Professor Thuli (Thulisile) Nomkhosi Madonsela is the director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) in the Faculty of Law at Stellenbosch Universit where she occupies the Law Trust Chair Professor of Law in Social Justice Studies. She currently teaches Constitutional Law, Social Justice, Administrative Law, Constitutional Governance, and Ethical Leadership. She holds eight honorary law doctorates in addition to two law degrees, a Harvard Advanced Leadership Certificate, and other post graduate qualifications. She is also an advocate of the High Court of South Africa. 

The former Public Protector of South Africa and full-time Commissioner in the South African Law Reform Commission, Professor Madonsela is a member of the African Academy of Sciences and the Scottish WS Society. She is the Chairperson of Cities Alliance and a member of the UN Scientific Advisory Board, International Anticorruption Conference Coordinating and the International Council for Arbitration in Sport (ICAS). 

She was one of the 11 technical experts who helped draft the South African Constitution and is a co-architect of several constitutionally mandated laws, including the Equality Act, Employment Equity Act and Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. A regularly sought-after keynote speaker, Professor Madonsela has written, taught, presented papers, and published for decades on these matters. 

Professor Madonsela helped draft several international human rights instruments at UN, AU, and SADC level and country reports on such matters. She is the author of two books on Gender Mainstreaming (2002) and Gender Management (2002), and a core author and architect of the inaugural Benchwork for Equality Courts and Resource Book for Equality Court Clerks. 

Named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influence persons in the world in 2014 and Forbes Africa Person of the year in 2017, Professor Madonsela’s global recognition includes over 70 awards, among them Rotary’s Paul Harris Award, Commonwealth Lawyers Truth and Justice Award, and the global ACFE Cressy Award. Professor Madonsela is a mother of two, a philanthropist, and avid mountaineer who has summited Mt Kilimanjaro twice under #Trek4Mandela#Caring4Girls and #Action4Inclusion. She was a monthly columnist for the Financial Mail, remains one for City Press, and occasionally writes for other newspapers.