Zanele has spent her career working for social and gender justice. She worked early in her career with a University of Chicago research team on developing a theoretical framework of community driven development. Previously, Zanele was the Program and Policy Director with Chicago United, a racial justice organization, and later worked with the Rural Craft Cottage Industries to support the social, political, and economic empowerment of women in Zimbabwe. Zanele spent a decade advancing the rights of children and adolescent girls as the Director of Programs at Firelight Foundation. Most recently, Zanele supported the Children’s Rights and Violence Prevention Fund with a program focused on building the power of adolescent girls. She also designed the first participatory grantmaking program at Purposeful, a feminist hub for adolescent girls. She is currently the Director of Fenomenal Funds, a feminist funder collaborative where she is leading efforts to build the infrastructure of women’s funds to advance the rights of girls, women, and LGBTQI movements around the globe.