MEET THE MANAGEMENT TEAM
DR LIANA ROODT.
FOUNDER | Liana is founder, director and hands-on surgeon. A rare combination of dreamer and doer, she started Project Flamingo in 2010 after being deeply moved by the desperate need in the public health sector. Her idea captured the hearts of friends and colleagues and soon she had a trusted team to help her make quality and compassionate cancer care available to all. She went on to become a specialist surgeon (with an FCS (SA) and MMed (Surgery) Cum Laude from the University of Cape Town); achieve numerous research awards; and was named one of the Top 10 Health Care Innovators of 2014 by the UCT Graduate School of Business. She currently has a thriving private surgical practice, works at the Groote Schuur Breast and Endocrine Unit, and heads up Project Flamingo with vision and passion.
Michelle Rennie
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | Michelle is a passionate ambassador and brand champion for Project Flamingo and has been part of the Project Flamingo journey from its inception in 2010. Michelle is the administrative backbone of the project that ensures that a plethora of details are taken care of. As a breast cancer survivor herself, she joined the amaBele Belles Breast Cancer Survivor Dragon Boat Team after her recovery. Whilst participating in an International BC Dragon Boat Regatta event, the amaBele team decided to sell their African team gear and happily painted faces in return for donations to be used for a breast cancer cause once home. On return to Cape Town, Michelle and the team serendipitously met Liana. They were so inspired by the passion and purpose of Project Flamingo, that they made the very first donation to the Project with the money raised in Canada on a live Cape Talk radio show. Michelle has been intimately involved with Project Flamingo since that very first donation.
Farzana Araie
Marlene Strauss
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | Marlene’s sound legal mind has been a tremendous asset to Project Flamingo. Marlene met Liana at a cooking class she arranged in Barberton. They remained close friends. Years later she was inspired by her own mother’s journey with breast cancer to become involved with Project Flamingo. While initially supporting from the sidelines, she officially came on board as a director in 2017. Marlene describes herself as “an Attorney and Conveyancer by day and a Flamingo the rest of the time.” She deeply believes in the goodness of people and the capacity of each person to make the world a little better every day.
Philippa Hurley
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | Philippa is an Admitted Attorney. She spent many years working in media and entertainment law but now consults mainly for NGOs. Her non-profit clients range from public benefit organisations to social enterprises to homeowners and professional associations. Philippa advises on starting up / restructuring, governance, compliance, grant agreements, intellectual property, fundraising strategies, B-BBEE, NPO registration, and various forms of tax exemption. She also consults with government agencies and statutory bodies.
Dr Michael Brombacher
Michael is currently a medical officer in general surgery at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in East London.
He first joined the project in 2017 as a medical student when he set up the student initiative with Amy MacFarlane. Since then he has been integral in establishing the Gqeberha and East London branches of Project Flamingo and currently runs the East London branch at CMH along with Amy. He is also a member of the social media team.
When not at the hospital he enjoys golf, running and spending time with his English bulldogs Sammy and Zoey.
Dr Amy MacFarlane
Amy is currently a Medical Officer in anaesthetics at Frere Hospital in East London. Amy joined Project Flamingo as a student in 2017 and since then has been a vital part of our team. She was one of the previous co-chairs and founders of the Project Flamingo Student initiative at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and whilst completing her internship in Gqeberha, was involved in establishing the first catch up lists in Gqeberha in 2019 alongside Dr Michael Brombacher.
After completing her community service in Upington, she returned to the Eastern Cape in 2022 and played an integral part is setting up the East London division of Project Flamingo, again alongside Michael, which they continue to run and manage.
In addition to the above, Amy is also in charge of co-ordinating all of our social media, a nice change from her day to day medical work.
One of the many reasons she loves Project Flamingo, is because it shows what a difference each and everyone of us can make in the world - no matter how big or small a role we play.
Dr Yonela Kentane
Yonela is currently an intern medical doctor completing her training at Frere and Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in East London. Her passion for patient-centred care and advancing public health access is one of the reasons she loves Project Flamingo and the work the organisation does for various communities.
Anri Basson
Anri is the Pamper Pack and Food Parcel co-ordinator. She also helps with whatever needs doing at Project Flamingo. Anri found support so essential to her breast cancer journey, that she wishes the same level of care and encouragement to everyone. She is dedicated to spreading the message that early detection is vital to treatment options and survival rates. Project Flamingo enables her to help where it matters: cutting short the waiting period for surgical treatment.
DR LIANA ROODT.
