Baby
Penny Tyawa was born on 31 May 1959.
Baby
was caught up in the student uprising while doing
form 4 (grade 11), arrested under the notorious Section
6 of the Internal Security Act and detained without
trial for almost 18 months. She was a founder member
of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS -
1981).
She
enrolled for a BA degree in Psychology with Unisa
and did her post-graduate studies with the University
of Western Cape.
Through her studies she was active in the then Federation
of Transvaal Women. Baby has a Masters Degree (M Ed.)
in Educational Psychology from Manchester
University
in the United Kingdom.
After
obtaining her degree, she taught part-time in Braamfontein,
Johannesburg. In 1994, she worked at Matla Trust (Gender Desk on Voter Education). She was a full-time
psychologist at Forest
Town
for Learners with Cerebral Palsy and Specific Learning
Disability.
Baby
was an intern psychologist at the Counselling
and Careers Unit: Psychotherapy, for students and
staff at Wits University
in 1996. From 1997 to 2001, she worked at Wits University's
Specialised Education School of Human and Community
Development as a lecturer and course co-ordinator.
Baby is a registered Psychologist with the Health
Professions Council of South Africa.
She
joined GCIS in Pretoria
in 2002, as Chief Director: Policy and Research.
In August 2007, Baby was appointed
Deputy Chief Executive Officer: Strategy and Content
Management.