Meet the Team

My passion and life’s goal is to bring astronomy to the public; exploring how we can most effectively use all the exciting astronomy research currently being conducted in Africa for outreach, development and education purposes. With this goal in mind, I am the Associate Director for Development and Outreach at the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA), holding an associate professor position in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of the Western Cape. I currently serve as the chair of the African Planetarium Society and co-chair of the Outreach and Education Committees of both the African Astronomical Society and the IAU GA2024.
As an energetic supporter of science engagement, I work as a part-time planetarium presenter and educator and have trained as a professional field guide in game reserves across Southern Africa. I’m very excited to be a member of the ARKYS Outreach Team and, as marketing director, I plan to promote and spread awareness of all ARKYS projects and the incredible communities driving them. One of my goals with ARKYS will be to encourage and train others in the community-driven production of 2D and 3D (planetarium and 360 degree) local digital content in order to promote Africa’s many artistic and scientific achievements.

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When I visited Cape Town for 6 months, I fell in love with its incredibly beautiful nature and people.
I am from Switzerland and studied Media and Gender Studies and now work in Marketing. During my stay in South Africa I did a Social Media Marketing course at the University of Cape Town.

I love nature and do everything I can to protect it. The fact that ARKYS allows me to combine my two passions, social media marketing and conservation, makes me incredibly happy.
If everyone does what they can to protect the environment, we’ll make progress together. But it takes small steps from each and every one of us. The Earth needs action.

I am a qualified Foundation Phase teacher, with 17 years experience in education. In 2023 I decided to use what I had learned from a variety of different educational models, and apply it to the world of environmental conservation in a full-time capacity. In 2024 I joined ARKYS Outreach as a Director in order to further this impact. I whole-heartedly believe that conservation education is the most impactful way to make change, and, as our by-line confirms, this manner of education is empowering and uplifting in its nature. I cannot wait to see where this journey takes me, and I hope to one day inspire my own children to be change-makers and trail blazers, like their mother and their Aunty Sal.