Meet the team

Renee Hector-Kannemeyer serves as the Deputy Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Social Impact and Transformation, where she provides strategic support to the Director in implementing the Social Impact Policy and formulating the institution’s Social Impact and Transformation Strategic Plan. Her responsibilities include fostering societal change through collaborative, co-owned initiatives, ensuring shared decision-making and equitable distribution of resources. She works to leverage the university’s expertise, resources, and facilities to engage with external stakeholders, while facilitating external expertise to enhance the university’s role as a socially responsible, accessible, and inclusive public institution.

Renee offers strategic guidance on modalities of social impact such as Engaged Citizenship, Engaged Scholarship, Democratic Institutional Citizenship, and Facilities Management. She promotes research that addresses pressing public issues in collaboration with key stakeholders, particularly through the Quintuple Helix model. Her work contributes to the Scholarship of Social Impact and Transformation, emphasizing collaborative partnerships and the dissemination of research within national and international academic networks.

With over 25 years of professional experience, Renee’s career has centered on social development, youth empowerment, and leadership training, particularly within diverse and marginalized communities. Her professional trajectory is grounded in a commitment to social justice, innovation, and inclusion, with a strong focus on community engagement, student development, and restorative practices in education. She is passionate about Visual Redress as Restitution and the ethical responsibilities of universities in fostering community-university partnerships.