In August 2007, Sebabatso Manoeli held a successful conference in South Africa called the Democracy in Africa Discussions. Forty students from underprivileged schools in South Africa participated in the weekend-long debate competition at St. Dominic’s College. In addition, twenty-nine teachers underwent extensive training in various debating styles designed to help them initiate debating programs in their own schools. Notable speakers at this event included John Samuel, the CEO of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls; Vusi Thembekwayo, internationally-acclaimed motivational speaker; and Zandile Moweli, Councilor for the Southern District Muncipality. JET Education Services, the Junior City Council of Matjhabeng, Free State Province, and St. Dominic’s College all played an important supportive role.

Upon entering Amherst College in the fall of 2007, Sebabatso transformed the Democracy in Africa Discussions conference into a permanent organization with the intent of expanding the scope of the organization to countries throughout Africa and the scale to a week-long conference. She shared this vision with Tracy Huang, Jamie Cohen, and Zandile Bekwa, her fellow freshmen at the college. With their help, the new team renamed the organization Dream for Democracy (DFD). The Board of Directors is currently based in Amherst, Massachusetts during the U.S. academic year and in South Africa, Texas, and New York during the summer.

Tracy Huang
Executive Director
tracy@dreamfordemocracy.org

Tracy Huang served for a year as the Chief Defense Attorney for Collin County Teen Court. She has mentored in the Circle of Success homework program and taught English abroad in China. Tracy has interned at the office of Justice of the Peace Johnny Lewis in Plano, Texas, and at The Campaign for America’s Future in Washington, D.C. Currently, she works as a freelance writer for DemiDec Resources.

She is also an adjunct on the Telluride Association TASS Alumni Development and Support Committee. At Amherst she enjoys mentoring at Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Hampshire County and studying Isshinryu Karate.

Zandile Bekwa
Logistics and Development Director
zandi@dreamfordemocracy.org

Zandile Bekwa participated in the Rotary Interact Club throughout high school. Through this organization, she has helped various charitable groups in her community, including an Alexandra township nursery school and the Cotlands Children’s Home charity. She has volunteered with the Adelaide Tambo School for the Disabled in Soweto, where she interviewed the students and teachers about the challenges involved. In Waverly, Johannesberg, Zandile hosted Christmas parties for senior citizens at a nursing home.

Jamie Cohen
Civic Engagement Director
jamie@dreamfordemocracy.org

Jamie Cohen served as the president of the Student World Awareness Program (SWAP) in high school. She coordinated "AIDS Awareness in Action" and has currently raised over $25,000 in funds for AIDS relief in South Africa. Her other work in South Africa includes volunteering at the McCord Hospital for AIDS victims. Jamie also was a Campus Congress Representative, the vice president of Student Council, and co-captain of her varsity lacrosse team.

At Amherst she is an active member of EDUCATE! Africa, Amherst Democrats, and Women’s Lacrosse. This past December at Amherst, she organized and spoke at a lecture featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci, director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Sebabatso Manoeli
Founder
sebabatso@dreamfordemocracy.org

Sebabatso Manoeli has volunteered with the Edmund Rice Society, Rotary Interact, Caring Hands (assists senior citizens), Matjhabeng Hospice Secondhand Shop (offers palliative care for the terminally ill), and So Others Might Eat (SOME) in Washington D.C. Her time as a floating of the Junior City Council of the Matjhabeng Region inspired her to found Dream for Democracy.

She has represented South Africa at the International Debate Exchange Programme in the United States and received third place at the competitions. At Amherst she volunteers with Homeless Connect and works at the Amherst College Center for Community Engagement.