The Team

Dr Bool Smuts
Dr Bool SmutsDirector Landmark Foundation
Environmental Manager, Environmentalist, Project Manager, Fundraiser and Medical Doctor, B.Sc., MBChB, DCH, MPhil (Environmental Management)

Bool Smuts practices as a sustainable development expert, with environmental management, socio-economic development and environmental auditing and risk management expertise. He has special interests in renewable energies, protected areas development and management, tourism, species conservation, resource utilisation, and related conservation economy development.

He focuses on the initiation of large projects and developing innovative models to expand, consolidate, commercialise and manage conservation areas and initiatives, and related socio-economic development.

Monica Vaccaro
Monica VaccaroEducation
Monica runs the education program focusing on schools in our core field work areas. She does talks, activities and holiday programs with schools.
She is an art teacher and professional photographer as well as an inspiration to all.
Johan van Schalkwyk
Johan van SchalkwykFinancial Controller
Johan is a senior management consultant with his own company J&S Financial Services based in Port Elizabeth. He as been with the project since the early days and serves on the board of trustees and as its Financial Manager.
Dr Jeannine McManus
Dr Jeannine McManusLeopard Project Research and Field Manager
Jeannine first joined the Landmark Foundation in 2005 volunteering in her spare time. In 2008 she was thrilled to undertake the research and extension work position with the organization on a full-time basis.

Since joining the project she has been doing research into leopard ecology & their population density with a particular focus on establishing landscape connectivity in the Eastern and Western Cape. During her time on the project she has proudly assisted in converting over 170 000 ha of privately owned land with participating farmers into biodiversity friendly corridors.

Jeannine is underway with a PhD under the auspices of WITS University. She completed a MSc at Rhodes University, South Africa with distinction in 2009.

Dr Matthew Schurch
Dr Matthew SchurchHuman Wildlife Conflict Coordinator and Leopard Researcher
Matthew was a professional astronomer for 12 years having worked in the UK, America and South Africa. In April 2009 he was awarded his PhD in astrophysics from the University of Southampton, and later that year he moved to South Africa to take up an astronomy position at the University of Cape Town. Whilst exploring South Africa’s national parks he started to develop a passion for wildlife, and in particular leopards. This ultimately led him to found a leopard citizen science project, the Kgalagadi Leopard Project. This research project made him aware of the dangers and threats that leopards face when moving and living outside of protected areas. In October 2017 Matthew joined Landmark Foundation to lead the organisation’s response to human-wildlife conflict situations, and to undertake research into leopard behaviour and ecology.
Stefan Goets
Stefan GoetsHuman Wildlife Conflict Researcher
Stefan Goets completed his National Diploma in Nature Conservation in 2013 at NMU George Campus (then NMMU Saasveld). He had already started doing some part-time data management for Landmark Foundation in 2012, and in 2014 when he was doing his B-Tech in Nature Conservation. He then went on to complete his MSc in Nature Conservation in 2016, also at NMU George, focussing on invasive plant ecology. He officially joined the Landmark team in May 2018 being involved in leopard and general biodiversity monitoring, and assisting with the mitigation of human-wildlife conflict.