Event Speakers
We are seasoned designers and facilitators of transformational change, with over 40 years of combined experience in individual and organisational transformation, change facilitation, and high-impact team building. Recognised globally, we specialise in personal development, culture shift, team dysfunction and community building.
Our work disrupts conventional thinking to spark paradigm shifts in mindset, behaviour, and action. We believe that people and organisations operate through the stories they tell—and that transformation begins with changing those narratives. By deepening self-awareness, we help individuals and teams rewrite their stories toward bold, actionable change.
This authentic, results-driven approach has taken the 6 Degrees team around the world. Our clients include the European Union, GIZ, Vedanta, Lafarge Holcim, Multotec, and Symphonia for South Africa (a Global Top 100 NGO). We also collaborate with leading private education institutions and a range of local and national NGOs.
CEO Dr. Rama Naidu
Social Activist & Disruptor of Conventional Thinking
CEO Dr. Rama Naidu
Social Activist & Disruptor of Conventional Thinking
Dr. Rama Naidu has more than 30 years of experience in the field of leadership, social justice, and organizational development and has held senior leadership positions in large organisations (both for-profit and not-for-profit) in South Africa. He brings this practical experience into his provocative work on leadership, community building and the ongoing quest for a more just and humane society. Rama is an international affiliate of Designed Learning (USA) and a Master Facilitator of Community Building with the Partners for Possibility (PfP) nationally in South Africa. He has been the First Director of the Democracy Development Programme in South Africa, an organisation whose purpose was about activating citizenship in a new democracy. In a country where the majority of South Africans were deprived of the right to be full citizens for more than 150 years this program had to disrupt the conventional narrative about empowerment and democracy. This was a traumatic but powerful journey of self-discovery. His work on transformation and diversity has taken him all around the country and the continent. He presently consults with a wide range of clients with the intention to shift their thinking into spaces of undiscovered possibilities and exploring ways of making it their current reality.
Rama works with a hand-picked number of Associates who share his thinking about change and transformation. He has a Doctorate from the University of KwaZulu Natal and is a past fellow of North Western University in Chicago. He has graduated from the International iGold Gestalt and Leadership programme and has also completed a two-year organisational development program across East, North and South Africa. Rama has a passion for being a disruptor of conventional thinking about the role of leadership in the quest for creating a more socially just and equitable world. He has worked internationally with organisations such as German Technical Cooperation (GIZ), The European Union, Designed Learning USA, Nurture Development Agency, the Charles Stuart Mott Foundation, and Vedanta Mines International amongst many others. His present consultancy “6 Degree Shift” (www.6degreeshift.com) epitomises his purpose in life .”It is just 6 degrees that separates every human being from every other human being… “we need to find the connection, recognise our common humanity and work towards a future that we all choose to live into”
Justin Foxton
Lead Associate
Justin Foxton
Lead Associate
Justin Foxton is a process designer, facilitator, consultant and mentor. He works with individuals and teams within organisations to unlock their full potential. His focus areas include leadership development, personal mastery, culture transformation, community building, team building and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), where he helps clients navigate complexity and drive meaningful change.
Known for his insight, empathy, and creative approach, Justin empowers people to engage in the courageous conversations necessary to confront deep-rooted, systemic challenges. His work impacts people in diverse spaces; from classrooms to boardrooms, rural communities to urban centres, executive teams to shop floor. He collaborates with a broad spectrum of clients, ranging from schools, grassroots NGOs and SMMEs to large multinationals.
Justin partners closely with organisations as they transition into new, more purposeful ways of working and being. He is particularly skilled at holding space for reflection, innovation, and growth, enabling individuals and teams to take agency and step into their full potential with clarity and confidence.
She is currently working on two environmental justice projects; one on zero-waste and informal work in the city, and the second on people’s spiritual, scientific, and symbolic relationships with the oceans. She uses creative participatory methods and is fortunate to work in a collective of scholars, activists and artists. Her current research explores how the arts broadly can act as a translation protocol between canons of knowledge in society towards more inclusive and just forms of governance.
Maxine Attong
Associate
Maxine Attong
Associate
Maxine Attong’s intention is to fuel the leadership spark that resides in each of us, so that together we can bring change to the systems in which we live, play and work. She specializes in helping leaders hone their unique leadership style, to create more effective teams and successful professional women to resolve what’s missing in their individual system.
