WE’VE BEEN THERE.

 
 
 

As members of queer communities throughout the Global South, the SameSame team has the lived experience to understand the challenge. We have decades of expertise building brands and digital services, and we’re connecting with local youth to ensure that we’re close to events on the ground.

 

Meet the SameSame team!

Team Profiles
Jonathan McKay
Jonathan McKay

he / him / his

Hailing from South Africa, Jonathan is a designer working at the intersection of technology, media, and social justice. A co-founder and the Executive Director of SameSame, Jonathan is responsible for strategy, product design, and partnerships.

Read More →
Dena Batrice
Dena Batrice

she / her / hers

An Arab-American social worker and passionate LGBTQI+ human rights activist, Dena is an international mental health clinician utilizing technology, innovation, and scaling to ensure the mental health revolution reaches the world’s most underserved communities in mental health deserts.

Dena is the organization’s Clinical Lead, leading creation and adaptation of all LGBTQI+ affirming mental health and wellness content.

Read More →
Codie Roelf
Codie Roelf

she / her / hers

Codie is a queer woman of color and the Head of Technology at SameSame. She also works as a senior software engineer for a non-profit during the day and a Formula One radio presenter on the weekends. She has worked on software engineering projects for the WHO, Girl Effect, VillageReach, White Ribbon Alliance, and many more. She is well-versed in the technology required to build and maintain a successful chatbot at scale.

Read More →
Lucy Powell
Lucy Powell

she / her / hers

Lucy is a Project Manager at SameSame, coordinating global operations. She has led projects across a wide-range of both private and public sector organizations, including a number of global projects. She lead the the TEGA (Technology Enabled Girl Ambassador) program at Girl Effect, which is a tech-enabled, girl-centered insights method embedded into hard-to-reach communities across the Global South. In this role, she managed a number of the new market entry launches and project management processes since its inception. 

Read More →
Keith Mundangepfufu
Keith Mundangepfufu

he / him / his

Keith graduated with an Msc in Migration Studies programme from the International Development Department at the University of Oxford. Whilst at Oxford, Keith was part of the Oxford Human Rights Hub. Keith leads the organization’s youth engagement work in both South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Read More →

Our Board

  • DIVLEEN JEJI

    INDIA LEAD, GOOGLE HEALTH

    Based in India, Divleen (she/her) is a physician with an MBA and has been working as a strategy lead across various organisations like KPMG for more than 12 years, specialising in healthcare technology and consumer health. In her current role at Google Health, she works with the Health AI team to help deploy AI based diagnostic solutions in real world healthcare settings. In her own words, Divleen is a healthcare professional with extensive experience in digital healthcare specially in product design, go to market strategy, team building and scale up. She has also worked in business strategy verticals across various healthcare providers, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and healthcare technology startups.

    LinkedIn

  • EDLYNNE LARYEA

    MD, CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS, META

    Edlynne (she/her) leads the U.S. consumer packaged goods food and beverage business at Facebook, where she manages advertising partnerships (worth over $1 billion) that “help brands navigate the changing digital landscape and drive real business results”. She has a wealth of experience navigating regulated industries (alcohol, pharma, fin services) and has led many cross-functional teams to drive organization change. As a passionate advocate of new technology, Edlynne is an expert in helping organizations transform how they connect with the consumers of today and is a mentor to many young tech entrepreneurs.

    LinkedIn

  • GUSTAV PRAEKELT

    FOUNDER, TURN.IO

    Based in Cape Town, Gustav (he/him) is a South African social entrepreneur who has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of digital technologies and social change. Most recently, he is the founder of Turn.io, working with over 150 social impact organisations—including the WHO—to build chat services to improve health, education and economic empowerment.

    LinkedIn