This Youth Month, I had the privilege of hosting a conversation that stayed with me long after the webinar ended. I was joined by Ms. Accolade Lubisi and Ms. Kristin Smithers — two young women whose work, courage, and conviction are helping shape Africa’s environmental future.
What began as a dialogue became a celebration of roots, resilience, purpose, and possibility. It reminded me that leadership is not always loud. Sometimes it looks like choosing to keep going, choosing to serve, and choosing to rise even when the world has not yet made enough room for your voice.
Rooted and Rising was born from a simple but powerful belief: we do not grow in spite of where we come from; we grow because of it. Our roots, our communities, our stories, our struggles, our families, and the places that formed us are not limitations. They are our foundation. They steady us, nourish us, and give us the courage to rise.
Accolade’ Ubisi’s journey is a beautiful reminder that small-town roots can grow into a bold and meaningful career. Born and raised in Bushbuckridge, just twenty kilometres from the iconic Kruger National Park, she went on to study at the University of Limpopo, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Communications before completing a postgraduate certificate in Online Writing and Public Relations. Her career began as an intern at Kruger National Park in 2014. From there, she moved into communications work in the NGO sector, helped build Silvan Safaris as part of its founding management team, and later returned to SANParks as a Digital Media Practitioner. Today, she helps tell the stories of our wild spaces to the world, with pride, skill, and purpose.
Kristin Smithers brings a different but equally powerful lens to environmental leadership. As a South African environmental policy professional, she works in strategic advocacy, stakeholder engagement, partnership development, and futures thinking. She represents Wilderness Foundation Africa in national and international biodiversity forums, including IPBES and IUCN, and is currently an MSc candidate in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the London School of Economics. Her interests in participatory governance and environmental justice speak to a deeper truth: sustainability is not only about protecting nature; it is also about protecting people, voice, dignity, and belonging.
Two different journeys. Two distinct areas of focus. Yet one powerful thread runs through both: the courage to honour where they come from while stepping boldly into who they are becoming. They have taken the seeds planted by family, community, education, and lived experience, and they are cultivating careers rooted in environmental sustainability and service.
What inspired me most was not only what they have achieved, but how intentionally they are choosing to live. Their commitment to purpose, their refusal to be passive in the face of environmental challenges, and their belief in building something bigger than themselves remind us that leadership is not a title. It is a daily decision.
They also spoke to a reality many women know all too well: the quiet weight of self-doubt, the sting of imposter syndrome, and the challenge of entering spaces where women still have to prove they belong. And yet, instead of shrinking, they keep showing up. They lead with competence, humility, sisterhood, and conviction.
Listening to them renewed my own commitment to create more platforms that strengthen women’s leadership agency, amplify women’s voices, and deepen their sense of belonging. At Zenande Leadership Consulting, this is the work we are called to: creating spaces where women can reflect, grow, lead, and rise together.
This conversation was not about polished, perfect success stories. It was about the real journey of becoming, the moments of uncertainty, the lessons learned, the mentors who poured into them, the choices that shaped them, and the inner fire that kept them moving when the path was not always clear.
Too often, when we speak about women’s empowerment, we rush to the highlight reel: the titles, awards, appointments, and public achievements. But transformation often takes shape in the in-between places: the internship that teaches resilience, the small town that shapes a worldview, the difficult room where a woman finally trusts her own voice.
That is the heart of Rooted and Rising. It is not only about what women achieve; it is about how they become. It is about identity, purpose, courage, and the deep knowing that our stories are not obstacles to overcome; they are sources of wisdom to carry forward.
As we celebrate young people this month, may we remember that Africa’s future is not some distant dream. It is already being shaped by young women who are thinking deeply, working faithfully, and leading courageously in boardrooms, communities, conservation spaces, policy platforms, classrooms, and digital spaces.
May their stories invite each of us to ask: What are my roots teaching me? What am I being called to rise into? And who can I lift as I rise?
To every young woman finding her voice, building her confidence, or wondering whether she belongs: you do. Your story matters. Your leadership matters. Your roots are not too small, too rural, too ordinary, or too complicated. They are part of your power.
Let us keep creating spaces where women are seen, heard, mentored, trusted, and celebrated. Let us keep choosing sisterhood over silence, courage over fear, and purpose over permission.
So let us stay rooted. Let us keep rising. And let us build an Africa where every woman knows that she belongs in the future she is helping to create.
