Young South Africans: Environment

A chapter of the Mail & Guardian‘s 200 Young South Africans You Must Take to Lunch

Yolan Friedmann
Yolan is chief executive of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), one of the largest conservation NGOs in Southern Africa. She is a veterinary nurse and has an MSc in environmental management.

She began her career as a lecturer in animal health and veterinary technology and ran a community service veterinary clinic. She has been at the EWT since 1995, starting out as a volunteer. Yolan found value in the work they were doing and has remained committed to their values for the past 13 years.

During this time she has also established a regional network of the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group and project-managed and edited the most comprehensive book in South Africa covering 295 terrestrial and marine mammals, Red Data Book of the Mammals In South Africa. Yolan has also completed the Comrades and Two Oceans marathons and stages mountain biking events.

Lunch spot: Picnic at Lethaba Estate, Magaliesburg

Wanda Mkutshulwa
Wanda is head of communications at South African National Parks (SANParks). She joined SANParks at the beginning of 2003, tasked with the responsibility of communicating the vision and mission of South Africa’s premier conservation organisation to internal and external stakeholders as well as building a solid reputation for SANParks. During her tenure at SANParks the organisation has initiated two major successful public campaigns, the Kudu Awards and the South African National Parks Week.

Since 2006 Wanda has also presented several papers on communication/public relations-related topics to several seminars and conferences. For the past three years she has been a member of the Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Awards panel of judges and is the convener for the (SANParks) Kudu Awards adjudication panel.

She has an educational background in journalism and media studies and international relations (political studies), having completed her relevant qualifications at Rhodes University.

Lunch spot: Cape Town Fish Market, Silverlakes, Pretoria

Kerryn Morrison
For the past 13 years Kerryn’s career has been concentrated in the area of wildlife conservation. She has a master’s degree in wildlife management and manages African Cranes, Wetlands and Communities, a partnership between the International Crane Foundation and Endangered Wildlife Trust. Kerryn primarily works in South Africa, but recently has been coordinating and supporting­ crane-related projects across sub-Saharan Africa. The focus of her work is on wetlands upon which both cranes and people depend for survival. She believes that there are many ways to prevent and eradicate the various human-induced threats to the cranes.

Lunch spot: Fibs in Dullstroom