A quick origin story, AKA, how we spent the Great Toilet Paper Crisis:
The seed for KruShan Foundation was planted during a 2010 trip to South Africa when Kruger, who grew up there, took Shannon to see the African penguins. While Shannon was immediately enchanted, Kruger wondered where all the African penguins had gone. He remembered seeing many, many more while growing up.
Because we’ve been on-site with the African penguins many times since that 2010 trip, we desperately want to do something to help the planet, and it seems natural to partner with organizations in South Africa that are working tirelessly to protect the endangered African penguins from extinction. After a bit of a fright toward the end of 2020, when we weren’t sure we’d be able to get home from South Africa, we spent the Great Toilet Crisis, AKA the COVID-19 pandemic, planning our foundation, which we launched in January 2022.
Meet our passionate African penguin lover volunteer board members and advisors.
Board
Kruger grew up near Cape Town, South Africa. Kruger is a Climate Reality Leader, Texas Master Naturalist, and data scientist. Kruger handles our website backend, including our custom CRM, metrics, data analysis, donor relations, and videography. Kruger holds a Master of Science in Data Analytics.
Shannon is a native Texan, Climate Reality Leader, Texas Master Naturalist, and learning experience design consultant and writer. Shannon handles social media, writing, accounting, our website, and photography. Shannon holds a Master of Science in Learning Experience Design and Educational Technology.
Shelby is a strategist at a top advertising company in Austin, Texas. She handles board records, advises on marketing and social media, and is part of our accounting internal controls. Shelby holds a Bachelor of Science in Advertising, cum laude.
Board Advisors
We are honored that two African penguin experts in South Africa agreed to advise us.
Pinkey is a fundraising, conservation, and administrative manager, environmental educator, and founder of the Deep Blue Ambassadors program for school children in Gansbaai, South Africa.
Xolani is known as South Africa’s penguin whisperer. He has worked with African penguins in South Africa for over 16 years, first in the Eastern Cape and more recently in the Western Cape.
The African penguin is a joy to behold. It is charismatic, iconic, graceful in the water, comically clumsy on land, and a big part of the culture. If we can save one species, we’ll leave the world brighter for you, our children, and our grandchildren.