Attong is a Gestalt-trained Certified Organizational Development and Leadership Specialist, who leverages her skills and experiences as a Certified Professional Facilitator, PCC level Executive Coach and as a leader of teams in Finance, Strategy and as Chief Operating Officer. She holds a B.Sc. Accounting and an M.Sc. Organizational Development and is a Certified Management Accountant. She is the author of 2 business books- Change or Die – the Business Process Improvement Manual and Lead Your team to Win. She is the producer and host of the radio show/ podcast ‘Leadership Unlearned’. She is the founder of the Gestalt Experience which hosts the Global Gestalt Leadership Conference, the Gestalt Leadership Experience, Gestalt Leadership for Professional Women. She contributes her time to causes that she believes in. She is the Finance Chair of the Girl Guides Association of Trinidad and Tobago and serves as a Commissioner of the Police Service Commission. Maxine’s self-intention is to live with abundance and joy.
Kira Erwin
Associate
Kira Erwin
Associate
Kira is a senior researcher in the Urban Futures Centre at the Durban University of Technology, in South Africa. She is a sociologist with a focus on social and environmental justice. Her past projects include research on ideas of race, racialism and anti-racism in South Africa, narratives of home and belonging within the context of migration and gender; as well as state-delivered housing.
She is currently working on two environmental justice projects; one on zero-waste and informal work in the city, and the second on people’s spiritual, scientific, and symbolic relationships with the oceans. She uses creative participatory methods and is fortunate to work in a collective of scholars, activists and artists. Her current research explores how the arts broadly can act as a translation protocol between canons of knowledge in society towards more inclusive and just forms of governance.
Nonkululeko Hlongwane-Mhlongo
Associate
Nonkululeko Hlongwane-Mhlongo
Associate
She is the founder founder and director of a women’s empowerment entrepreneurship hub called Female President ZA which focuses on creating platforms centered around skills and resource sharing for start-ups.
She is the lead content producer for training and skills development company, Inkululeko Leadership Academy, an alumni of a USA coordinated International Visitors Leadership Programme and she is part of a digital content creation team for an e-Learning platform called the ‘Activate Academy’, creating content accessible to young people between the ages of 16-35 in South Africa, she additionally serves as a presenter/Facilitator of the content.
Amy Padayachee
Associate
Amy Padayachee
Associate
Amy Sarah Padayachee is a lecturer at Cape Peninsula University of
Technology. She has a PhD in Education Management and Leadership
(University of the Free State). Her research interests comprise Management and Leadership of South African schools, particularly that of the culture of teaching and learning and female leadership at the intersection of transformation. Amy is a member of the World Education Research Association-International Research Networks (WERA-IRN). She has been a delegate of many national and international conferences including South Africa International Conference on Education (SAICEd) and The South African Education Research Association (SAERA). Amy is currently completing her second PhD in Educational Law.
DR K R Naidoo
Associate
DR K R Naidoo
Associate
Experienced medical professional with a passion for leading service delivery improvements. Strong background in creating value in public sector and community focused work. A deep understanding of the diverse South African context and the ability to effectively navigate change in the work environment. He is currently working on two environmental justice projects; one on zero-waste and informal work in the city, and the second on people’s spiritual, scientific, and symbolic relationships with the oceans. He uses creative participatory methods and is fortunate to work in a collective of scholars, activists and artists. His current research explores how the arts broadly can act as a translation protocol between canons of knowledge in society towards more inclusive and just forms of governance.
Anita Moerman van Blankenburg
Associate
Anita Moerman van Blankenburg
Associate
Prior to starting her practice as a consultant and coach in 2008, Anita started her career with a short stint as a Science and Biology teacher, followed by a successful career in the corporate healthcare sector, where she held senior management and director positions in:
Marketing
Sales & Key Account Management
Information & Database Management
Market Research
Consulting
Strategic & Business Development and
Commercial & General Management
After more than two decades of corporate life, Anita took a sabbatical and started her practice as a consultant and coach. In addition to her Bachelor of Science degree, she obtained several post-graduate qualifications including Honours degrees in Psychology and Psychometry, and a Masters in Management Coaching. In her capacity as consultant, coach, facilitator and lecturer, Anita gained extensive experience in the banking, insurance, broadcast & media, automotive, FMCG, retail pharmacy, healthcare, food & beverage, NGO and tertiary education sectors, over the last 15 years.
