Chief Operating Officer: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
It takes a very special person to keep DEAT running smoothly. Like the mother of a large household, Pam’s job is to ensure that the disparate parts of this diverse government department run like a well-oiled machine.
‘I thrive under pressure,” she says. ‘Every day is a challenge to ensure that all our personnel know exactly where they fit into the fold.”
She is passionate about getting more women into senior management, so it was a personal triumph when she secured one of the top posts in a department that, historically, has been male-dominated. ‘Traditionally, women hold their families together. Now I hold a department together.”
Besides this, she also works to link portfolios and policies together, and once in a while she gets a chance to get out into the field. ‘That’s my favourite part of my job, going out into the parks, visiting rural communities, to see the impact of our work. I would like to do more of that.”
Her goal is to change perceptions many South Africans have about their environment and their often disrespectful treatment of it. ‘We are still in our infancy with environmental awareness. We have a long way to go,” she says.