A founding member and Executive Director of Puku, Elinor Sisulu is the author of the award-winning books The Day Gogo Went to Vote (1997) and the biography Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our Lifetime (2003). Elinor has been a judge of several literary competitions, including the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize and the Etisalat Prize for Literature. She has served on many arts, literature and human rights boards, including the National Arts Festival board.
She is a founder member and current Executive Director of the Puku Children’s Literature Foundation. She has been the recipient of an honorary PhD from the University of Pretoria in 2016 , the Chevalier de L’Ordre des Artes et des Lettres from the French government in 2020, the South African Literary Awards (SALA) Chairperson’s Achievement Award in 2023 and 2024 Nick Perren’s Award from the Publisher’s Association of South Africa (PASA). Under her leadership, Puku has been awarded the 2021 UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize.
Zanele Ndlovu Magubeni is a true renaissance woman who excels as a writer, Author, Early Childhood Development Curriculum Developer, Teacher, Musician, composer and storyteller. She plays the African indigenous instruments, umakhweyana, isitolotolo, umtshingo and marimba. She published her own children’s books titled UMakhweyana and Simunye both in her mother tongue isiZulu and through her own publishing company Izilimi Zase Afrika and both books come with audio CDs. She was one of the Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans in 2017. Zanele is a book review editor and manager of Puku’s social media campaigns.
Zanele is also the co-founder of the Novulakuvaliwe Library based in the village at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape. The library was co-founded with her late husband, Unathi Magubeni.
Rosie Katz has many years of experience in the creative industries in both the non-profit and commercial sectors. Her local, national, continental and international network has been built through diverse and unique activities. She currently operates as a freelancer providing project management and administration services to various organisations, including the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation. She has helped manage Puku programmes since 2011 as a part-time programme and finance manager and sometimes as a volunteer, depending on availability of funds.
Puku’s Administrative Support Manager, Bongi Makunyana, is a seasoned Human Resources practitioner with over 30 years’ experience working with Executive Committees, Board Remuneration Committees, Board Risk Committees and Trade Union engagement. She has held senior positions in top companies such as IBM, Barclays Africa, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Discovery Health and Eskom. At Barclays Africa Bongi’s advisory role included providing support to HR Managers in 11 Africa and she has provided consultancy services to a wide variety of clients including World Vision International (Zimbabwe) and the World Wildlife Fund (Zimbabwe).
Fiona Beal is a graduate of the University of Kwazulu-Natal where she obtained a BA degree followed by a postgraduate teaching diploma. She has taught nearly all the grades during her teaching experience.
In 2009 Fiona was a winner of the Microsoft Innovative Teacher competition in South Africa and a finalist in the ISPA Super teacher competition in South Africa in 2018 and 2019. Fiona is recognised as a Google Certified Innovator and was one of 50 educators world-wide selected to attend the Google Teacher Academy in New York in 2012. She was recognised as a Global Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert from 2016 – 2024. Fiona has worked as a web editor for Puku since 2019, in both paid and volunteer capacities, depending on availability of funds.
Themba Maseko is a seasoned Project Assistant and Cultural Administrator with over two decades of experience in arts, and community development. He has successfully worked on projects for leading institutions, including MIDI Trust, National Arts Council, and ASSITEJ South Africa. His track record includes coordinating international cultural exchanges, overseeing compliance and funding processes, and directing large-scale events such as the World Theatre Festival – Cradle of Creativity. Known for his ability to streamline operations and deliver results under pressure, Maseko brings dynamic contribution and proven expertise to every project he undertakes.
Gift Chiloane’s experience in early childhood development was gained at the Youth Enrichment Centre as mentor and facilitator for after care teaching programmes. Gift later worked at Hashtag Imagine Youth as an administrator for the Unemployed Youth Program development in townships in and around Johannesburg. Thereafter, he worked with the NGO, City Wise in Auckland Park as a Learnership and Events Coordinator providing mentorship and workforce ethics programs for UJ and Wits students.
Gift is an admin assistant at Puku, providing logistics and production support for Puku’s workshops and other events.
Cheraldine Smit has worked in administrative, marketing, operational, customer service, and event coordination roles, gaining experience across a variety of industries and organisations. In recent years, through her work in the publishing industry, she has developed a particular interest in children’s literature, indigenous language publishing, and initiatives that encourage a love of reading. She has come to appreciate the important role that books play in education, personal development, and creating opportunities for young readers.