As a Designed Learning affiliate since 2013, Anita has been delivering Flawless Consulting and other DL course, both in South Africa and abroad. Her experience included working in Corporate, Non-profit and Academic spheres on several continents. She often works with groups that are highly diverse in the same workshop and particularly enjoys seeing barriers crumble and hearts and minds meet, when people find common ground through the work she does.
Anita’s passion has always been to development a growth culture in individuals and organisations. She believes that stimulating the collective adaptive and emotional intelligence of an organisation will lead to high levels of employee wellbeing, organisational excellence, accountability and ownership, which in turn will lead to desirable talent retention and sustainable financial growth.
Anita is accustomed to working with clients all over the world from a diverse range industries and is very comfortable working at any organisational level. She currently lives and practice from her South African base and is in the process of establishing a second base in Europe.
She is the lead content producer for training and skills development company, Inkululeko Leadership Academy, an alumni of a USA coordinated International Visitors Leadership Programme and she is part of a digital content creation team for an e-Learning platform called the ‘Activate Academy’, creating content accessible to young people between the ages of 16-35 in South Africa, she additionally serves as a presenter/Facilitator of the content.
Alexis Thabiso Moshodi
Associate
Alexis Thabiso Moshodi
Associate
Alexis is a student of Life, a Social Entrepreneur, Mentor, Certified Business and Life Coach, bringing Energy to every engagement.
As a Thinking Partner, he guides and challenges partners, to Redefine themselves to their true Self. Alexis’s professional coaching journey started in 2010, after completing his first, accredited coaching training through Results Coaching Systems (NeuroLeadership Institute).
As a lifelong learner, he completed the Advanced Professional Business Coaching Programme through GIBS, in 2017, and has since continued to grow, through additional skills, which are aimed at adding value to him and his clients. During the last 12 years, Alexis has Added Value to over 2000 people, through coaching. This has been achieved through working with individuals and groups, at different levels within organisations, and in different sectors of the economy, from Executives to Operational Levels.
Alexis also volunteers some of his time in the community, where he coaches unemployed youths and graduates, to find Meaning and Purpose in their lives. That has ignited them to be more innovative, and create opportunities for themselves. Alexis is a member of the Coaches and Mentors of South Africa (COMENSA)
Jenny Boyce
Associate
Jenny Boyce
Associate
I am Jenny Boyce, aged 54 years and I am a social activist. I have worked in the community development space for the last 30 years. I am excited about facilitation of processes that promote development of people and expedite sustainable change through listening, reflection and learning. I am a public speaker and advocate for issues of justice, rights and civic consciousness. As part of my global work I have participated in the lobbying for treatment and care for people living with HIV. In my political experience, I have worked to build political power in the democratic project of South Africa. As a community development practitioner I have conceptualized, designed and implemented projects and programmes that facilitate meaningful change in local communities.
I am a woman who believes in the ideal of servant leadership as a key change agent for a more just and safer world. In my spare time, I garden as a commitment to shift the conversation in local communities about inequality, poverty, and unemployment. I believe in the concept of an ecosystem that is interdependent on every aspect of all living organisms.
Dr Mariette Myburgh
Associate
Dr Mariette Myburgh
Associate
Mariëtte has been in positions of leadership since 1993 and served as a member of the Executive Committee in a multi-listed company for 10 years. She has a Doctorate in Social Work and has spent the last 4 years as the Managing Director of All Transform Consulting Services, where she is combining her special areas of expertise, years of experience and passion in a unique service offering to clients. Her passion or “Why” is all about transformation, empowerment and win-win resolutions of disagreement and disconnection. The transformation of individuals, groups, organisations, and communities so they can be the best version of themselves brings her immense joy and fulfilment. The topic of her thesis very aptly was about the influence of corporate transformation on the psycho-social functioning of employees which culminated in the development of guidelines for corporates to manage corporate transformation.
Apart from being a Social Worker and Counsellor she is also an NLP Life, Wellness, Business and Executive Coach, trained Mediator, Organisational Development Practitioner, seasoned Facilitator, Assessor, Moderator, Lecturer, Negotiator and Strategy Advisor, moreover on B-BBEE. Mariette describes herself as being at the forefront of initiating and enabling change and an advocate for socio-economic development right down to grass roots level.