Prof Monique Marks currently heads up the Urban Futures Centre (UFC) at the Durban University of Technology. Initially trained as a social worker, she holds a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Natal. She has authored 7 books and over 70 peer reviewed papers. She is certified as a health coach through the UK based, Health Coaches Academy. Her health coaching focuses on three key areas: managing chronic illness; end of life wellness; and drug use disorders. She has also had great success in weight loss programmes. Over the past seven years she has developed a special interest in drug use disorders and drug policy. She, together with a team from TB HIV Care, directed South Africa’s first opioid substitution demonstration programme. This programme has been fundamental in shaping government policy and implementation planning. She is one of the co-directors of the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre which provides medical and psycho-social services to roughly 500 homeless and low-income people who use drugs. This centre is also a hub for research on drug use and for service learning across multiple disciplines. She is the vice-chairperson of the eThekwini Homeless Committee which is chaired by the eThekwini Deputy Mayor and sits on advisory committees for a number of international boards focused on public safety and public health.
Kathryn Millar is a health and wellness practitioner who is focussed on working with women between the ages of 35 and 55 who feel like they have lost control of their health. Physical manifestations of ill health like weight gain, exhaustion, high blood pressure have a deeper root, most often linked to emotional, physical, spiritual and mental imbalance. Kathryn believes that unless there is a holistic approach with measurable actions in place and a long-term vision, physical improvements can be short-lived. She holds an MA in Education from Rhodes University and a Diploma in Health Coaching from the UK-based Health Coaches Academy. Her other major passion, forming part and parcel of her health practice approach, is delicious plant-based food and making tofu from scratch. She developed South Africa’s first tofu-making kit and has taught hundreds of people to make tofu at home since 2021.
