Biography: Gillian Godsell
- By Wits University
Dr Gillian Godsell graduated from Wits University in 1972 with a BA degree majoring in Psychology and Afrikaans. Her honours and masters qualifications are also in the field of psychology, crowned with a PhD from Boston University which she attained in 1990.
Dr Godsell served as a full-time researcher at the National Institute for Personnel Research from 1974 to 1983, and was registered as an industrial psychologist in 1983. She has worked at the Wits Centre for Policy Studies, as an associate of the Institute for the Study of Economic Culture at Boston University as a Researcher at the Wits Centre for Developing Business from 1990 to 1994. She ahs also served as a lecturer in Entrepreneurship at RAU. She is currently an Associate Research Fellow in the Wits Graduate School of Public and Development Management, a position that she has held since 2006.
Dr Godsell is well-known for her deep interest in education, but she has worked voluntarily across a number of sectors. She worked intensely for the Progressive Party between 1969 and 1979, served on the governing bodies of several schools and as a trustee of small business initiatives and as an active board member of a number of entrepreneurship programmes.
She is widely published, has written and edited a number of chapters in books, academic journals and the popular media. A book titled Thought pieces by Opinion Leaders edited by Max du Preez, which contains a collection of critical reflections on various aspects of contemporary South Africa, features a chapter by Dr Godsell entitled Moving Forward School by School.
Dr Godsell serves as a board member of Radio Today where she hosts a programme called Jozi Today, provides a space for people to tell the stories of the positive things happening in Joburg.