Lebogang Jessicah Monyela is a writer, poet, and arts practitioner from Limpopo, South Africa. She holds a BA joint Honours degree in Publishing Studies and African literature from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Drama and Theatre, also from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Her work is rooted in a passion for storytelling, literacy, and community development. Through her work across publishing, education, and the arts, she advocates for greater access to diverse African stories and meaningful learning experiences.
Lebogang is currently an intern at Puku Children’s Literature Foundation, where she supports Puku’s social media and community outreach programmes.
Fazilan Montsi is a former practising advocate who lectured in law at the National University of Lesotho as well as the University of Western Cape. She qualified with a Masters in International and Comparative Law from the Vrije Universiteit, Brussels Belgium.
Fazila is a founder member and Chairperson of the Puku Children’s Literature Foundation since 2009.
Fazila is fluent in Sesotho, French and Afrikaans and is passionately committed to promoting children’s books in South Africa and her native Lesotho.
Ntobeko Shezi is an experienced auditor who served his articles with KPMG. After completing his articles, he moved to Standard Bank where he worked as a Senior Financial Manager where he managed the business lending portfolio of R32 Billion. After leaving Standard Bank, he worked for the Office of the Auditor General where he managed many high profile audits. He is a founding member of Sombula Holdings, a black owned and black managed chartered accountancy firm that has provided uditing and accounting services since 2010 to mostly government departments. Ntobeko audited Puku books from 2016 to 2019, two years of which were done pro bono.
Puku is excited to welcome Ntobeko as one of our newest board members in September 2026.
Professor Lesibana Jacobus Rafapa (PhD) is former head of University of Venda English Department (South Africa) and former Professor and head of English Studies at UNISA. In 2019 he joined the University of Limpopo as Humanities Faculty research Professor until his retirement in June 2026. Lesibana Rafapa is a recipient of the prestigious Fellow of the English Academy Award by the English Academy of Southern Africa (EASA) in recognition of his significant contributions to and promotion of English Studies and Northern Sotho literature. He is a prolific author, literary critic and researcher. A specialist in the fiction of Es’kia Mphahlele, he has produced research publications also on the taxonomy of black South African English literature from the early 1800s up to the post-apartheid era.
Lesibana has promoted multilingualism as a Focus Area Manager for Literature and Previously Marginalised Languages at the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) from 2000 to 2006.
Lesibana is a founder member of Puku and served on its board since 2009.
Bontle Senne is accomplished in many roles – charity CEO, top-tier consultant, author, speaker, commercial farmer, journalist, AI tech bro, Board member, artist and coach. She has worked as a consultant at McKinsey in Johannesburg, led global software development and culture change at Deutsche Bank, and held an Executive Director role during the Virgin Media O2 merger. Her literary career has included authorship and co-authorship of nine books: six works of fiction for children and teenagers, plus three non-fiction books. The Golden Baobab Prize shortlisted her fiction in 2014.
Bontle was Puku’s first employee while she was still a student at the University of Cape town. She later became Puku’s Managing Director from 2012 to 2013. She then went on to become a Puku board member.
Meena is the financial manager at Charity Aid Foundation. She has extensive practical experience in budgeting, income and expenditure control, management accounting, financial and internal auditing, cash flow management, management of information, material and human skills. She has a record of introducing cost cutting measures and accounting systems and she also has a broad spectrum of experience in financial accounting, administration, planning and procurement.
Meena has served on the Puku board since 2019.
Mr. Kepi Madumo recently joined UNISA where he heads the Department of Information Science. Mr Madumo was the National Librarian and CEO of the National Library of South Africa from 2019 – 2025. He previously held numerous senior leadership positions, including Director of Provincial Library, Information and Archives Services in the North West Province, Director of Information Management in the National Department of Social Development, Strategic Executive Director for the City of Tshwane (Pretoria) and Executive Director for the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Community Development. He holds a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Studies from the University of Cape Town and has completed prestigious executive leadership programs. Mr Madumoi has actively contributed to professional associations, including the South African Library and Information Association (LIASA) and the African Library & Information Institutions & Associations (AFLIA). He currently serves as the Chairperson of the AFLIA National Libraries Section. He is an immediate past Chairperson of the Standing Conference of African National and University Librarians-Eastern, Central & Southern (SCANUL-ECS).
Puku is excited to welcome Mr Madumo as its newest board member as of September 2026.