FOUNDER | Liana is founder, director and hands-on surgeon. A rare combination of dreamer and doer, she started Project Flamingo in 2010 after being deeply moved by the desperate need in the public health sector. Her idea captured the hearts of friends and colleagues and soon she had a trusted team to help her make quality and compassionate cancer care available to all. She went on to become a specialist surgeon (with an FCS (SA) and MMed (Surgery) Cum Laude from the University of Cape Town); achieve numerous research awards; and was named one of the Top 10 Health Care Innovators of 2014 by the UCT Graduate School of Business. She currently has a thriving private surgical practice, works at the Groote Schuur Breast and Endocrine Unit, and heads up Project Flamingo with vision and passion.
Michelle Rennie
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | Michelle is a passionate ambassador and brand champion for Project Flamingo and has been part of the Project Flamingo journey from its inception in 2010. Michelle is the administrative backbone of the project that ensures that a plethora of details are taken care of. As a breast cancer survivor herself, she joined the amaBele Belles Breast Cancer Survivor Dragon Boat Team after her recovery. Whilst participating in an International BC Dragon Boat Regatta event, the amaBele team decided to sell their African team gear and happily painted faces in return for donations to be used for a breast cancer cause once home. On return to Cape Town, Michelle and the team serendipitously met Liana. They were so inspired by the passion and purpose of Project Flamingo, that they made the very first donation to the Project with the money raised in Canada on a live Cape Talk radio show. Michelle has been intimately involved with Project Flamingo since that very first donation.
COO | Lou is a former Head of Strategy with a strong track record in overseeing digital products and creative and marketing strategies for renowned South African retail brands. She is adept at leading teams to design, build, and market enterprise e-commerce websites, apps, and digital platforms. She is skilled in stakeholder management, understanding core business objectives, and utilizing digital strategies to drive growth. She completed her EMBA from Quantic School of Business & Technology in 2021.
Lou Stone
Farzana Araie
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | Besides her role as non-executive director, Farzana regularly volunteers as an anaesthetist on Project Flamingo lists for patients who require vital Catch-up Surgeries. She first volunteered with Project Flamingo in 2011 when she was a medical officer in anaesthesia at GF Jooste hospital, and became very inspired to help patients who would otherwise wait for months before finally having their surgery. She and Liana were in specialist training together at Groote Schuur hospital in 2012, which further cemented their friendship and Farzana’s role in the project. In addition to her love of adventure and thrills (like horror films), Farzana generously gives of her time whenever her schedule as a private anaesthetist in Cape Town permits.
Marlene Strauss
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | Marlene’s sound legal mind has been a tremendous asset to Project Flamingo. Marlene met Liana at a cooking class she arranged in Barberton. They remained close friends. Years later she was inspired by her own mother’s journey with breast cancer to become involved with Project Flamingo. While initially supporting from the sidelines, she officially came on board as a director in 2017. Marlene describes herself as “an Attorney and Conveyancer by day and a Flamingo the rest of the time.” She deeply believes in the goodness of people and the capacity of each person to make the world a little better every day.
Philippa Hurley
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | Philippa is an Admitted Attorney. She spent many years working in media and entertainment law but now consults mainly for NGOs. Her non-profit clients range from public benefit organisations to social enterprises to homeowners and professional associations. Philippa advises on starting up / restructuring, governance, compliance, grant agreements, intellectual property, fundraising strategies, B-BBEE, NPO registration, and various forms of tax exemption. She also consults with government agencies and statutory bodies.
Dr Michael Brombacher
Michael is currently a medical officer in general surgery at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in East London.
He first joined the project in 2017 as a medical student when he set up the student initiative with Amy MacFarlane. Since then he has been integral in establishing the Gqeberha and East London branches of Project Flamingo and currently runs the East London branch at CMH along with Amy. He is also a member of the social media team. When not at the hospital he enjoys golf, running and spending time with his English bulldogs Sammy and Zoey.
Dr Amy MacFarlane
Amy is currently a Medical Officer in anaesthetics at Frere Hospital in East London. Amy joined Project Flamingo as a student in 2017 and since then has been a vital part of our team. She was one of the previous co-chairs and founders of the Project Flamingo Student initiative at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and whilst completing her internship in Gqeberha, was involved in establishing the first catch-up lists in Gqeberha in 2019 alongside Dr Michael Brombacher. After completing her community service in Upington, she returned to the Eastern Cape in 2022 and played an integral part is setting up the East London division of Project Flamingo, again alongside Michael, which they continue to run and manage. In addition to the above, Amy is also in charge of coordinating all of our social media, a nice change from her day-to-day medical work. One of the many reasons she loves Project Flamingo, is because it shows what a difference each and every one of us can make in the world - no matter how big or small a role we play.
Heidi Geisler-Steyn
Heidi helps with whatever needs doing at Project Flamingo, mostly focusing on the admin aspects, and keeping the website up to date. She heard about Project Flamingo from family and friends during Covid, and decided to help out where she could.
HOSPITAL TEAMS
Meet our core volunteer teams at each hospital: