Meet Team Africa

Rebecca has over 10 years education experience in educational publishing, EdTech and Admissions She previously worked as Publishing Director, eLearning Director and Digital Director at Global Education companies. At Crimson, Rebecca has advised over 500 students; helping them choose a best-possible pathway to study abroad. She leads a global team of experts working with students from Africa/SA to gain admission to Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Brown, UChicago, Duke, UC Berkeley, UCLA, NYU, Oxford, LSE, Imperial, Edinburgh, King’s, Durham, UBC, Maastricht, and more!

About Rebecca: Rebecca is mom to Jude and Zach so spends her time away from Crimson at school events, sports matches and fetching and carrying them to their social and school life!

Fun fact! Rebecca was in the top 9 butterfly swimmers in South Africa in her teens.

Brad has a BA Social Studies from Harvard University, graduating in 2016. He worked in New York and Johannesburg in the finance world, and then worked as Marketing Manager for Aspire Atlantic, an athletic scholarship consultancy based in Johannesburg. Brad has tutored hundreds of hours to SAT students across the country, and co-founded TheatreZA, an online platform providing theatre content for South Africa and reviewing shows from Johannesburg and Cape Town.

About Brad: Brad, our digital marketing go-to guy, is a massive fan of Liverpool and can often be found recounting the weekend’s game to anyone who will listen. He loves music and films, and his most prized possession is his Fresh Prince of Bel Air sweater featuring a dancing Carlton.

Fun fact! Brad sang in an acapella group while at college - the Harvard Callbacks!

Kyle is the founder of ThinkQuick-Academics in association with Pearson South Africa He was previously an A-Levels English Teacher in London, and sub-edited at BBC’s Top Gear Magazine. He has advised over 500 students; helping them choose the best possible pathway to study abroad. Kyle works with a global team of experts in getting South Africans into Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Brown, UChicago, Duke, UC Berkeley, UCLA, NYU, Oxford, LSE, Imperial, Edinburgh, King’s, Durham, UBC, Maastricht, and more!

About Kyle: Kyle is the host of Ignition TV’s GT MAG, and is an avid gearhead.

Fun fact! Kyle once wrote a children’s book that became a national cartoon!

Karabo is a distinction graduate in Business Management from the University of Pretoria. He received a postgraduate degree in Project Risk Management, also from the University of Pretoria, and a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Witwatersrand. Karabo has experience working in education as he was previously a Bursary Student Recruitment Manager at Maletchaba Human Capital.

About Karabo: Karabo is an accomplished rugby player, having played for Tuks, winning the 2017 Varsity Cup, and at the Blue Bulls Youth Academy.

Fun fact! Karabo raced dirtbikes in Northern Regions in the NSF 100 class, and turned out for Dewalt Racing team in the 150 Cup, 250cc, and the 125cc High School Class.

Phiola has received a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor of Arts Honours from the University of the Witwatersrand. Phiola is an aspiring polyglot, who enjoys the challenge of language learning. She is currently learning French, Spanish and Swahili.

About Phiola : Phiola loves to read Postmodern literature, hike, listen to music and spend time with friends and family.

Fun Fact ! In 2019, Phiola won a 48hour film festival which included a 1-year distribution deal with OTV, an online streaming platform.

Donald has received a BCom Marketing Management, and a postgraduate diploma in Marketing Management from UNISA. He has had a varied range of roles across the African continent, including International Marketing Manager and Head of Marketing (Post Schools Division) for Pearson Education. For his exceptional work, Don was awarded International Top Media Performer for Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2008 and 2009. He is also always looking to improve his skills, and has completed courses in digital marketing and management offered by Ogilvy and Harvard.

About Donald: Donald is our cool, calm and collected Marketing Manager. He loves spending time with his wife and two daschunds. In his spare time he enjoys playing tennis and golf with friends and is learning to play the piano.

Fun fact! Donald played Basketball for Wits University and captained the 2nd team.

Heather is a teacher with a demonstrated history of working in the educational management industry, as well as several years of primary teaching experience. She has also previously worked in marketing, team building, PR, operations and social media. Heather holds a Bachelor of Commerce - BCom, focused in Sports Management, PR and Marketing qualifications and a post grad PGCE. She is excited and ready to learn the Crimson culture and be part of the dynamic Africa team.

About Heather: Heather is married to Richard with two teenage kids and 3 dogs. Heather is a pilates teacher and loves running, waterskiing, golf, and playing tennis. She is a passionate traveler and enjoys reading, painting and socializing with friends and family.

Fun Fact Heather can barefoot waterski!

