Four new committee members for SAEON’s Graduate Student Network

The SAEON Graduate Student Network (GSN) is delighted to announce the names of the four new committee members for 2013. They are Emma Gray, Laura Danga, Sindiso Chamane and Tlou Masehela.

The 2012 GSN Committee met with the new committee members in April. Posing for the camera are (back row, from left) Tanja van de Ven, Melissa Boonzaaier, Laura Danga, Tlou Masehela, Emma Gray and (front row) outgoing members Caswell Munyai and Paula Pattrick.

For the first time in the GSN’s election history a tie in votes was recorded. This led to a decision by the 2012 GSN committee members and SAEON supporting staff to appoint four new committee members, instead of the usual three, as this did not contravene the SAEON GSN constitution and would also be fair to the candidates in question.

Based on the above results and the enthusiasm and motivation of the new committee members, the SAEON GSN 2013 can look forward to a great year ahead.

Portfolios

Emma, Laura, Sindiso and Tlou will serve on the GSN Committee for a two-year term (2013-2014). Emma will be responsible for media communications, Laura and Tlou for marketing and Sindiso for external relations.

The new committee members replace outgoing members Caswell Munyai and Paula Pattrick, who retire from the GSN committee having served a two-year term (2011-2012). Melissa Boonzaaier, Manqhai Kraai and Tanja van de Ven remain on the GSN Committee for 2013.

The GSN committee extends its appreciation to all the members who participated in the election for their input and effort, as candidates and as voters.

Emma Gray is completing her internship at the SAEON Fynbos Node and will be registering for a PhD later this year that will improve her numerical skills and develop her as a researcher. Laura Danga is pursuing her PhD at the Water Institute of the University of Pretoria. Her research focuses on wetland law and governance in South Africa. Sindiso Chamane is based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where she is pursuing her PhD in grassland ecology. Her PhD project is assessing the effect of different grazing management practices on plant diversity and richness in grasslands. Tlou is a PhD student in the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology at Stellenbosch University. His research project focuses on ecosystem services that support managed honeybees in South Africa.