Staff

Cape Mental Health has 142 staff members, of whom 80.9% are women. Women also take up most of the top managerial positions.

Ingrid Daniels
Director

Ingrid Daniels completed her undergraduate and honours degree at the University of the Western Cape and fulfilled her Masters in Social Science (Clinical Social Work) at the University of Cape Town in 1991. She was awarded the Helen Suzman Chevening Award and completed a four-month scholarship in 1996 at the Institute of Epileptology at Maudsley & Kings College Hospitals , London, United Kingdom.

Ingrid’s experience in the disability sector spans a period of at least 26 years and she has received several awards. She was the Director of Epilepsy South Africa for 7 years, and has been the Director of Cape Mental Health Society since 2000.
A founder member of the Western Cape Network on Disability, Ingrid is currently on the Board and Management Committee of the South African Federation for Mental Health and Alexandra Hospital Health Facility Board where she passionately advocates for the empowerment and rights of persons with a disability. She was a founder member, as well as the outgoing chairperson, of the Board of the Western Cape Director’s Forum and currently serves as a board member.

Ingrid has presented several papers at national and international conferences and workshops pertaining specifically to disability and NGO Management and Governance.

Gadija Koopman
Deputy Director

Gadija Koopman completed her undergraduate and honours degrees at the University of the Western Cape and a Masters in Social Work at the University of Stellenbosch. In 1990 she completed a diploma in Marriage Counselling and in 1999 a diploma in Training and Development at the University of South Africa.

Gadija spent 15 years teaching in Social Work at the University of the Western Cape. She gained experience in the disability sector when she served as a board member at Epilepsy South Africa for 8 years. She has been employed at Cape Mental Health Society since 2003.

Management Board

Dr. Mandla Tshabalala
President of Cape Mental Health

Dr. Mandla Absalom Tshabalala is Vice-rector: Student Development and Affairs at the Cape Technikon. He was born in Alexander Township, Johannesburg, and matriculated at OHlange High School in Kwa-Zulu-Natal. He obtained his BA (Social Studies) (Hons). at the University of Zululand, his Masters of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his PhD in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, USA.

He was elected President of Cape Mental Health Society at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting held in August 2006.

 

POSITION NAME GENDER BACKGROUND President Dr Mandla Tshabalala M Retired (previously the Vice-Rector: Student Development & Affairs at the Cape Technikon) Vice- President Ken Sturgeon M Retired Town Planner;  and Planning & Environment Manager of the Argus Cycle Race Exco member: Chairperson Hombakazi Zide F BZ Facilitation and Development Exco member: Vice-Chairperson Jennifer Septoe F Rotary Inner Wheel Exco Exco Member: Treasurer Alan Crisp M Retired Accountant Exco Member: Legal Advisor Tracy Fortune F Attorney Exco Member: Legal Advisor David Lotz M Attorney (Herold Gie) Exco Member Shona Sturgeon F Senior Lecturer, UCT; also President of the S A Federation for Mental Health, and Immediate Past President of the World Federation for Mental Health Exco Member Phumla Satyo F Director: Curriculum Further Education and Training, Western Cape Education Department Exco Member Gary Pond M Financial Services – own business Member André Roux M Consumer Representative (Psychiatric Disability) Member Gwendoline Daniels F Consumer Representative (Intellectual Disability)

Consultants
Dr Shaun Baumann of Valkenberg Hospital and Dr Taviah Zabow of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, are our honorary psychiatrists.