Hillary Hamburger was born on 1 January 1936. Except for a year spent in London with her first husband Denis Kuny and their son Neil in 1959, she has lived in Johannesburg all her life. The first-born child of Lithuanian
immigrant parents, she worried from an early age about what she saw as the mistreatment of people who weren’t white.

With a Bachelor of Arts teaching degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, Hillary began her career
at the Central Indian High School, and later worked as a secretary for the Defence and Aid fund, organising
defences for political prisoners. She returned to university to become a qualified clinical psychologist, following
which she established a private practice with her second husband Tony Hamburger. Alongside their private
practice, Hillary and Tony founded Ububele in 1999, an educational and psychotherapy Trust created to provide
training and services aimed at supporting and improving the emotional development of children under the age
of seven in Alexandra township.

After 24 years, Hillary has retired from both her private practice and Ububele, and the organization continues
to thrive. Recently, she was honoured with the prestigious American Signourey Award in recognition of her
outstanding work.