Mark Heywood is a social justice activist and former Executive Director and co-founder of SECTION27 as well as a co-founder of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). He sits on the Boards of several health and human rights NGOs in South Africa and internationally.

He is currently editor of Maverick Citizen, a section of the Daily Maverick that focuses on activism, human rights and social justice. He is also adjunct Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town; a distinguished visitor at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center; and a visiting scholar at the Bonavero Institute for Human Rights, Oxford University.

He has written numerous articles on law, human rights, HIV/AIDS, health and literature and edited and written several books, including a book of poetry I Write What I Fight (2015) and a memoir, Get Up! Stand Up! Personal Journeys Towards Social Justice (2017).