NAFSAN operates as a dynamic, inclusive, agile and lean membership-based organisation. This graphic here illustrates its operations and interaction with the Food and Nutrition Security Council, as Namibia’s platform for multi-sectoral multi-stakeholder coordination.
Click the image to see how NAFSAN functions as a member-based organization.
The Nutrition and Food Security Alliance of Namibia (NAFSAN) is operating through its Secretariat, with Mr. Ben Schernick as the Director of NAFSAN.
Mr. Schernick is a registered Social Worker by profession and an accredited Mediator at the High Court of Namibia. He has over 15 years of experiences in Namibia in consulting, facilitating dialogue processes, lecturing and project management in the context of civil society organisations, academic institutions and government.
Mr. Ben Schernick
The role of the NAFSAN Board is to ensure good governance and to oversee effective coordination and efficient administration of NAFSAN and its activities. Board members are elected by all NAFSAN members during Annual General Meetings as per NAFSAN’s Constitution.
The Board is responsible to ensure overall accountability of the organisation towards its members, partners and all other internal and external stakeholders. The Board also sets NAFSAN’s strategic objectives and priorities, which are to be implemented through an annual plan endorsed by the Annual General Meeting.
Board members provide their services in a pro-bono capacity, and exercise their powers strictly in accordance with provisions of NAFSAN’s Constitution, the laws of Namibia and the highest ethical standards.
Mrs. Dalinka Alberto
Dr. Penny Hiwilepo-Van Hal
Ms. Fiina Namukwambi
Mr. Moses S. Mberira
Mrs. M. Charlotte Keyter
BOARD MEMBERS OF NAFSAN
Mrs. Dalinka Alberto (NamDairies), Chairperson
Mrs. Dalinka Alberto is the Marketing Manager at
Namibia Dairies in Windhoek, Namibia, Namibia’s largest dairy production and processing company and part of the O&L Group of Companies.
Her expertise is multi-tiered and cross-functional project leadership, process conception and optimization, and portfolio strategy, as well as crafting agile and innovative Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brand portfolios. During her time at Namibia Dairies, Dalinka has created an entire Gate-Stage Process with which projects are effectively and efficiently taken from conception to implementation. She was the project lead on two complete product portfolio restructurings that saw the portfolios analyzed, re-costed, and streamlined to ensure optimized positioning and competitiveness, has led more than eight product renovation, four production capitalization, and no fewer than ten product innovation projects. Her current focus is on a fully-scoped project of qualitative research stage, commercial assessment, agency pitch process, and campaign development for a white milk portfolio, with a like project underway for a portfolio of cultured products.
Dalinka’s other professional focus is engaged, mindful, and purposeful leadership that takes teams and organizations to the next level. When not leading marketing projects or honing her leadership skill set, Dalinka is engaging in her translating, proofreading, and editing profession.
Dalinka is a member of the Waldorf School Windhoek School Board (since 2021) and founding Board member (since 2019) and Chairperson of NAFSAN.
When not engaged in either, Dalinka can be found engrossed in a smashingly good mystery, indulging in a glass of hearty red, working up sweat to keep her sane and focused, or spending time with and learning from her kids, whom she considers her greatest achievement and her greatest challenge.
Dr. Penny Hiwilepo-van Hal (University of Namibia)
Dr. Penny Hiwilepo-van Hal is an academic with over 15 years’ experience in product development and value addition, research and standards in the agricultural sector, as highlighted in her talk on “Food Security in Namibia and the Role of Agro-Food Processing".
She has a special interest in training and human capital development. She is the current Senior Lecturer at the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Namibia (UNAM).
Mrs. M. Charlotte Keyter (Individual Member), Vice-Chairperson
Mrs. Charlotte Keyter is a Nutritionist by profession was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Namibia’s before she became the Head of Department of Physical and Sport Sciences at the School of Allied Health Sciences within the Faculty of Health Sciences & Veterinary Medicine.
She is passionate about improving the nutritional status of Namibians for several decades in very practical terms, as highlighted in her talk on “Nutrition in Namibia: Concepts and Controversies", and she also serves as Board Member and Chair Person of the Technical Committee at the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL).
Mr. Moses S. Mberira (Omaheke Community Development Foundation)
Mr. Moses Shivakola Mberira holds a BA in Mass Media from West Surrey College of Arts and Design (now UCA), and is the co-founder of the of the Filmmakers Association of Namibia (FAN) in 1991, as Namibia’s first black Namibian film maker. He is currently the regional film research and development executive for Omaheke, Kunene and Otjozondjupa Region, and through his experiences on the ground, he has become a strong advocate for nutrition, as well as for rural and marginalized communities in Namibia.
Moses Mberira is therefore also a founding member of the Omaheke Community Development Foundation (OCDF), which contributed significantly to the success of the NamSUN-CSA Project in 2018-2020, by implementing nutrition awareness and advocacy activities all over the Omaheke region and in Windhoek. Mr Mberira hereby guided OCDF in producing a series of nutrition-related audios and videos for educative and advocacy purposes.
Ms. Fiina Namukwambi (Namibia University of Science and Technology)
Ms. Fiina Namukwambi is a Lecturer in the Preventative Health Sciences Department at the Faculty of Health, Natural Resources and Applied Sciences, of the Namibia University of Science and Technology.