About us

Our Team

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  Noxolo Malumise
  Executive Director

Executive Director

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Noxolo Malumise

Noxolo has extensive experience and expertise in the philanthropic sector and a depth of experience in organisational and team leadership. She is passionate about sustainable economic and social development and equality, and the strategic role private philanthropy can play. She has been an advocate for growing and strengthening local philanthropy.

An MBA graduate from the Henley Business School in the UK, she also holds a post-graduate degree in Economic Policy and Development. Noxolo spent sixteen years in the financial services industry, within capital markets and wealth management.

She was previously the head of Philanthropy at Nedbank Private Wealth, providing a range of specialist advice and services to affluent individuals and families, JSE listed corporates as well as non-profit organisations (NPO’s) on sustainable and impactful giving. In this role she was responsible for the philanthropy strategy, developing the offering and growing assets under management and administration. Her areas of expertise include giving strategies, optimal structures for giving, compliance, governance, and best practice.

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  Noxolo Ntaka
  Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager

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Noxolo Ntaka

Noxolo has over six and a half years of combined professional experience in research analysis, strategy, project & resource management, design implementation and stakeholder management. She brings forth a multidisciplinary background in Politics, Economics and African Studies, having obtained two master’s degrees from the University of Oxford and WITS University in African and Political Studies, respectively.

Prior to joining the SJI, Noxolo worked as a Senior Researcher for Nedbank. She was responsible for providing strategic direction in design research and to determine appropriate research methodologies, improve delivery cadence and the quality of research output, deliver customer insights, and identify strategic value propositions for the bank – in line with its digital mission. Prior to Nedbank, Noxolo worked in the non-profit sector as Project Manager for the Democracy Works Foundation where she led and managed a KPMG anti-corruption funded project, the Democracy Works Academy – a seven-month civic education and youth engagement fellowship, aimed at increasing the participation of young people in South Africa’s democratic processes.

Noxolo is passionate about social justice, particularly in addressing systemic poverty & inequality, and working towards the creation of a just society where its citizens have equitable access to opportunities.

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  Xoliswa Maaroganye
  Office Manager

Office Manager

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Xoliswa Maaroganye

Xoli completed a BA degree in Communication Science and Psychology in 2018 at Varsity College. She went on to further her studies at the University of Pretoria and holds a BA Hons degree in Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Her experience spans both the Civil Society Sector as well as Corporate.

Xoli is passionate about Communications in the workplace and how it can be utilised to inspire innovative solutions and convey the organisation’s brand and values both internally and externally. She is set on making a positive change within the Civil Society Sector using Communications.

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  Yoni Bass
  Director of Resource Mobilisation

Director of Resource Mobilisation

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Yoni Bass

Born and raised in Durban, Yoni began working in the social justice sector soon after he completed his LLB at the University of Cape Town in 2009. After stints at Equal Education and the Social Justice Coalition in 2010, he joined Equal Education full-time in January 2011 as the organisation’s Development Officer. He joined the organisation’s management team in 2012 and in 2013 was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer, serving on Equal Education’s senior management structure. He remained in this position until July 2020 when he began providing operations and fundraising support to several Cape Town non-profits on a consultancy basis. Yoni joined the SJI in February 2021.

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  David Jacobs
  Finance & Operations Manager

Finance & Operations Manager

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David Jacobs

David has over 15 years of experience in financial leadership, operations, and ICT systems in the non-profit sector, following more than a decade in commercial project management and ICT roles.

From 2016 to 2023, he served as Head of Operations at the Global Teachers Institute, leading financial strategy, managing donor-funded budgets, and aligning programme delivery with financial oversight. He has also supported organisations like Rise Against Hunger Africa and Food Forward SA. David founded Digital Inventions, a consultancy helping non-profits enhance their monitoring, evaluation, and financial systems through tech-based solutions.

At SJI, David oversees operations and financial management, supports funding partnerships, and ensures effective, accountable grant-making, with a focus on due diligence in finance, governance and sustainability. Originally from the Cape Flats in Cape Town, David’s work is rooted in a deep commitment to equity. He holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Cape Town.

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  Lerato Legoabe
  Portfolio Manager – PGM Lead

Portfolio Manager – PGM Lead

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Lerato Legoabe

Lerato is a seasoned leader with over 15 years of experience in women’s rights, public health, and advocacy. She has held several key leadership roles including Technical Advisor for Advocacy and Co-Director for Gender and ICT Policy, leading efforts to advance gender equality, health equity and inclusive development.

She has worked with global bodies such as UN Women, USAID’s TB Programme South Africa, the Union for Lung Health, and the International Telecommunication Union – driving high-level advocacy, research, and campaigns that push systemic change.

Lerato is deeply connected to both local and global women’s rights movements, with a strong focus on human rights, gender justice and health communication. Her work has been featured internationally, spotlighting issues of gender equity, digital rights, and access to health. She excels at building cross-sector partnerships, managing major campaigns and grants and influencing policy. An alum of the University of Pennsylvania’s Social Impact Changemakers Programme, she holds a Master of Science (MSc) in International Marketing from the University of Sussex.

At SJI, Lerato leads the Gender Justice Participatory Fund, championing community-led change through innovative, inclusive approaches.

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  Dr. Zuziwe Khuzwayo
  Social Justice Project Manager

Social Justice Project Manager

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Dr. Zuziwe Khuzwayo

Dr. Zuziwe Khuzwayo is a gender and social justice practitioner whose career has spanned the non-profit and research sectors. At the Ford Foundation, where she served as a Global Program Associate, her work centred on gender-based violence with a particular focus on women, girls, LGBTQI+ individuals, indigenous women and disabled women.

Alongside her practice, Dr. Khuzwayo is an established feminist scholar. Her research examines gender and sexuality in the Global South and has been published in Agenda, the Journal of International Women’s Studies, The South African Review of Sociology, Urban Forum and Frontiers in Sociology.