Meet Our Board

Kathleen (Kathy) Harris joined our Board in May 2015 and has over the years worked closely with our CEO, Renske Minnaar, in a bid to improve our communications, public relations and marketing initiatives as it pertains to our donors, stakeholders, partners and beneficiaries.

Having worked in various executive management roles in the services sector, Kathy has built up  extensive experience in sales and marketing, and strategy development facilitation and implementation. She has worked as Managing Director of HRG Rennies Travel and has also served on the board of BidTravel and a number of its subsidiary boards.  Throughout her career, Kathy has built up experience in people and leadership development, another area in which she has greatly contributed to Bergzicht Training and Development’s operations over the years.  She is currently an independent Strategy and Leadership consultant and is based in Stellenbosch, where she lives with her family.
 


Hannes Koornhof joined our Board in December 2015 and since then has been advising Bergzicht Training and Development on how to connect with a larger pool of donors across South Africa through the Amicus Trust SA – an organisation focused on making a measurable difference to skills development training and job creation for people from the greater Stellenbosch and Cape Winelands’ regions – as well as other funding organisations. In addition to this, he has been working closely with volunteer and qualified social worker Ms Annette Scott to develop emotional and mentor support structures for Bergzicht Training and Development’s beneficiaries.

After dedicating 38 years of his life – 23 of which were spent at the Stellenbosch Moedergemeente Church – to the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) as a minister, Hannes retired in 2014 and has since been involved in the training of congregational leaders in the DRC. He is passionate about making a difference in his community and promoting lifelong learning and to this end has been involved in various leadership and managerial roles within the religious community. This includes taking responsibility for the ministry, management and budgets of three different congregations in Somerset-East in the Eastern Cape, Pinelands and Stellenbosch as chairperson of the church council; leading and managing teams consisting of fellow preachers and support staff; and training, managing and motivating volunteers. Hannes has also served as the Secretary of the DR Synod of the Western Cape from 1999 to 2003 and as Chairman of this same Synod from 2003 to 2007.

He has also built up extensive experience on how to practically implement the vision and strategy of institutions through his work at congregational and synodical level in the church and in philanthropy.

When Hannes is not advising Bergzicht Training and Development on how best to improve and expand on its fundraising and support initiatives, he enjoys reading a good book and taking walks to keep fit. 


Jacolene joined our Board in May 2023. She has been with Remgro since 2008 as Treasurer responsible for overseeing the ongoing execution of all treasury activities, which encompasses the daily management of the Remgro’s (and some group companies), cash reserves and liquidity risk. Jacolene is part of Remgro’s Treasury Committee reporting to the Audit and Risk Committee which reports to the Remgro Board. She brings a wealth of knowledge to Bergzicht with many years of experience in financial management, Corporate Governance and financial investment.

Guin Lourens, a Professor in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at Stellenbosch University, joined the Bergzicht Training and Development Board in 2017.  She started off her career in nursing by first qualifying with a BCur focused on psychiatry and community and health and midwifery from Stellenbosch University, followed by a Certificate in Health Care and a Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing Service Management at Unisa. Two years later she was a awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing Education from North-West University and a Certificate in Occupational Health Nursing from SU. In 2006 she completed a Certificate in Quality Management at Unisa followed by a Masters in Nursing from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 2009 and a Doctorate in Public Management Healthcare six years later from the same institution. At present she is a Lecturer in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery and the Clinical Training Platform Manager for Clinical Services and Social Impact at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at SU. In the past she served as the Rural Health Manager of the Ukwanda Centre for Rural Health of SU and has occupied a number of regional and local government positions such as Assistant Director of the Western Cape Government’s Health Department and as Senior Professional Nurse: Training, and Senior Professional Nurse: Comprehensive Mobile Health at the Boland District Municipality. She has also lectured in postgraduate nursing at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Guin fulfils various service leadership roles such as being a member of the Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP), chairing the CPUT Academic and Western Cape Government Health Hospital boards. She is also the founder and current chairperson of the Rural Nursing Network South Africa (RuNurSA), an organisation committed to developing nursing capital and strengthening rural nursing leadership.