​Dr Heidi October serves on Stellenbosch​ University's Student Affairs management team as Deputy Director: Ce​ntre for Student Leadership, Experiential Education and Citizenship (CSLEEC) and Head: Frederik van Zyl Slabbert Institute for Student Leadership Development (FVZS Institute). She has extensive international higher education stakeholder relations experience. As a student leader she has been actively involved in student leadership since the 1990s and has been awarded with Vice-Chancellor's Awards for excellent achievement as student leader and as a staff member, and academic honorary colours from the University of Pretoria where she obtained her PhD in Leadership Studies. She obtained BA, BAHons and MPhil in Organisations and Public Cultures degrees at Stellenbosch University, and completed a scholarship in Educational Leadership (with distinction) and the Management Development Programme (USB-Ed) (with distinction). She has also been awarded honorary membership of the international Golden Key Society for her contribution to leadership. In 2012, she established her own private consultancy focusing on staff and leadership development. Heidi is passionate about co-creating platforms for global participation on student leadership to engage critically as active citizen-leaders. Apart from her research focus area on student leadership identity formation in post-apartheid South Africa, she enjoys long-distance walking and solo traveling.

​Spurgeon- Haddon Wilson is the Programme Manager at the Frederik van Zyl Slabbert Institute for Student Leadership Development (FVZSI), within the Centre for Student Leadership, Experiential Education and Citizenship (CSLEEC), within the Division of Student Affairs, where he develops and facilitates leadership development programmes as part of the Co-Curriculum offering at Stellenbosch University. Spurgeon-Haddon also serves as Residential Head at Wilgenhof Men’s Residence at Stellenbosch University since 2019. He completed his Bachelor of Law (LLB) at Stellenbosch University in 2010, as well as a Certificate in Practical Legal Training in 2014, at the University of Cape Town, and a Leadership Development Short Course (Development of Leadership and Team Skills) at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) in 2019. 

Prior to his appointment at Stellenbosch University, Spurgeon-Haddon was the General Manager at the Media24 Rachel’s Angels Trust, where he was responsible for the coordination of a mentorship programme in more than 20 schools in the Western Cape, as well as Student Recruitment Advisor at within the Centre for Student Recruitment at Stellenbosch University. He sees himself as a people-developer and unlocking potential in people, brings him great joy. Spurgeon-Haddon is a husband and a father of three and loves spending time and making lasting memories with his family.

​Rabia Abba Omar is a researcher and curator, working as the Coordinator: Citizenship Engagement at FVZSI. She is reading for a MA in Visual Studies and is a joint MA-fellow at The Centre for the Study (AVReQ) and Exeter University's Imagining Futures of Un/Archived Pasts Project. She holds a MA in Heritage Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand, where she was a part of the Oceanic Humanities of the Global South. She is an alumna of the UnSchool of Disruptive Design's Emerging Leaders Fellowship and the Accountability Lab's Non-Profit Management Fellowship. She enjoys trying out new crafts and refining the croissant scale for finding the best croissants.​
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Nosipiwo holds a BA degree in Development & Environment, a Social Anthropology Honours degree (cum laude), and is currently a final year master's research student in Social Anthropology at Stellenbosch University. Her research interests include Museum Studies (visual and discursive framings of anthropological exhibitions), Higher Education, and Black Feminist Praxis. Using Black feminist epistemology as a critical lens, her current research seeks to examine the multiple and complex ways in which structures of power reproduce marginality in Black student's lives through the institutional conditions propagated by university apartheid at the University of Fort Hare. Nosipiwo is passionate about developing and coordinating critical scholarship and leadership programmes that foster student development and active citizenship within the higher education landscape, especially in the African continent. And finally, she is a fellow of Ubuntu Dialogues, which is a collaboration between Stellenbosch University and MSU in producing dynamic sites for the co-creation and dissemination of knowledge and practice through local and international dialogues.​

Gershwin holds a BTech in Finance and Taxation (CPUT) and is a registered professional accountant with the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA). Before joining SU, Gershwin worked as a junior accountant at the NRF (iThemba Labs) and as tax practitioner and professional accountant. He believes that small to medium-sized businesses are the gateway to revitalizing this country's economy, and that this should start with motivating the youth to prosper as entrepreneurs. In his spare time he enjoys hiking and motorsports.

Annas holds a MTech (Business Administration) and obtained his Masters in Librarianship. He worked at the Cape Town branch of the National Library of South Africa and at Stellenbosch University Library before joining the FVZS Institute team. Conducting research and developing young leaders are among his passions. In his spare time, Annas enjoys reading, crossword puzzles and "old men's marbles" (bowling).

Angelo is Coordinator: International Student Life and Success at Stellenbosch University International. He holds a Master's in Research Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Intercultural Communication. His academic interest lies in gender studies, with a particular focus on social constructions of masculinity, understanding diversity and cultures, development of intercultural competence, global citizenship, sustainable development and the impact of globalisation. Outside of his life at SU, Angelo enjoys spending time with his family and friends, being outdoors, going to gym, reading and watching documentaries on spirituality, nature, wildlife and space.