Melanie Spencer is the Chief Operations Officer of Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation and a member of its Executive Committee. She was Executive Assistant to Cyril Ramaphosa for nine years during his tenure as the founder and Executive Chairman of the Shanduka Group. She has worked in several industries including the technology, human capital and shipping sectors.

Melanie joined Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation in 2014 and has over ten years of experience in the non-profit sector. She is an Executive Committee member of KST, a partner entity of the Foundation that was established in collaboration with Kagiso Trust to implement a large-scale pilot education programme in partnership with the Free State Department of Education and FirstRand Empowerment Foundation. She previously headed KST’s fundraising committee and is currently the Chair of KST’s communications committee.

Melanie is passionate about youth empowerment through education and leveraging partnerships to achieve greater results in the social development sector.

Melanie holds a Bachelor of Primary Education from the University of the Witwatersrand, with majors in Mathematics and English