Rooken Podesta
Rooken works with organisational leaders, managers, change agents and team builders who need to lead collaboratively in order to get things done, and who want to develop their team or group’s ability to collaborate effectively.
Rooken uses a wide range of processes, practices, tools and techniques to help organisations integrate the distinct, but complimentary behaviours and processes of “action and learning” and “creativity and innovation”. These include dialogue, appreciative inquiry, systemic competence mapping, design and systems thinking, organisational learning and impact analysis.
Clients he has worked with include the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust, ARK, Bonwit, Business Systems Group (Africa), Cape of Good Hope Bank, Daimler Chrysler, The Development Bank of South Africa, Dynamo/Citigate, Cape Town Tourism, DuFerco, Eskom, The Department of Education, EasyPay, Metropolitan, Nedcor, Nedlloyd P&Q, Oprah Winfrey Leadership School for Girls, Positive Muslims, RE/MAX, South African New Economics network, South African Ports Operations, SARS, Standard Bank, Sanlam, TIP (Teacher In-service Programme at UWC), The University of the Western Cape, TEXT100, The Red Cross Children’s Hospital Trust, Transnet Freight Rail and Vodacom.
Before becoming an ‘independent’ organisational development consultant, facilitator and trainer in 2001, Rooken was a director at an IT consultancy, and also managed HR competency alignment at a regional bank.
His long-term partnerships include The Field Education with Dylan Wray of Shikaya and the ‘Service Excellence Programme’ with Cape Town Tourism.
In the educational sector Rooken’s work has included the ‘Building on Success’ programme to develop Education Curriculum Advisors in South Africa; the co-founding of SACATS, the annual South African Curriculum Advisor and Teacher Support conference; Education Week, a national conference which now includes SACATS; and Education Conversations, a series of four interactive talks around the country in partnership with the DBSA and the Mail and Guardian. Rooken was also part of the facilitation team for the Dinokeng Senarios’ Education Summit in 2010.
Rooken has lectured on business creativity and innovation at Cape Town’s TSiBA University for 5 years, and has taken part in their formal mentorship programme for previously disadvantaged students.
Rooken has an Honours degree as part of an MBA from Stellenbosch Business School where he received the Masters’ class prize for HR Strategy, and a Bachelor of Social Science in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from UCT.
Email: rooken.podesta@thefield.za.net
Cell 082 7736110
Dylan Wray
Dylan Wray is the co-founder and Director of Shikaya, a non-profit organisation that supports the personal and professional development of teachers to create a South Africa in which young people in schools are inspired and supported to become responsible citizens and future in our democracy, valuing diversity, human rights and peace.
Shikaya offers teachers and department officials the following services:
- Professional development workshops and programmes
- Resources to support and enhance teaching and learning
- On-going personal support to teachers at their schools
- Support in the use of the Internet and other information and communication
- Technologies (ICTs) to extend and enrich teaching and learning
- Access to educational networks and research from around the world.
Dylan Set up and project-managed Shikaya’s core project, Facing the Past – Transforming our Future which has worked with over 200 teachers from 65 schools across the Western Cape.
Dylan is also the co-founder of the South African Curriculum Advisor and Teacher Support conferences of 2007 and 2008 and of the 2009 Education Week.
Dylan has facilitated three online international Human Rights teaching courses for over 60 educators from over 30 countries across the world and has run courses for teachers in London and Colombia. He has developed numerous educational resources for the National Department of Education and the Western Cape Department of Education. He has also written History textbooks for MacMillan, New Africa Books and Juta Gariep Publishers.
Between 2002 and 2007 Dylan lectured to the pre-service History teachers from UCT Department of Education. The course began again in 2009 and was made compulsory for all of the pre-service High School teachers.
Dylan was previously the Head of History at Wynberg Girls’ High School, Cape Town. He holds an Honours Degree in South African History and an HDE.
Email: dylan@shikaya.org
Cell 083 3913709
