Marc Mcilhone joined the AfricanBrains team as Editor in November 2011 sourcing news and features content and overseeing the work of the site’s contributors. Marc’s work is informed by his technical background in architecture having worked for some of the UK’s leading practices on projects within the education, healthcare and housing sectors. Marc has a particular interest in how African innovators are creating sustainable solutions that have a positive impact on people’s everyday lives.
Email: marc.mcilhone@africanbrains.org or editor@africanbrains.org

 

Thandisizwe Mgudlwa is the South African correspondent for AfricanBrains & freelance editor of the Africa AgriBusiness Magazine. He has written for The Associated Press, The Washington Post, The Independent and The New York Times among others.
Email: thandisizwe.mgudlwa@africanbrains.org

 

Zimbabwe Senator David Coltart, Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture:
David Coltart, MDC Senator, has been a human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe since his return to the country in 1983. He was first elected to represent the Bulawayo South House of Assembly constituency in June 2000, and was re-elected in March 2005. In March 2008 he was elected as a Senator to represent the Khumalo Senatorial constituency in Bulawayo. Senator Coltart was sworn in as Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture in February 2009.

 

Sam Amsterdam has worked as a new media strategist in London, Brussels, Washington and Toronto. He has also worked in traditional public affairs and corporate media relations. In Brussels, Sam represented Pfizer and Novartis, coordinating milestone events with Members of the European Parliament and international journalists. In Toronto, he spearheaded online operations for Cohn & Wolfe’s GCI Group and a corporate responsibility campaign for Toronto-Dominion Bank. Sam has served as new media counsel for Families USA, Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-N), the Arcadia Foundation and 1MinutetoSavetheWorld. He is a graduate of Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Email: samuel.amsterdam@africanbrains.org

 

Munya Maraire, World Wide Scholarships Foundation
World-renowned NCAA athlete Munya Maraire has a unique story indeed. Born in Zimbabwe, Munya is a founding member of World Wide Scholarships, connecting the university community in the United States and Europe to aspiring athletes throughout Africa.
His ‘Joe Paterno moment’ came when when he signed on to Penn State as a track athlete on a scholarship and had a successful freshman year as their top sprinter. After his freshman year at PSU, he arrived at the late Coach Paterno’s house at 6.30 am in the morning to tell him he wanted to try out. He was met by Sue Paterno who was not too impressed by his timing but “…I asked to see Joe anyway. When he came to the door I told him my story and how I only had a short stint of football in computer games and Alaska and only knew the sport of rugby. He mentioned to me that because of my determination, I showed a characteristic that only players he had won national championships with in the past had. He then organized a tryout for the team that next week and I made the team as the fastest player and ended up being one of the most celebrated two-sport Athletes (Athletics and American Football) at his University”.
Munya then went on to become one of the first Zimbabwean athletes in history to tryout for the NFL and was shortlisted by the Dallas Cowboys.
Email: munya.maraire@africanbrains.org

 

Augustine Mukoka is a Zambian journalist with extensive experience covering developmental issues ranging from investment, politics and sports in the southern African nations since 2002. He has captured events around the booming construction industry in Zambia, the mining sector which is predominately anchored on copper production as the country’s economic mainstay and several investment projects. As a sports journalist, Augustine covered the 2006 (Germany) and 2010 (South Africa) FIFA World Cup and traveled extensively with the national team including to more than two Africa Cup of Nations, bringing out articles on how football is contributing to national development. He holds a diploma in journalism and public relations.
Email: augustine.mukoka@africanbrains.org

 

Nicholas Pescod attended Iroquois Ridge High School in Oakville, Ontario and graduated in 2007. After deciding to return for an extra semester of high school he attended the University of Guelph in 2008. In 2009 he transferred from University into Centennial College’s journalism program and graduated in 2012. Pescod has been a contributor to the East-Toronto Observer, and he currently contributes to the North Shore News’ entertainment section. While at Centennial College he created Radio Nation, a weekly Internet radio show with a focus on indie music. Since Radio Nation began in November of 2010 there have been over 70 different live guests. In 2011 Pescod received a Global Citizenship award from Centennial for his work on Radio Nation. The show has regular listeners from around the world.
Email: nicholas.pescod@africanbrains.org

 

Niamh Brannigan is a communications specialist born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and now living in Nairobi Kenya where she works for an international NGO with a mandate to alleviate poverty and enhance socio-economic development by assisting governments to develop realistic, appropriate and relevant policies and plans for education and training systems through the holistic integration of technology – without waste and without leaving the teacher behind. Niamh is passionate about the role of different forms of indigenous knowledge in the development of knowledge societies, pedagogy for skills development, life skills for a new society, as well as the meaning and role of innovation in Africa. Niamh has an MSc in Technology and Learning from Trinity College Dublin and a Masters in Publishing from University of the Arts London.
Email: niamh.brannigan@africanbrains.org