marketing for a semester.

Says Ayanda: “Working at an institution that sees your humanity first feels like coming home. Striving for excellence thus feels like a natural response.”