Who is The Workroom?

Christa Robijn

Christa Robijn-van Riet, an associate at The Workroom, blends a background in resource mobilisation and fundraising with leadership roles in NGOs and INGOs in Africa. With a focus on strategy and sustainability, she has led several change management and restructuring processes, covering the fields of strategy, fundraising, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement. Pro-bono work includes developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks, fundraising strategies, and programme implementation plans for social enterprises in Southern Africa. Her consulting experience includes strategic planning, research, building high-performance teams, developing fundraising strategies and planning organisational change. Diverse projects have seen her travel and work in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria, Mauritius, Canada, Chile and India. Holding an MBA from Business School Netherlands, she’s a Nuffic fellow dedicated to lifelong learning. Passionate about human-centered design, Christa optimises processes, stays ahead of trends, and fosters creative environments for collaboration. As part of the Workroom, she contributed to developing the Oxfam in Africa strategy for Oxfam International.

Claudia Vlijt-Gomulia

Claudia is a seasoned communication specialist and dialogue facilitator who believes that clear, intentional communication is the foundation for successful collaboration. With over 20 years of experience in corporate communications and strategic change management, she excels at guiding teams through complex transitions by fostering environments of trust and active listening. Claudia is driven by a desire to create tangible impact—bridging the gap between strategy and everyday action to ensure that transformation becomes a lived, sustainable reality. Her professional philosophy is centred on the power of deep, active listening to reconcile differing perspectives and uncover the nuances that lie beneath the surface of organisational challenges. By combining this empathetic approach with a sharp analytical mindset, she helps teams question outdated structures and embrace more effective ways of working. Throughout her career —spanning sectors from global banking to industrial technology—Claudia has remained committed to human-centred development that empowers people to reach their full potential together. Bringing a global mindset and a dedication to lifelong learning, Claudia holds a Master’s degree in Communication Science, German Philology, and Social Sciences. Based in Germany, she is fluent in German and English and has a basic understanding of French and Dutch. She combines her academic background with deep practical expertise to drive meaningful, “for good” transformation in complex corporate environments.

Eleanor Du Plooy

Eleanor is a Cape Town based interdisciplinary practitioner and consultant working on social justice issues such as gender equality and diversity and inclusion, using diverse mediums and approaches. She is a process facilitator with over 14 years’ experience in the social justice field via NGO’s and think-tanks in Africa and through independent projects. Much of her work is centred on promoting a feminist, psychosocial lens for understanding and responding to social issues and examining the complexities of the personal as political. She is a trained anthropologist and has a keen interest in using and promoting mind-body techniques including emergent design and methodologies with groups and individuals, to stimulate reflective thought and building sustainable peace and justice. Eleanor has over recent years explored what it would take for organisations to realise their diversity, equity and inclusion ambitions and how to support and promote organisational well being.

Fernanda Matsinhe

Fernanda is a MEL professional with over a decade of experience in measurement, evaluation, research, and learning across the international development sector. She brings deep expertise in designing and implementing MEL systems, synthesising cross-portfolio evidence, and facilitating participatory sense-making processes — precisely the capabilities this assignment requires. Her experience spans complex multi-country and multi-partner programmes across Africa, with additional contributions to initiatives in Asia and Latin America. She has worked with major funders including the Gates Foundation, the Mastercard Foundation, and USAID, collaborating with grantees across continents to generate knowledge that reflects contextual and indigenous wisdom rather than imported frameworks. Fernanda is fluent in participatory and feminist evaluation methodologies, working across qualitative, mixed-methods, and quasi-experimental approaches. Her practice is grounded in a commitment to equity and decolonising evaluation — dismantling dominant paradigms, amplifying non-Western perspectives, and integrating indigenous knowledge systems into rigorous, credible analysis. For this engagement, Fernanda leads the evidence synthesis and evaluation workstream, bringing the methodological depth and multi-country retrospective experience that anchors the report’s impact claims in defensible, honest, and compelling analysis.

