The Team

You know our organisation. You know what we do and what we stand for. But behind every great organisation are great people driving it forward. As such, we believe you should know the people behind the SRC and the skills and expertise they bring to the Centre. 95% of our team are university graduates and many of us hold Masters Degree or higher in our respective fields. 


We are all passionate about the preservation of Seereer cultural heritage, traditions and identity, and ensuring Seereer continuity. If you need to contact us for any reason, you can send us an e-mail to info@seereer.com or e-mail the relevant person directly using their direct e-mail address (where stated below).

Some of our team members


Tamsier Joof Aviance

Position : SRC Founder, General Manager, and Head of Events and Seereer Cultural Department

E-mail: tamsier@seereer.com


Tamsier Joof, is the founder of the Seereer Resource Centre, an organisation he conceived in 2008. He holds an Accounting and Finance Degree, a Performing Arts Degree and a PGCE from Middlesex University, the London Studio Centre and the University of Wolverhampton. Tamsier has been a sitting Director on the board of two UK businesses namely Bluewings Employment Security & Training Limited.and Blue Light Training Services Limited. He resigned from both companies to pursue other business activities. Along with his business experience, Tamsier has also spent over 20 years in the entertainment and education sector as a performer, lecturer and consultant. For the past few decades, Tamsier has acquired/inherited and preserved several documents and artifacts relating to Seereer and Senegambian culture, history and traditional religion. He has also carried out and preserved several audio interviews about Senegambian history and culture, with many Senegambian elders some of whom are no longer with us. Tamsier is also a presenter on Seereer Radio where he co-present the Cosaan Seereer program with Demba Sene and Mamadou Fall every Saturday from 2 pm GMT. 

Tamsier is a member of the legendary House of Aviance, made a member since May 2016 by the founder of the House - Mother Juan Aviance. 


Professor Issa Laye Thiaw 

Position : Consultant on Seereer Religion, History and Culture 


Professor Issa Laye Thiaw (also known as Mbañik Caw - his Seereer name) is a scholar of Seereer religion and history, but perhaps better known for his work on Seereer religion and culture. His work has been cited by several international scholars writing about Seereer religion and culture. Along with his writings, Professor Thiaw has also appeared as guest speaker on several inter-religious dialogue meetings. He is the author of that celebrated book "La femme Seereer." Other papers authored by Thiaw include:

  • La religiosité Seereer, avant et pendant leur Islamisation
  • Mythe de la création du monde selon les sages sereer

In 2015, Professor Thiaw denoted a huge portion of his land in Sangue to the Seereer Resource Centre so that the SRC with the assistance of the Seereer Diaspora can built a huge complex which will be called The Seereer Resource Centre and The Temple for Initiated Women. When this work is completed, it will be the flagship office of the SRC in Senegal. It will also include several apartments and a library where those interested in learning about Seereer ancient culture, traditional medicinal practices and religion can come to learn and  stay. For many years Professor Thiaw has tried to bring this project to fruition and we (the SRC) feel very honoured to be entrusted with this huge, yet interesting project. To learn more about this project and how you can help bring this project to fruition, click that link. Along with his work, Professor Thiaw is a regular on Seereer Radio where you can catch him narrating Seereer religion, history and culture for the Cosaan Seereer program.


Professor Souleymane Faye

Position : Head of Seereer and Cangin Languages

E-mail: karamuseer@seereer.com


Professor Souleymane Faye is a professor of linguistics at the Cheikh Anta Diop University (CLAD) (French: Université Cheikh Anta Diop or UCAD) and as of 2013 is the Head of the Seereer Department at Centre de linguistique appliquée de Dakar. Professor Faye has authored several books about the Seereer and Cangin languages.  He has also authored or co-authored several books and papers in Seerer-Siin, Wolof, French and English. Some of his work include:

  • Caq falay a seereer - 1: garaameer a seereer 
  • Morphologie du nom sérère: système nominal et alternance consonantique 
  • GLOTTALISEES DU SEREER-SIIN, DU SAAFI-SAAFI ET DU NOON DU SENEGAL : ETUDE COMPARATIVE DE LA SONORITE


Babacar Sarr

Position : Seereer-Siin and French Translator


Babacar Sarr holds a degree in English, and a Masters Degree in Linguistics from Cheikh Anta Diop University. He is a native speaker of the Seereer-Siin language and his Master’s thesis was: "A contrastive study of the phonological system of English and Seereer." As of 2013, Sarr is studying for his PHD at the same university and his thesis is "A comparative study of the determiners in Seereer and English." Sarr is also proficient in the French language (official language of Senegal, his birth country).


Issa Dione

Position : Sili-Sili (or Palor) Translator


Issa Dione holds a BA Degree in English from Cheikh Anta Diop University. He is a native speaker of Sili-Sili also known as Palor (or Paloor) or Seereer-Palor.


Demba Sene

Position : Head of Seereer Rural Development (Senegal), SRC Researcher and Saafi-Saafi Translator.

E-mail : demba@seereer.com

Demba Sene holds a Degree in Art and English from Cheikh Anta Diop University. He currently works as a freelance language teacher and school coach. Sene is very experience and knowledgeable about the day-to-day lives of rural Seereer communities in Senegal. In collaboration with other NGOs, Sene has led several initiatives to implement rural development in his village. Some of these initiatives included: sports, culture, education and economic development. Organisations which Sene has worked with included: Association Clin d'oeil; APROFEM/DPS Association promotion femme Diobass Paloor Saafi (an organisation that encourages young girls working as maids to work safely) and  Association Sportive et culturelle de Kiniabour. Sene is a fluent speaker and writer of Saafi-Saafi.

Demba is also a presenter on Seereer Radio where he co-present the Cosaan Seereer program with Tamsier  Joof and Mamadou Fall  every Saturday from 2 pm GMT.


Dimlé Sène  (née: Lance Warren Johnson)

Position : Saafi-Saafi Translator and SRC Cultural Researcher


As of 2013, Dimlé Sène (née: Lance Warren Johnson) is currently a student reading molecular biology and humanities in the USA.  His plan is to  become a Medical Doctor by obtaining a Ph.D in medicine. Sène is very passionate about the medical profession with a strong desire to help others and make a difference after his graduation.  
Sène started learning the Saafi-Saafi language from his Saafeen friends in the USA. Following his visit to Senegal, he took additional lessons with Professor Issa Laye Thiaw who taught him how to speak, read and write Saafi-Saafi properly. He is now a fluent speaker of Saafi-Saafi and is one of the younger generation playing a pivotal role in writing this language and preserving Seereer-Saafi traditions. Sène was the one who redesigned the SRC's current logo and has contributed several videos to the SRC relating to Seereer culture. On behalf of the SRC,  Sène also negotiated with some copyright holders to grant us permission to use their videos relating to Seereer culture.