Staff

Janette Richter has been the House Manager of The Pride Shelter since April 2011. She loves being a mother to all the residents and works very hard to ensure they receive the support they need. She maintains contact with many of the past residents and enjoys hearing about what they are up to in their lives.

Jan is a mother to two grown-up sons and enjoys arts and crafts, interior decorating, reading and sewing.

Derick De Kock arrived at The Pride Shelter in May 2011 after experiencing significant trauma and loss in his life. During his short stay, he took on the role of gardener and general helper and in June 2012 was made a permanent staff member as Operations Officer.

When the House Manager is not available or on leave, you will find Derick in the driver's seat at the house! And he is often seen with the Jan's Triton cockatoo, Prince, sitting on his shoulder.

Guy Hamilton has been involved with The Pride Shelter from 2015 as a volunteer counsellor. Upon graduating his B.AppSoc.Sci degree (Summa Cum Laude) in counselling and psychology, he assumed the role of part-time Community Mental Health Coordinator in April 2017, working closely with Dr Gordon Isaacs, his mentor and supervisor, to establish a psycho-social support programme for the residents of the house. 

Mental Health Consultant & Supervisor

​Dr Gordon Isaacs’ professional career spans over forty years in the field of Clinical Social Work, Community Mental Health and Social Development.  After completing a four year degree in Social Work (with distinction in psychiatry for social workers)at the University of  the Witwatersrand, he opened the first Crisis Clinic in Africa – in Johannesburg, where he worked as Head of Therapeutic Services.
 
He obtained his Master’s degree in Social Science –with distinction, and in 1991 graduated with a PhD  (Cape Town) – which was subsequently published  as a text by Oxford University Press
 
Gordon's experience and clinical practice has extended into the fields of Clinical Social Work, Community Health, Psychiatry, Psychology and Social Development. He was one of the first mental health care practitioners to work with HIV and AIDS in 1983, and subsequently was instrumental in policy development, and clinical guidelines for HIV/AIDS for several organizations. He was promoted to Associate Professor, and Director of the School of Social Work (UCT), a position he held for several years.
 
After leaving the University, Gordon embarked on several projects, including heading the counseling service for the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture in Cape Town. He was a founder member of Triangle Project, NAPWA, and SWEAT.   In addition to working in the fields of HIV /AIDS prevention and care, an area in which he has extensive experience – he maintained his connection within the fields of addiction, trauma and crisis, and working with human sexuality.
 
Gordon has published widely in the fields of human sexuality, sex work, trauma counseling, crisis intervention, and HIV-AIDS, and more recently, has co-authored two chapters in international academic texts on male sex work and society.  His experience in tertiary education and grass roots organizations has afforded him opportunities in working within Southern Africa and abroad.
 
Currently, he is a lecturer at the South African College of Applied Psychology, where he teaches several modules. He is also a PhD student supervisor/examiner at two Universities in South Africa.

He serves The Pride Shelter in the capacity of the Psycho-Social and Mental Health Consultant.

Board of Directors

Ian McMahon is a founding member and the current Chairman of The Pride Shelter Trust. He also chairs the De Waterkant Civic Association and is Chief Operating Officer for The Business Place, a NGO offering entrepreneurship training across South Africa. Ian is the former Chairman of Cape Town Pride and was a Vice President of the Federation of Gay Games in San Francisco.

In business, he is an owner of Crew Bar, MCQP, Ian McMahon Communications, Cell C and Spur Steak Ranch franchise branches in the Western Cape and is the former IT Director of the Spur Group of Restaurants. 

Glenn De Swardt developed the concept of The Pride Shelter and established the initial Board to oversee the project by inviting friends and colleagues including Zackie Achmat, The Very Rev. Rowan Smith, Lorna Martin, Sheryl Ozinski, Mary Hames, Ivan Toms, Gordon Isaacs, Andrew Massyn, Ian McMahon and others to support the initiative. Glenn developed the centre's essential definition of a crisis and the initial set of facility rules and regulations. During the centre’s first six months, he visited the facility daily.

He lives in Johannesburg and is currently the senior technical consultant to Health4Men, a project of the Anova Health Institute, which focuses on the sexual health of men who have sex with men (MSM).
 

Andrew Massyn is a founding member of The Pride Shelter Trust and its current Secretary. He is an attorney with over 20 years' experience in Family Law. He lectures on Family Law at Varsity College, Cape Town.

Dave Nel currently works at Investec Private Bank, where he has held several positions over the last 11 years including Head of Acquisitions for the Western Cape and Head of Banking for Investec Pretoria. He is currently National Head of Technical Learning and Banking Head for the Winelands region.
 
Dave studied for his Master's in Business Administration (MBA) at Southern Illinois University in Illinois and his BSc in Finance and Economics at Evansville University in Indiana while completing a swimming scholarship. He has also completed the Executive Leadership Course at Stanford University in California.
 
Dave and his partner Garth live in De Waterkant.