Astronomy for Mental Health Flagship Team

Dominic Vertue
Fellow

Dominic Vertue joined the OAD in June 2022. He has a background in Social Work and humanitarian assistance with a master’s in medical social work. Dominic has a passion for people and holds a firm belief that, with support, individuals can overcome their physical, environmental, and mental barriers and positively contribute to their communities. Dominic has several years of experience in public health and involvement with community-based programs to empower vulnerable groups. Within the OAD Dominic forms part of the Astronomy for Mental Health Flagship and he will be exploring the role astronomy can play in mental well-being.

Email: dominic at astro4dev.org (replace at with @)

Joyful Mdhluli
Flagship Co-ordinator

Joyful has a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of the Witwatersrand. She is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society and an alumna of the Black Women in Science (BWIS) where she is currently serving on the steering committee. She also serves as the executive committee’s secretary for the Women in Physics in South Africa (WiPiSA) for the 2022–2024 term. She is passionate about science communication and community outreach through volunteering her time in outreach programmes. She joined the OAD in June 2023 and co-ordinates the activities of all the OAD Flagship projects. She believes that life is too short to be anything but joyful, so smile as often as you can.

OAD Team

Kevin Govender
Director

Kevin began work at the OAD on 1st March 2011 as its first Director. He has extensive experience in using astronomy for development during his previous position as the Manager of the SALT Collateral Benefits Programme at the South African Astronomical Observatory. He also chaired the Developing Astronomy Globally Cornerstone Project of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) and was involved in the development of the IAU Strategic Plan. Kevin is the first South African to be awarded the prestigious Edinburgh Medal for Science, jointly with the International Astronomical Union.

Email: kg at astro4dev.org (replace at with @)
Telephone: +27 (0) 21 460 9350

Charles Takalana
Deputy Director

Charles completed his Ph.D. in physics focusing on Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). He previously served as Head of Secretariat at the African Astronomical Society (AfAS) and Astronomy Policy Researcher at the South African Radio Astronomy observatory based at the South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). Before joining the DSI, Charles was a Junior Consultant Analyst at CorpActive providing professional management consulting analytics services. Charles is also involved in various outreach projects and is passionate about sharing astronomy with young people.

Email: charles at astro4dev.org (replace at with @)

Ramasamy Venugopal
Operations

Ram is in charge of managing the OAD Call for Proposals and the projects funded by the office. He spent time as a Visiting Fellow at the OAD following his MSc in space studies at the International Space University. An engineer by training, he has worked in software development at Verizon and telecom services configuration at Ericsson in India.

Email: rv at astro4dev.org (replace at with @)

 

Nuhaah Solomon
Admin & Logistics

Nuhaah joined the OAD on 6th June 2011 to coordinate the administrative aspects of the office. She brings vast experience of working in administrative and events management roles in some of the most fast paced environments in the corporate world. Her previous roles include project management, stakeholder relations and coordinating international meetings and events.
Email: ns at astro4dev.org (replace at with @)
Telephone: +27 (0) 21 460 6297

Azasiwe Mancwatela
Monitoring and Evaluations

Azasiwe has a Masters in Economics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa with a strong background in microeconomics research and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. She joined the OAD in May 2025 as an intern focusing on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), contributing to the assessment of impact and effectiveness in astronomy-for-development projects. Passionate about econometric models that make sense and tell compelling stories about people and behaviour, Azasiwe finds excitement in turning numbers into narratives. As a member of the Macroeconomic Research Unit (MRU), she contributes to ongoing economic research and brings data wrangling skills. Her interests lie at the intersection of microeconomics, behavioural science, policy, data, and inclusive development, driven by a belief in the power of research and evidence to support meaningful change.

 

Genevieve Marshall
IAU Fundraiser

Genevieve has over twenty years expertise in nonprofit leadership spanning international development, education and STEM. She has led strategic partnerships globally to deliver transformative impact, build financial sustainability for nonprofit organisations and support best practice in philanthropy with leading grantmakers and major donors. She holds an MSc in Gender, Sexuality and Society from Birkbeck College, University of London, and is passionate about ensuring girls can access, and enjoy, STEM subjects from a young age.