Our Team
DIRECTORS
Helen Dallas – Executive Director
Helen has over 30 years’ experience working on and leading collaborative research projects on the ecology, conservation and management of aquatic ecosystems in southern Africa. She holds a PHD from the University of Cape Town (UCT) where her freshwater career
Jenny Day – Director
Jenny joined our Board of Directors in 2017. She has over 35 years’ experience in the field of aquatic ecology and the conservation and management of aquatic ecosystems. The biology of freshwater crustaceans has always been of particular interest and
Mao Amis – Director
Dr Amis is the Founder and Executive Director of the African Centre for a Green Economy (AfriCGE). AfriCGE is a non-profit think thank and capacity building organisation based in South Africa. Prior to founding Africege, Dr. Amis worked as programme
RESEARCHERS
Jeremy Shelton – Researcher
Jeremy Shelton is a Cape Town-based freshwater conservation biologist with 15 years’ experience. His interests range from freshwater broad-scale bioinformatics work (he is a co-founder of the Freshwater Biodiversity Information System, FBIS) to research on species invasions and climate change
Bruce Paxton – Researcher
Bruce has 15 years of experience in aquatic ecology. Bruce’s main area of interest and expertise is in understanding the links between the biological and physical components of river systems and the implications this has for their management. He has
Kate Snaddon – Researcher
Kate has 19 years of experience in the field of freshwater ecology (both as a researcher and specialist consultant) and environmental consulting (including environmental auditing and waste management). Her specialist skills lie in the areas of freshwater macro-invertebrate identification and
Sharon Pollard – Researcher
Sharon has over 30 years’ experience working on and leading collaborative research projects on freshwater aquatic systems and their protection through integrated approaches and collaborative governance in southern Africa. She holds a PHD from the University of Cape Town (UCT)
Jordan Calder – Researcher
Jordan is a conservation biologist and educator whose diverse professional experience spans both these fields, but what she loves most is the space created when her two passions overlap. Passionate about biodiversity and with an aptitude for science, Jordan enjoyed
Nazley Liddle – Researcher
Nazley is passionate about biodiversity, ecology, and conservation in the face of global change. She completed a BSc in Applied Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, which solidified her drive to understand how species interact with each other and their changing environments.
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
Dean Ollis – Research Associate
Dean has more than 15 years of experience working on inland water ecosystems, both as a researcher and a consultant. He holds an MPhil degree in Environmental Science from the University of Cape Town and an MSc degree in Ecological
Riaan van der Walt – Research Associate
Riaan has 36 years of biodiversity conservation experience in the Cape Fold Ecoregion. He was employed by CapeNature for 25 years as a conservation manager, where he was also responsible for invasive alien fauna projects within the Western Cape. During
Dean Impson – Research Associate
Dean has 25 years of experience working in the field of river and freshwater fish conservation as a conservation scientist. He enjoys working on research projects that focus on conservation of native fishes and associated ecosystems, and the impacts of
Nick Rivers-Moore – Research Associate
Nick is an aquatic ecologist with 15 years of professional experience in this field. After completing a PhD in Hydrology at the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg) in 2003, he went on to a post-doctorate at the Institute for Water Research
STUDENTS
Nonkanyiso Zungu – PhD student
Nonkanyiso is a Professional Natural Scientist (Pr.Sci.Nat) registered with SACNASP. She is currently a PHD candidate at the University of Cape Town doing research on the potential impact of climate change on freshwater macroinvertebrate species. She is supervised by Dr
Cecilia Cerrilla – PhD Candidate
Ceci joined the FRC in 2019 as a master’s student while completing the University of Cape Town’s Conservation Biology MSc programme. After submitting, she felt there was much more to discover from the Cape’s freshwater fish, leading her return to
Mohammed Kajee – PhD student
Originating from Johannesburg, Mohammed obtained his BSc degree at the University of Cape Town in Marine Biology and Applied Biology in 2014. He then went on to complete his Honours degree in Marine Biology the following year. Mohammed then undertook
Jody-Lee Reizenberg – PhD student