Phinda holds a National Diploma in Marketing from the University of Johannesburg as well as an EQF level 5 qualification in Digital Marketing. Her previous experience as a Brand Growth and Marketing Assistant has allowed her to help SME’s/SMM's increase their brand awareness and revenue. Phinda has  great understanding in social media strategy, website strategy & content marketing. She has a key interest for developing social media strategies for a variety of companies, including start-ups. Her work includes digital marketing strategy and content creation

She creates opportunities for the end-user to experience her clients brands holistically, throughout the sales funnel, for a more impactful and memorable customer experience. She does this through copywriting, social media strategy, social media management, marketing plan strategy, pitch work strategy, pitch work, customer relationship management, creating press releases, content curation, conducting market and customer research and event planning, co-ordinating and executing.

About Phinda: Phinda is a true creative at heart. She loves spending time at art galleries, markets and festivals.

Fun fact! Phinda is a true creative at heart. Outside of work, you’ll catch writing fictional tales…watch out J.K Rowling!

Mika has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a PGCE from UNISA. Mika's excellent and in-depth understanding of students' needs comes from her time as an Accounting and Mathematics teacher at various schools in Cape Town.

About Mika: Mika is born and bred in Cape Town, South Africa, and loves the outdoors and spending time in nature.

Christine previously worked as an English teacher who has spent the last few years teaching both online and in the classroom. She received a Bachelor of Education degree from UNISA, graduating cum laude. Christine is extremely experienced, having spent over 10 years working in service delivery.

About Christine: Born and raised in KZN, South Africa, Christine enjoys reading, travelling and spending time at the beach.

Ruan has received a Bachelor of Social Science Honors degree and has completed a Postgraduate BPsych Equivalent Programme (Psychometrist Independent Practice). He is currently registered as a Specialist Wellness Counselor and a Psychometrist (Independent Practice). Ruan is always looking to upskill himself in the Academic and Psychological fields.

About Ruan: Ruan enjoys spending time with close family and friends. In his spare time, he loves to free dive, surf, and fish in the West Coast ocean.

Fun Fact: Ruan played rugby for SACS First XV and still enjoys playing social cricket.

Dayle is vibrant, enthusiastic and driven with 12 years of experience, educating learners in the private schools education sector in South Africa. She is a professional at leading departments and cultivating innovative academic programmes to ensure that the highest possible standards of excellence in all activities are achieved. Dayle is a confident leader with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills that demonstrates vision and empowers educators as well as students to deliver positive outcomes. Dayle is passionate about improving academic excellence and believes that transformation of the curriculum is key to a successful and vibrant learning environment. Dayle’s experience and Bachelors Degree in Education enables her to be a competent and compassionate Student Success Manager.

Emil received a Bmus [cum laude] from the University of Stellenbosch, and while in his final year he studied aboard for one semester at the University of Arizona in Tucson. While in high school he was also privileged to to participate in an exchange to Schwaebisch Hall, Germany, where he spent 5 months in his grade 10 year. He participated in an international conference in Dornach, Switzerland when he was in his penultimate year at high school, and was selected to represent the brass department for the matric performers competition at Beau Soleil Music School in 2008. In 2011 and 2012 Emil made the semifinal of the ATKV Muziq Competition.

About Emil: Emil is our easy going, always positive, passionate and dedicated Student Success Manager. He loves spending time out on the mountains, on the beach, and in his garden. In his spare time he enjoys cycling and drinking freshly ground coffee with friends. When his schedule allows, he performs with the Cape town Philharmonic Orchestra and other ensembles.

Fun Fact: Emil performed many concerts with the South African National Youth Orchestra between 2005-2013 and in 2010 was the Principal French Horn.

Tracey has worked in a number of demanding corporate positions. Tracey has a
social sciences degree and a post graduate diploma from Rhodes University and
excels in building relationships with everyone she meets. With over 15 years’
experience in communications, events and marketing she has the requisite
qualifications and experience in project planning, development, organisation and
implementation, managing budgets, marketing, public relations and human
resources. Tracey is also intelligent, flexible and emotionally mature, has a fine
sense of humour and genuinely enjoys working with people. She is a person of
integrity and is diligent and loyal.

About Tracey: Tracey’s greatest achievement is being mom to her two sons. Tracey demonstrates vision and works confidently to ensure that
everything she does is completed with pride and excellence.

Fun fact: Tracey has visited 52 countries and lived in five cities across three continents. She's an arachnophobe who has held a tarantula, and has also swam with sharks and hiked a volcano.