“I had the pleasure of working with Chesway Slabbert during her 7-year tenure as the Local Group Leader of the IxDF Community in Johannesburg. Chesway was instrumental in mobilizing meet-ups for the community and inviting various speakers to ensure that the local community was learning from industry experts. She also ensured that the community accessed and utilized various channels where they could collaborate and network. Some of the channels that she created that contributed immensely to successful meet-ups in Johannesburg include a SoundCloud podcast, a LinkedIn group, and a YouTube playlist where all events and presentations were uploaded. Additionally, she helped create a website where the community could find updated and comprehensive information related to curated past and proposed future speakers with an archive of their topics. We were also the first group to introduce sign language interpreters in South African sign language. Chesway consistently demonstrated excellent mobilizing skills and an unwavering passion to keep the community alive and engaged, thus helping hundreds of community members upskill their knowledge. Finally, Chesway went above and beyond to integrate additional groups, such as ‘Friends of Figma’ into her IxDF community. This initiative has been instrumental in expanding the community’s design base, allowing them to engage with more diverse and dynamic perspectives. Her dedication, hard work, and leadership skills have ensured that the community is one of the most vibrant and successful groups we have had so far. I highly recommend Chesway for any leadership or community-building role. Her dedication, creativity, and passion for local communities are genuinely inspiring.”
