Zdena is a senior research consultant at ODS. She leads research intensive evaluations with a focus on qualitative research methodology and also provides research support to other areas of work including strategy and organisational development. 

She has worked for development and human rights NGOs in South Africa and Belgium and in development consulting focused on fragile states in Africa and Asia. Some of the organisations she has worked for include Khulumani in South Africa, Save the Children and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples’ Organisation (UNPO) in Belgium and Farsight (now Seefar) an international consultancy and social enterprise. Zdena is a thematic expert in intersectionality, transnationalism and development. This is also the focus of her PhD which she is completing with the University of Kent. She holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy and a B.A Honours degree in Organisational Psychology from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. She is a Zimbabwean native and speaks English, French and basic Dutch in addition to Ndebele and Shona. 

Zdena enjoys the holisism of organisational development work. She enjoys analysing the interconnections between the work of organisations and their macro and micro environments and assisting clients to find the balance that helps them achieve their goals.