Russell Ally

Russell is the Senior Director of Institutional Advancement at the University of the Free State. Prior to this, he was the Executive Director of the Development and Alumni Department at the University of Cape Town, where he was responsible for institutional advancement, fundraising, and alumni relations. He has worked as the Ford Foundation’s programme officer for Southern Africa and was responsible for the Governance and Civil Society Programme in South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Russell was the country director of the South African Office of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. He has also worked for the United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, overseeing a human rights institutional strengthening project. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Cambridge, and a Masters in History from Rhodes University, as well as BA and Higher Diploma in Education from the University of Cape Town. Russell served on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Human Rights Violation Committee, chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.