Our Team
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de Villiers van Zyl
Director & Producer
You know how the key person in an organization gets referred to as the brains, or the head? De Villiers is our head, heart, feet, hands, eyes and ears. He launched Villages Connected by taking his idea out into the world and sharing it with anyone who would listen. But the great thing about de Villiers is that he listens too. And Villages Connected has grown from an idea in his head, to a real live community of people who are actively sharing their passion for Africa - all because he's out there every day sharing his.
When de Villiers moved from South Africa to Canada in the late 90's he was amazed by the Western interest in Africa. But despite people's interest, he noticed that our access to information through traditional media tended to focus only on devastation and violence.
So, after 10 years in the film and television industry, he conceived of Villages Connected as an alternative source for media about the African continent.
A world traveler and culturephile, de Villiers has tremendous respect for the often-misunderstood communities of the developing world. He grew up in South Africa but he has traveled, lived and worked extensively throughout Africa. And he's seen a lot - ingenuity, strength, and passion, as well as disease, cultural devastation and racism. He is very clear. We're here to make sure people get access to all kinds of stories about Africa - what's working and what isn't what's beautiful and what's bleak, what development looks like, and what doesn't need to be messed with.
You'll never meet a more approachable media guy so if you have ideas or something you want to share with the Villages Connected community email him. He is always keen to talk about ways to connect communities through great media cause hey, that's what we do!
In addition to producing award winning media, de Villers has a background in marketing, and he studied Politics & Economics at the University of Manitoba and Broadcast Production & Journalism at Red River College. He's also the Principal of Ubuntu Productions.
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Gwen Harmen
Producer & Marketing Director
From her first meeting with de Villiers, Gwen saw the potential for the Villages Connected documentaries to inspire and involve a lot of people. Now, she's always reminding us that we may be starting out small but we have big stories to tell and a big impact to make!
Gwen worked with de Villiers when she was the Commissioner at the Nanaimo Film Office. While she was there, she and her team injected nearly $10 million into the local community in just five years and they won the Economic Development Group's 2005 Leading Edge Award for Committed Leadership. Nice work.
Prior to that Gwen was the Associate Producer and Business Affairs Manager for Birdsong Communications where she developed, managed and promoted their productions for the commercial, educational and entertainment markets.
Now, besides being the Co-Producer and Marketing Director of Villages Connected & Eh! For Africa Gwen runs Clarity Corporate Consulting www.soarwithclarity.com and is the Marketing Director for the Harbour City Photography Club!
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Kim Lear
New Media & Campaign Strategist
Kim's always got something to say. She's our newsletter editor, and you'll also see her chiming in as the host of some of our blog and facebook discussions.
Kim has a background in documentary production, community engagement, and writing. She got a taste for building online communities when she joined the development team for Edegmont.tv. In 2001, the website was one of the first in Canada to actively attract and retain a youth audience for a Canadian television series.
Now she lives and works on Gabriola Island, writing, advising, and building campaign strategies for people who want to use traditional and online media to connect with their community.
Kim and de Villiers met at a business seminar on Nanaimo. A coffee break discussion, turned into an all-afternoon mind meld on the inestimable potential of combining documentary production, social media and disconnected communities of individuals working for change. The seminar went on without them, but the seeds of Villages Connected were planted.
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Samir Khan
Marketing Coordinator
Samir is a young man of the world. He's lived in the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia and North America and he speaks English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and French.
Get this; Samir has a Masters of Science in International Business from University of Hertfordshire, England and a Masters of Business Administration from Vancouver Island University, Canada. He's worked in business development for the Pakistani firm Chawla & Co and at Standard Chartered Bank in Pakistan. Now he's working for Villages Connected and he's only 25. How crazy is that?
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Greg Spira
Director of Communications & Particpatory Media
Gregory knows about making media that matters.
In 2007 Greg worked with members of a politically marginalized community in the highlands of Bolivia. Using plain and simple photography, Greg got every member of the community to participate in a Photovoice project. Together, they created a visual blueprint to communicate how they wanted to see their community develop. He's also worked as an advocate on behalf of undocumented Mexican children in the U.S. and publishes articles in popular and academic publications on international development.
When not traveling the globe, writing articles or strategizing community engagement projects, you might spot him peering through his camera's lens up a mountain somewhere.
Greg holds a Masters in Professional Communication from Royal Roads University and is the Principal Communication Consultant at Co-Imagen Consulting.
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