Iain Buchan
Chairman
The visionary behind The Unlimited Child, Iain joined the Board in 2012 and took over as Chairman in 2015. A restless entrepreneur, over the past 40 years he has built numerous successful businesses including the financial services company, The Unlimited. A strong advocate of purpose driven profit, Iain’s passion for making a difference in South Africa and doing this through early childhood education is unmatched and remains the force that is driving The Unlimited Child forward.
Candice Potgieter
Director
Candice is the former CEO of the KZN Science Centre and holds a postgraduate degree in Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics from UKZN. She was named one of Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans you should meet in 2013 and also won the Future Leaders Award for Science & Innovation as well as The KZN Young Achievers Award in Science & Technology for 2013. In 2014 Candice was selected to participate in US president Obama’s inaugural Young African Leader’s Initiative fellowship programme held at the prestigious Notre Dame University in Indiana.
Jill Sachs
Director
Passionate about transforming the lives of young children through the empowerment of the adults in their lives, Jill is a Director of Caversham Educational Institute which provides accredited ECD qualifications for teachers. She has more than 20 year’s experience in early childhood development, including 10 years as the provincial ECD Responsibility Manager for KwaZulu-Natal. Jill joined The Unlimited Child Board in 2012.
Gavin Simpkins
Director
A board member of The Unlimited Child since 2012, Gavin is the Managing Director of the specialised advisory business Corporate Game Plan. In addition to The Unlimited Child, he plays an active role in a number of non-profit organisations including The Domino Foundation, Focus on iThemba and LIV, working mainly on strategy, project management, performance measurement, finance, accounting and donor relations.
Other key players:
“Organisations such as The Unlimited Child, of which I am proud and honoured to be a patron, are a vital link in providing education and learning.”
“The Unlimited Child is looking at the whole child for their education transformation.”
“It’s too late to catch children when they are in matric. The best time is when before school even starts and this is why The Unlimited Child is a brilliant programme.”
“It’s a must that all ECD centres in South Africa have The Unlimited Child. This programme has been well researched and it is making us, the practitioners, more effective as it helps develop the children so they are ready for school.”