Friederike Bubenzer

Friederike is an independent peacebuilding and development expert with 20 years of experience advancing inclusive and gender-equal peace processes across Africa. Her expertise spans transitional justice, dialogue and mediation, Women Peace and Security, and the integration of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) into peacebuilding frameworks. She has pioneered research and practice on integrating MHPSS with peacebuilding, producing seminal work that shaped international policy. As lead author of the UNDP Guidance Note on integrating MHPSS and peacebuilding and contributor to MHPSS and peacebuilding processes around the world, she has translated complex concepts into practical frameworks now used by policymakers and practitioners worldwide. Friederike currently serves as technical consultant to GIZ projects in the Great Lakes Region and in Ethiopia. Previously, she spent 14 years as Senior Project Leader at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, where she engaged regional institutions including the African Union and IGAD, contributing to the AU’s Transitional Justice Policy. She has facilitated high-level political dialogues and capacity-building initiatives across the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes regions, including major national reconciliation trainings in South Sudan. A keen writer and editor, Friederike amplifies marginalized voices through her work, including co-editing ‘These are the things that sit with us’ with Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela and Marietjie Oelofsen (Jacana, 2019) and ‘Hope, Pain and Patience: The Lives of Women in South Sudan’ with Orly Stern (Jacana, 2011).

Ilda Kuleba

lda Kuleba is a global health and philanthropy advisor with nearly 20 years of experience advancing health and development initiatives across Africa. She has extensive experience working with governments, donors, foundations, and international NGOs to design and implement programs that strengthen community health systems and improve access to care.
Her work spans multiple countries in Southern and Central Africa, including Mozambique, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Malawi, and South Africa. Ilda specialises in partnership development, fundraising strategy, and translating complex development challenges into actionable programs. She holds a Master of Science from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Bachelor of Arts from American University. Fluent in English and Portuguese. Proficient in French.

Mpho Leshabane

Mpho Leshabane holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Pretoria. She is a human rights activist and seasoned grant-making specialist in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). With more than 25 years of experience, she has built a distinguished career across leadership roles and independent consulting. Her achievements include recognition in the 2011–2012 edition of the Stanford Who’s Who (USA) Black Book for outstanding professional leadership. As an independent consultant to the Constitutionalism Fund, Mpho contributed to the investment of US$29 million in grants to organisations across South Africa. At the National Lottery Commission, where she served as Grants Manager, she helped develop and implement a digital Grant-Making Process Re-engineering Project that improved the efficiency of grant applications and processing. Mpho later joined the Media Development and Diversity Agency as Community Media Programme Manager, leading the introduction of the Accelerated Grant Disbursement Strategy to strengthen funding efficiency in the community media sector. She also worked with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, supporting grant investments across Southern Africa. She has served as an independent grant funding assessor for the Foundation for Human Rights. She has also served as a Marketing and Distribution Panel Member for the National Film and Video Foundation. Her work reflects a sustained commitment to advancing human rights, social justice, and impactful grant-making systems.

Rutendo Nyaku

Rutendo Nyaku is an Associate at The Workroom, where she specializes in social media engagement and management. With a keen eye for digital strategy, she crafts compelling narratives that amplify voices and foster meaningful connections across platforms. Her previous role as a Machel-Mandela Fellow at the Brenthurst Foundation, and Digital Transformation officer at the UNDP Chief Digital Office sharpened her expertise in strategic advisory and communications.A versatile professional, Rutendo’s experience spans research, political and media policy, and high-level dialogue coordination. She was an election observer in the 2023 Liberian election and contributes her insights as a non-executive board member for two nonprofits dedicated to promoting authentic African narratives and addressing legacies of violence in post-conflict states. Rutendo’s research focuses on digital transformation, youth engagement in trade, enabling conditions for small and medium enterprises (SMMEs), and the intricacies of political representation, particularly in electoral processes.She holds an MPhil in Justice & Transformation from the University of Cape Town, equipping her with the analytical tools to navigate complex societal challenges.

Sylvestre Musengimana

Sylvestre Musengimana has over 12 years of experience as a consultant in monitoring and evaluation and is a professional trainer, with a strong track record within the East African Community. He is a certified specialist in Performance Evaluation and Analysis by the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). His consulting expertise encompasses project monitoring, evaluation and learning, quantitative and qualitative research, training needs assessment, capacity building development and, strategy development and review. He has assessed several projects funded by donors such as the World Bank, USAID, the European Union (EU), UNHCR, WFP and FCDO. He has led and managed multi country research projects in more than 20 countries of Africa by providing both technical assistance and logistics support to various team members. Sylvestre is an active member the International Consultants Alliance (ICA World). He is also a member of the advisory group of the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP), responsible for updating guidelines on the evaluation of humanitarian action using the criteria of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD). He is fluent in English and French.

Vanessa Buvens

Vanessa is a freelance consultant working on fundraising, strategy and innovation for mission-driven organisations. She has over 10 years experience designing programmes and raising funds for social enterprises and NGOs, helping them build strong foundations, deliver on their mission and become more financially resilient. She has been working with the Workroom supporting a range of national and international clients, looking to navigate rapidly-changing funding landscapes, challenge traditional ways of working and overall, stay future-fit and relevant.