Board of Trustees

Prominent researchers, conservationists and businessmen form part of the Board of Trustees. Each trustee brings with them a wealth of knowledge, passion and guidance. We are grateful for their contributions and continued support.

We are honoured to have the following individuals serve as Trustees for the Cape Leopard Trust.

Johan van der Westhuizen (Chairman)

A founding member of the Cape Leopard Trust and retired businessman who now devotes much of his free time to conservation. Johan is also a founding member of the Cederberg Conservancy, and a founding member and chairman of the Red Cederberg Karoo Park, a conservation area in the unique Cederberg succulent Karoo.

Helen Turnbull

Helen is the Chief Executive Officer at The Cape Leopard Trust, and her focus is to ensure the various dynamics of the project are managed transparently and efficiently. Her role includes relationship management with partners, fundraising, sponsorship liaison, financial oversight and project marketing.

Dr Ian McCallum

Dr Ian McCallum is a medical doctor, environmentalist, author and poet. He is an adjunct professor at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Graduate School of Business in Port Elizabeth, and an honorary lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cape Town. Ian's book 'Ecological Intelligence' won the Wild Literary Award at the World Wilderness Congress in Mexico in 2009. In 2012, together with a friend and journalist Ian Michler, he completed an enlightening 5000 km journey through six southern African countries walking, kayaking and cycling.

Following ancient elephant migration routes and clusters, one of the priorities of the expedition was to highlight the importance of elephants as keystone species in Africa’s wild ecosystems and the need to protect landscapes for wildlife. A former South African Springbok rugby player, McCallum’s other interests include evolutionary biology and wildlife photography. He is a specialist wilderness guide and was a co-founder of the Wilderness Leadership School.

Professor William Horsnell

Lecturer and researcher in the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town. Bill has had a long-term interest in natural history, which led him to undertake a degree in Applied Zoology at the University of Leeds and develop an interest in parasitology and biochemistry. This resulted in a PhD at the Royal Veterinary College in cellular biology and biochemistry. Bill has been a part of the project since its inception.

Jannie Nieuwoudt

Jannie Nieuwoudt is a 7th generation Cederberg farmer and chair of the Cederberg Conservancy. He has been a supporter of the CLT for many years and is currently the secretary of the Red Cederberg Karoo Park. Jannie was one of a group of farmers who decided to ban the use of inhumane gin traps in terms of predator management and was a founding member of the Cederberg Conservancy.

India Baird

India began her career as a Wall Street lawyer before moving to South Africa in 1991 to work with the ANC Constitutional Committee, focusing on children and women’s rights and organizing the first Children’s Rights Conference prior to elections. India co-founded the Children’s Right Division of Human Rights Watch in 1994 and has founded and served on the board of numerous other non-profits in the US and South Africa, including Human Rights Watch, Grassroots Soccer, Children’s Radio Foundation, BRAVE and the MATRIARCHS, a filmmaking organization dedicated to sharing the stories of women conservationists. An avid ultra-trail runner and conservationist, India is especially passionate about finding ways to connect youth with conservation.

Anthony Mederer

Anthony is a Cape Town based business professional. From childhood Anthony’s first love was wildlife, and particularly sharks. The destructive impact of nets on sharks – and the wider ocean ecosystem – fuelled his desire to make a difference, and he became a shark meshing officer in his early 20s. Since then, he has used his business acumen to enable his conservation efforts, both as a supporter and an activist.

Anthony is an entrepreneur and impact investor, and as well as being a board member of the Cape Leopard Trust, he is on the board of the Shark Safe Barrier which aims to manage human shark conflict without the destruction of our ocean’s animals. He also serves on the board of Young Bafana which has been dedicated to the holistic development of children and young people from poor backgrounds in South Africa since 2010 through its comprehensive range of soccer and educational activities. His other interests are big cats, and telling stories, which he does via the History and Conservation podcasts with radio personality Gareth Cliff.

Sne Dlamini

Sne is the Executive Head of Institutional Clients at Old Mutual Investment Group (OMIG). She is responsible for client service and driving the growth of institutional assets under management across local and global clients. She is also the Chair of OMIG’s Transformation Committee and serves on the firm’s Responsible Investment Committee. These roles align with her commitment to a sustainable future by contributing towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including SDG 15 which speaks to “Life on Land” and halting biodiversity loss.

Sne holds a Bachelor of Business Science from the University of Cape Town and has completed the Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management Programme through UNISA.

Acceptable trapping techniques

icon no trap The Cape Leopard Trust’s position statement on acceptable trapping techniques for carnivore research

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