Jody studied at the University of Cape Town, graduating in 2012 with a BSc in Zoology, Ecology, and Environmental and Geographical Science. During her undergraduate degree she also worked for the Freshwater Consulting Group as a field assistant to Dr
Casper Morch – MSc student
Casper obtained his BSc degree in environmental science from Leiden University in the Netherlands in 2020. After some time as a SCUBA diving professional, Casper decided to play a more active role in the conservation of threatened species. He enrolled
Miranda Mix – MSc student
Miranda graduated from Cornell University in 2022 with a BSc in Environment & Sustainability and a concentration in Wildlife & Fisheries Management. As an undergrad, she discovered her strong interest in freshwater ecology and conservation. Before enrolling in the UCT
PAST INTERNS AND STUDENTS
Jessica Burnette – MSc student
Jessica has always had a love for animals and the natural world. Since she was young, African wildlife has held a special place in her heart. She knew that one day she wanted to visit Africa and see its amazing
Steve Avidon – MSc Student
Steve is a resident Wild Coast ecologist with a passion rooted in exploring freshwater ecosystems in the region. Steve has studied a BSc in Natural Sciences at UNISA and a BSc in Agricultural Sciences at Stellenbosch University. His introduction to
Daniel van Blerk – MSc Student
Daniel grew up in the Garden Route, where a love for fishing and the outdoors was instilled. He completed his undergraduate and Honors degrees in Biodiversity and Ecology at Stellenbosch University. He is currently doing his MSc in Zoology at
Pfananani Ramulifho – PhD student
Pfananani obtained his junior degree (Geography, 2010) and Environmental Science Honours degree (2011) from University of Venda. His journey with FRC started in 2012 when he enrolled for MSc in Hydrology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal under the supervision of
Keir Lynch – MSc student
Keir Lynch obtained his National Diploma in Nature Conservation at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. He worked for several years in natural resource management and conservation in the private sector, before completing his BTech in Nature Conservation with the Cape
Aneri Swanepoel – FRC Intern through the DST-NRF Internship Programme (2020-2021)
Aneri obtained her BSc in Biodiversity and Ecology in 2017 from Stellenbosch University, where she was introduced to a broad range of topics related to the natural environment. She then decided to broaden her knowledge even further by enrolling for
Philip Frenzel – FRC Intern through the DST-NRF Internship Programme (2018-2019)
Philip Frenzel is deeply engaged in environmental sustainability issues – especially, anything relating freshwater ecosystems. Originating from Kwa-Zulu Natal, his interests in environmental issues were borne in his childhood years whilst visiting different game reserves around the country. Philip pursued
Melandry Rafferty – FRC Intern through the DST-NRF Internship Programme (2018-2019)
Melandri Rafferty is highly passionate about environmental conservation and the impact of threatened freshwater ecosystems on the well-being of communities. She is originally from the Eastern Cape and chose the Western Cape to further her studies as it provided more
Toni Olsen – FRC Intern through the DST-NRF Internship Programme (2016)
Toni obtained her BSc in Environmental and Geographical Sciences in 2014 at the University of Cape Town. She went on to study her Honours in Biological Sciences at UCT and graduated in 2015. Toni then enrolled in the DST-NRF internship
Lily Bovin – FRC Intern through the DST-NRF Internship Programme (2017)
Lily obtained her BSc in Marine Biology and Ocean & Atmosphere Science in 2014 at the University of Cape Town. She went on to study Honours in Biological Science at UCT and graduated in 2015. Lily enrolled in the DST-NRF
Terriann Thavar – FRC Intern through the DST-NRF Internship Programme (2017)
Terriann Thavar is highly passionate about environmental conservation. She is originally from KwaZulu-Natal and chose to pursue a degree in the Western Cape to broaden her knowledge of Cape Floristic Region biodiversity. She obtained her BSc in Biodiversity and Conservation
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE
Marycke Roche – Financial Manager
Marycke Roche is a Chartered Accountant and oversees the financial management of FRC. Marycke graduated as a CA (SA) in 1991. She has been running her own practice since 1996 and serves clients in various industries with various functions, the
Janette Lumley – Office Administrator
Janette Lumley joined FRC in 2018 as the office administrator. She has over 12 years’ experience in various roles including website maintenance, data capturing, bookkeeping, accounting software, software development and she also owned her own small business for 5 years.
