Our people

Africa Media Academy is home to many of the region’s most passionate and skilled wildlife media specialists. We are located in the heart of South Africa, and enjoy incredible access to both the marine and terrestrial wonders of the African continent.

Fiona Ayerst

Director / Owner

Co-founder of Africa Media and the team’s specialist underwater photography and videography content creator.

Ryan Johnson

Director / Owner

Co-founder of Africa Media in 2012 after transitioning across from academia to wildlife and underwater film production.

Chris Saunders

Instructor – Wildlife Filmmaking

Initially trained in filming extreme sporting events, Chris has developed extensive filmmaking skills as a freelancer and working for many of South Africa’s most renowned wildlife media production companies.

Ashleigh de Villiers

Instructor – Wildlife & Travel Photography

A professional wildlife and adventure sports photographer from Cape Town, Ashleigh offers experience to train our Wildlife and Travel Photography students.

Annie Post

Instructor – Wildlife Filmmaking

Specialist camera operator, Annie is centre to the production of wildlife documentaries and stock content. Furthermore, she is the Wildlife Documentary Filmmaking program instructor.

Riaan van der Merwe

Instructor – Underwater Videography

Riaan is a PADI/BSAC dive instructor and a professional BSAC underwater videography instructor. Riaan holds a wealth of experience in the film industry to augment his underwater video skills.

Rouxne van der Westhuizen

Instructor – Environmental Journalism

A journalism (B.A. Honours) graduate from the North-West Universtity in Potchefstroom, Rouxne is the team’s specialist travel and environmental journalist and program instructor.

Lucille Erasmus

Partnership Development & Administration

Bridget Kamu

Marketing & Intern Operations Manager

Originally hailing from Zimbabwe, Bridget joined the marketing team in 2017. Today, she also runs daily living operations for visiting interns.

Jackie Griffin

Marketing and Sales

From her country office, Jackie communicates with prospective students considering joining the our wildlife media training programs.

Samantha Scott

Marketing and Sales

A nature and wildlife lover, Samantha fits right in with the company culture of Africa Media. Her knowledge of wildlife makes her a perfect consultant to guide aspiring wildlife media specialists interested in joining one of our programs.