Program Team

Mariam is the founder and Executive Director of the ACB. She holds BA LLB and LLM degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Under Mariam’s leadership, the ACB has produced a respected record of evidence-based work and plays a vital role in food sovereignty struggles on the African continent.

Stephen has been doing research with the ACB since 2004, before joining the organisation part-time in 2013 and then full-time from 2017. He has a PhD from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at Sussex University, with an MA from Wits University. Stephen has more than 20 years of research and policy analysis experience in South and Southern Africa, including in seed, food, agriculture, biodiversity, corporate power, and agro-food systems. He also provides direct support to the Executive Director on matters of strategic importance to the ACB and is part of the ACB's management team.

Sabrina is a Research and Advocacy Officer at ACB, based in Tanzania. She has an environmental background with a BA in Environmental Studies from Kenyatta University, Kenya and has been working in the NGO sector for seven years. Sabrina is also a link to ACB’s work in East Africa which involves research, campaigning, networking and advocacy around biosafety, seed and food sovereignty and farmers’ rights.

Linzi joined ACB in June 2016. She has a BSc (Hons) in Geography, Ecology and Environmental Science from the University of the Witwatersrand, an MSc in Forests and Livelihoods from the University of Copenhagen, and an MSc in Agricultural Development from AgroParisTech, Montpellier. She is driven by the need for social and environmental justice, and works between the arts and sciences for meaningful and sustainable behaviour change in our food systems.

Rutendo joined ACB as a Research and Advocacy Officer in February, 2019. She has a background in Agronomy with a BSc from Midlands State University Zimbabwe and an MAgric in Food Security from University of KwaZulu Natal. She has worked in the NGO sector for seven years with a focus on agriculture research aimed at creating sustainable pathways for achieving food security and eradicating hunger for all.