About the Founders

 

Dr. Engela Young

Dr. Engela Young

Dr. Engela Young

Business Experience & Ownership

Professionally, she started a business/practice with a full multi-disciplinary team of 28 staff, creating employment and teamwork with psychologists, physiotherapists, bio-kinesiologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, music therapists, etc. This is still a running organisation after 47 years.

She started a private school for learners with special needs in 2005 and it is still a running business.

She is the Founder of The South African Therapeutic Riding Association (SATRA) 27 years ago and it is still a running business. Currently, there are more than 400 enrolled students nationally and internationally.

She started a home for children/adults with special needs in 2005 and is still a running business.

She is the director of Now Women International which she started in 2009.

She is the founder of Brilliant Brainworx Academy in 2009.

She established a prenatal/postnatal baby clinic that is still a running business.

Developed and presented courses for teacher training, au pair/facilitator training as well as parent training.
Established and managed a clinic for the treatment of obesity that has been active since 1999.

Developed a wellness center where “health” is the focus and not “sickness”, which is also a current business.

She is a business owner, public speaker, and motivational speaker for the past 47 years.

She does community work for the ANC and African countries for the past 25 years (job creation, social development, retraining of teachers, etc).

She has a passion for research and is currently doing research on animal-assisted therapy and dolphin therapy as this will be a future product at her practice. She has a gift and a passion to work with people of all ages, from the unborn up to the stage of death. She continuously strives to enable people to use the maximum of their potential.

All other than academic qualifications were acquired specifically to ensure maximum results when working with people in her current businesses.

Education

• National Secretarial Diploma – Department of National Education (1972)
• DOT – Occupational Therapist – University of Pretoria (1976)
• Masters Degree in Sociology – Commonwealth Open University (2003)
• PhD Interdisciplinary Studies/Philosophy – Commonwealth Open University (2003)
• PhD Herbalism – currently busy – STAFFORD UNIVERSITY Uganda

Other Qualifications

• Music Therapy (1981)
• Creativity (1982)
• Reflexology (1983)
• Colour Therapy (1984)
• Whole Brain Learning (1984)
• Speed-reading – Tony Buzan (1989)
• Lateral Thinking – Edward de Bono (1989)
• Control Theory – Dr Glasser (1989)
• Multiple Intelligences – Dr Howard Gardner (1989)
• Baby Therapy (1990)
• Sensory Integration (1993)
• Edu-K Instructor (1994)
• Riding for the Disabled Instructor Course – SARDA (1994)
• Cogmotics – Bruce Copley (1995)
• Thinking skills – Beatrice Cap de Viele from Venezuela (1995)
• American Saddle Horse Judge (1995)
• Kinesiology (1996)
• Brain Profiles (1996)
• Instructor Life Skills and Accelerated Learning Methods (1998)
• Eye Therapy – Leonard Fine (1998)
• International Course judging & training of disabled  riders – Inger Bryant, England (1999)
• Tomatis Therapy (2000)
• Drumming – Nicholas Kotei (Ghana) and Lena Slachmuijlder (USA)
• Emotional Stress Release – Tapping (2006)
• Baby Hands SA – Academy of Baby Sign Language (2008)
• Iridology & Schlerology – Commonwealth Open University (2010)
• Sand Therapy (2010)

 

Pierre van Rooyen

Pierre van Rooyen

Pierre van Rooyen

Education

BSc, MSc.

Business Experience & Ownership

Pierre started his working career in the Division of Sea Fisheries in Sea Point, Cape Town. He moved to the National Parks Board and started an 18-year career as a Game Ranger and progressed through the ranks to Park Warden and eventually to the Head of Conservation Management for the Inland National Parks. He joined the Transvaal Chief Directorate of Nature Conservation’s Ecological Services where he focused on the development and implementation of management plans for the different nature reserves.

He again moved into management when provincialisation demanded the merger of different conservation bodies to form the North West Parks & Tourism Board. He helped to facilitate participative workshops with staff of the different conservation organizations to source inputs to guide the development of the new conservation body of the North West Province. He was subsequently appointed as the Head of Conservation Management in the new organization and acted as the Chief Executive Officer.

He left the Conservation field to join Submerged Solutions, a private sector company that specialises in Commercial Diving operations as a Director. He then teamed up with SAIDI (South African Integrated Development Initiative) as a Project Manager and has been appointed as an Executive Director with Vuwani M’Africa Development Consortium (Pty) Ltd.

Pierre has extensive experience in hands-on management of conservation areas as well as the longer term planning and budgeting for the development and operation of these activities. He planned, coordinated, budgeted, and managed the annual game sale and game capture operations in all the National Parks except the Kruger National Park.

Pierre has further contributed widely to Tourism Development, Research, and Management both in National Parks and on a larger scale in the North West Province. Pierre has also developed consummate project management and business plan development skills.

Presently busy with PhD studies in Natural Medicine and Counseling at the STAFFORD UNIVERSITY Uganda.