Meet our team

Meet our team

We have carefully selected key business partners in order to provide an exceptional program of impact and high-level content. With over 36 years of collective experience in education, human resources, award-winning production and international communication, the value-add they can contribute to this team, the school, learner, graduate and job seeker is unmatched.

JENNI HIGGS

CEO

Having had over 20 years’ experience in the Recruitment and Human Resources sector she started to feel the shift in focus from business to people. People had always been important to her and in the following years when she joined various NGO’s such as Cotlands and Greenable, she felt the true social economic impact of the youth in South Africa. The time spent at Zoe-Life refined her search to assist the youth, when she began to get involved in career and skills development. Her personal motto is “Be strong, courageous and confident” which she has instilled in her family, and hopes to empower the youth with the same mentality.

ANXIETY SPECIALIST

My life’s mission is to be instrumental in empowering teenagers and young adults who are anxious with invaluable skills and life-changing tools that they can carry throughout their lives. After being a high school teacher for some years I witnessed the unique challenges that youth face with today’s demanding societal expectations. This coupled with being a post-graduate psychology student, and years of personal experience in the field of mental health has led me to become a certified NeuroCoach specialising in anxious youth.

LEAD FACILITATOR + TRAINEE COUNSELLOR (HPCSA)

For many years I got caught up in the corporate race of trying to prove my worth. I had tried to work in multiple industries from IT, Recruitment, Sales & Marketing never feeling like I belonged. As a student the career information I needed was not available, the confusion and pressure to choose what to study was based on external motivations rather than internal. I began studying Law and Journalism at one of the top universities in South Africa, only to drop out. One thing stood the test of time, and that was my passion for helping people which lead me further down the path of studying psychology and into my final year of becoming a professional counsellor, with the aspiration of becoming an educational psychologist in the not too distant future.

CEO (BUSHBABY COMMUNICATIONS)

After a career of ten years in broadcasting, producing more than 300 television entertainment, educational, documentary, youth and children’s programmes for different broadcasters in South Africa, he joined forces with three partners to start Promotion Communication and Advertising, an integrated communication agency. He is the founder and CEO of Bushbaby Communication and has played a pivotal role in developing the Independent Electoral Commission’s training material for two elections, listed on the United Nations list of international experts in this field. In 2009 he started specializing in the production of high-end career guidance content in conjunction with Maudie de Wit. He has since established himself in this specialized niche and has produced career guidance material of the highest technical and artistic standard for the career guidance platforms that Bushbaby has developed over the past nine years.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Since 1992 Maudie de Wit personally took on the challenge to develop a leading approach towards integrated career guidance and training solutions. Effective working relations with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The Department of Labour and several industries i.e. Xstrata, Ingwe and BHP Billiton and the American Vocational Association contributed to her engineering a paradigm shift in career guidance education especially for less privileged learners. The result was the development and initiation of culture-friendly assessments and career exploration activities. She established her first Career Guidance Centre in 1993. The National Department of Science and Technology rewarded her with the “Acknowledgement of Creative Technology Implementation Award” in 1997. In the same year she was appointed as a Chief Education Specialist responsible for the development of a Career Guidance Service to the out-of-school youth.

CONSULTANT FACILITATOR

I’m passionate about creating discovery platforms for children and youth using the arts and I have over 10 years of working in such environments. Creativity has been a part of my journey from inception and my life’s goal is to create spaces for children and youth to find their purpose in life using creative, out of the box tools to reach their full potential. Many young people are not afforded the opportunity to research and explore as many career options as possible and are limited to what they see around them. I desire to give youth as much information and practical skills as to reach and be bold in their career choices and journeys.

CONSULTANT CAREER GUIDANCE CONTENT DEVELOPER

My name is Taylene Safedien, I am in my mid-twenties and I’m on a fascinating journey of purpose and growth. I am passionate about youth and skills development, entrepreneurship and health. One of my life goals is to use my skills and voice to empower and direct children and youth into becoming all that they are created to be. This can be done by providing a space for young people to uncover their best qualities and then help them discover new ones. I feel this is a message that should be spread across the nations. I see myself as a learner and a leader. I want to provide youth from all walks of life a fair opportunity to become a change agent and lead our country into a safer and better future. By providing career guidance, we would be opening up a new world of opportunities that young people can thrive in.