Carla has been with the South African Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project for several years. The SKA is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, the sheer scale of the SKA represents a huge leap forward in engineering, technology and research & development. She is responsible for planning, negotiating and implementing strategic and funding solutions for the Africa programme across the eight African Partner Countries (APCs), inclusive of the African VLBI Network (AVN) programme, conceptualising and implementing the African Colocation Programme and associated activities.
In 2009 Carla founded the Foundation for Space Development and in 2011, Women in Aerospace Africa, in addition she acts as an adviser to OFF-WORLD.

Her personal passion project was announced in 2014, Africa2Moon, a low cost solution to performing radio astronomy on the far side of the Moon. It has developed to highlight the potential and ability of the African community, and to inspire Africa to “Reach for the Moon” by reaching for the Moon! The telescope will provide scientific insight and importantly first time science. It will be made up of 54 self-inflating radio astronomy balls, each representing a nation in Africa. As a continent, Africa is yet to work on an inclusive, multi-national space program that enables Africa to highlight our potential and capabilities in science, technology, engineering and innovation.

Following the completion of a degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Cape Town, Carla graduated from the International Space University’s (ISU) first Executive MBA Programme in 2010, and has subsequently become a member of the International Institute for Space Law and a Governing Member of ISU. Carla has authored chapters for books and collaborative studies on space economics and policies.

She is currently completing her PhD from UCT Spacelab. The topic of her research is to reliably determine the socioeconomic benefits to be gained from public investment into space science and technology programmes in developing nations, and the sustainable level and nature of investments that would optimise these benefits.