Council
Dr Presha Ramsarup
President: 2019 – Current
Dr Presha Ramsarup is Director at the Centre for Researching Education and Labour at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She is a Senior Research Associate at the Environmental Learning Research Centre at Rhodes University and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham. Her research work focuses on learning pathways for sustainable development and sustainability and her work is focused on skills for a just transition. She is currently engaged in several research programmes focused on transitioning the Vocational Education and Training in Africa. She is the current President of Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa. Dr Ramsarup has been a member of EEASA for over 20 years.
Mr Solly Mosidi
Mr Solly Mosidi currently holds the position of Executive Director: Social Services at Midvaal Municipality, joining in August 2012 to date. In this position oversees the provision of community services in this municipal area. Prior to this he was the Managing Director of SMM & Associates Consultants, a firm specialising in Tourism, Environment and Human capital development Consultant. Before this, from September 2006 to January 2008 he was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency.
Mr Mosidi’s expertise includes Tourism Policy Development, Human Capital Development and Environmental Education and Sustainability. Mr Mosidi is a member of the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa, Travel & Tourism Industry Professionals, Tourism and Biodiversity Conservation, World Tourism & Travel Network | Innovation and the Future of Tourism, Green Business Network South Africa and the European Ecotourism Network.
Dr Victoria Ferdinand
Dr Victoria is engaged in Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable development (EE/ESD) industry for more than fifteen years. She formally worked with Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) as in-charge of conservation education programme where she advanced her EE/ESD knowledge through SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme (SADC-REEP) trainings, between (2004-2012). In 2012 she joined Rhodes University – Environmental Resource Learning Centre (ERLC) for a PhD study research that aimed at deeper understanding of social learning in conservation education practices around a coastal forest community in Tanzania.
Later in 2016-2018, Dr Victoria worked for St Joseph University in Tanzania as a Lecturer and Principle for the College of Science and Mathematics Education before going to work as an independent EE/ESD facilitator in Tanzania and elsewhere. Dr Victoria is a coordinator of Regional Centre of Expertise for EE/ESD Greater Dar-Es-Salaam, supported byUnited Nations University, Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies (UNU-IAS) as a global network programme for sustainability actions and learning. From last year Dr Victoria was assigned an honorary position by UNESCO/Rhodes University to serve as National Reference Group Member (RGM) for Tanzania in the ongoing Sustainability Starts with Teachers (SST) capacity building training programme
Mr Preven Chetty
Dr. Cheryl Lynn Ogilvie
Cheryl matriculated in 1983. Completed National Diploma in Nature Conservation in 1986. Honors or Btech in Nature Conservation in 1992. Followed by a short course in Early Childhood Development then completed my Masters in Nature Conservation in 2005. Followed by PhD in 2019 on the `Effectiveness of an Environmental Education programme in adverse-socio economic environments:a case study of the Ndumo communitities, Northern Maputoland.
I worked as an environmental educationist from 1986 to 1996 where I was stationed at Suikerbosrand NR. Here I am a senior lecturer position at Technikon Pretoria ( now formally known as Tshwane University of Technology. Dept Nature Conservation. Subjects lectured: Conservation Communication1 & 2, environmental education 1, community development and game lodge management 1 & 2. She also managers the Ndumo EE centre on behalf of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife from 2000 to date. Here she educates a rural community about their impacts the community is having on the environment and about ESD and much more which includes skills development. 21 schools are involved in this initiative. She is also involved in moderation for subjects for UNISA. Been part of EEASA since 1987. And has presented 59 teacher workshops and 112 presented papers at various conferences. Also linked with WESSA and manage the ecoschool nodes at Ndumo and in Gauteng schools. She is also assisting with the first ever eco campus. Currently writing story books linked into the school curriculum. She is working closely with the education department.
Associate Prof Lausanne Olvitt
Lausanne Olvitt has over 20 years’ experience in the field of environmental education. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Education, based in the Environmental Learning Research Centre (ELRC) at Rhodes University. Lausanne teaches across a range of environmental education and general education qualifications in the Faculty of Education, and supervises Masters and Doctoral research projects.
Prior to joining Rhodes University in 2004, Lausanne worked as a high school English teacher for several years before joining the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) coordinating Share-Net – a project that developed low-cost, environmental education resources. Lausanne has been an active member of the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) since 2004, serving on the EEASA Council from 2007 – 2009, editor of the EEASA Bulletin from 2008 – 2009 and most recently as Deputy Editor of EEASA’s academic journal, the Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, from 2015 – 2020. Lausanne is now the Journal Chief Editor
