Our Team

The FRC is a dynamic team of committed and passionate professionals with a diverse range of skills in the aquatic sciences with advanced degrees and years of experience between them. Our common ambition is to deliver relevant science of the highest standard and to become a leading and authoritative source of information in the field.

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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RESEARCH ASSOCIATES

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

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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

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Cecilia Cerrilla – PhD student

Ceci obtained her BSc degree in environmental science from Brown University in 2016. After a couple of years spent working on ornithological field projects, she enrolled at the University of Cape Town for her MSc in conservation biology and obtained

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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

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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

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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

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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

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PAST INTERNS AND STUDENTS

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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EFT Account Details

Account Name:               Freshwater Research Centre NPC 
Bank:                                 Nedbank Limited
Account No:                     102 680 5341    
Branch Code:                   104 309
Swift Code:                       NEDSZAJJ

Please use your Name and the project you would like to donate to as as reference e.g. Jane_Saving Sandfish. If you would also be so kind as to email us with your details once you have made the payment. Please also let us know if you would like to receive a Section 18a Certificate. You can send that email to info@frcsa.org.za.
 
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