Professor Cheryl Hendricks is the Executive Director of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. Prior to this, she was the Executive Director of the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA), within the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). She was also a Professor and Head of Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) South Africa, from April 2013 to June 2018. She also previously worked at the Institute for Security Studies first as program head for the Southern Africa Human Security Programme and then as senior research fellow in the Conflict Management and Peacebuilding Division. She holds a PhD in Government and International Relations from the University of South Carolina and a Masters in Southern African studies from the University of York, England. Her substantive knowledge areas include conflict management (conflict prevention, peace-making, peacekeeping and peacebuilding); women, peace and security; African Politics,  South African Foreign Policy, Regional Security Architectures. She has published widely on these topics and engages a range of policymakers, academics, researchers and civil society on these issues.