Our Team – Uthingo

Board Members

Kevin Featherstone (he/him/his)

As the founding member of Uthingo, Kevin is driven by his passion for meaningful change. He pursues this passion as a speaker, facilitator and humanitarian, while continuing to run his own business, consulting to a number of diverse organisations.

Widely travelled, Kevin brings 30+ years of multifaceted experience to Uthingo, in both the corporate and public sectors, and across banking, consulting, project management, diversity and inclusion, change management, media, radio, event management, advertising, sales and employee engagement.

With a BA in Psychology and Linguistics, and a Higher Diploma in Journalism from Rhodes University, Kevin embarked on a broad-based, hands-on career in the communications, media, marketing and advertising sector.

Kevin has a broad understanding of rural communities and developmental journalism, having worked as the managing editor for iMpilo eNhle, a NUM-based educational and life skills magazine, where he gained exposure to Southern Africa’s labour and union movements.

Sixolile Mabombo-Benson (they/them/their)

Sixolile is a collaborative problem-solver able to connect with almost anyone in pursuit of a common goal. Matching their personal beliefs with enthusiasm and optimism, Sixolile is passionate about authentic leadership, diversity and inclusion, and finding new approaches to create meaningful impact.

A founding member of The South African LGBT+ Forum, Sixolile currently works as a director of finance and operations at the Africa Resource Centre.

Their professional experience, which spans some 15 years, has been primarily in the financial services sector, with a focus on providing financial and accounting advisory services at large companies such as Deloitte and Absa.

In the last three years, Sixolile has been applying their skills to efforts that have a long-term impact on the quality of learning outcomes for children in South Africa. This includes programmes such as the Data Driven Districts Dashboard and Gradesmatch.

Craig McLennan (he/him/his)

Craig is highly knowledgeable in the experiential and activation space, having provided logistics and project management support for a variety of events with participants ranging from 25 to 25 000.

Thanks to his passion for finding and fostering partnerships with under-privileged communities, Craig has facilitated meaningful, long-lasting upliftment programs and CSI initiatives for a number of large corporations, benefiting communities most in need of assistance.

Craig has a natural affinity for people management and skills development, and his years of experience as a musical performer have highlighted his natural flair for team building and motivational events. He has enjoyed a career as a musical director, accompanist and arranger on both local and international stages, and has 20+ years of experience as a musical performer and teacher.

He has an Honours degree in English and the Arts, as well as a facilitation course through Landmark Development Curriculum.

Shawn Meyer (he/him/his)

With a zest for litigation and personal injury law, Shawn has held a number of positions and developed a broad set of skills in the legal profession.

After obtaining his BProc and LLB degrees, he practised law for small and medium-sized firms, and was also a senior litigator for a large parastatal, eventually joining the Johannesburg Society of Advocates where he acted for both plaintiff and defendant firms.

On completion of his medical negligence and health sector mediation training, Shawn saw an opportunity for change and development in the global market and moved to the Independent Bar.

He jointly formed an innovative virtual group of advocates (Synergy Advocates) under the leadership of HB Marais SC, which includes a business model that provides skilled alternative dispute resolution and specialised training, under the business umbrella of Innovation Legal.

Farren Roper (he/him/his)

Farren’s belief is that when we all play, we all win. He is currently the head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Qualtrics, where he drives strategy for representation, ensuring equity and creating a culture of inclusion and belonging. Farren works to level the playing field for all Qualtrics employees globally, allowing each person’s unique brilliance to shine.

He has also worked as an attorney, a marketer, and a serial entrepreneur, and is also a TED Talks speaker. Born in South Africa and previously the head of FNB Connect, as well as the CMO for Microsoft South Africa, Farren currently resides in the United States.

Thandiwe Vilakazi (she/her/they)

Outside of the banking world, where she is a senior associate for Sustainable Finance Solutions at Nedbank, Thandiwe is passionate about supporting members of the LGBTQI+ community, and championing the rights of womxn and other marginalised communities.

With a Bachelor of Economics in Public Finance and Development, and an Honours in Economics from the University of Johannesburg, Thandiwe is a certified trade finance professional, with work experience in the financial services sector that spans banking operations, digital assurance, trade finance and product sales.

operational team

Eugene Moroke van Staden (he/his/him)

Eugene has always been passionate about making a difference in the LGBT+ community. Starting his career as a Peer Educator at SOHACA, he then moved to LGBTI+ Health where he worked as a Peer Educator conducting community dialogue and other education workshops in townships and schools.

Following a stint as a Provincial Manager for local government in Potchefstroom, he became a Senior Ambassador for Health4Men, conducting HIV testing, counselling, M2M sexual health programmes, workshops and other community visibility and dialogue sessions.

Together with his mom, Elizabeth, Eugene has been a pillar of support for the LGBT+ community in Soweto, and an integral part in the formation of Uthingo Africa.