Sheila Sisulu

Ms. Sheila Sisulu currently serves as the Chancellor of Walter Sisulu University. Among her various board positions, Ms. Sisulu is the Chairperson of the board of Tiger Brands Foundation and serves as a trustee on the board of Wiphold Trust. In April 2017, Rhodes University awarded Ms. Sisulu with an honorary Doctorate, in recognition of her role in promoting food security for vulnerable communities across the world. Ms. Sisulu recently consulted for the South African Department of Agriculture as a Special Envoy.

Between January 2008 and January 2013 she was the Deputy Executive Director for Hunger Solutions in the Office of the Executive Director of the World Food Programme in Rome, Italy. In her first appointment to WFP, Ms. Sisulu served as the Deputy Executive Director for Policy and External Affairs Department from 2003. Prior to joining WFP, Ms. Sisulu was South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States from 1999. Her diplomatic career began in 1997 as Consul General in New York.

In addition to her diplomatic skills, Ms. Sisulu has over 25 years of experience in South African public service and government and the United Nations.

Her experience as an activist for equality and social justice spans over two decades. Prior to her tenure abroad, she served as a special adviser to the minister of education and a member of the team assigned the task of drawing up new legislation. She was responsible in particular for policy on gender equity, youth development and early childhood care and education.

Ms. Sisulu received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS) in Lesotho. Ms. Sisulu holds a post-graduate degree in Education from the University of Witwatersrand in 199. She also obtained honorary doctorates from the University of Maryland and the City University of New York.