Zanele has spent her career working for social and gender justice. Early in her career she worked with a University of Chicago research team on developing a theoretical framework of community driven development. She worked with Chicago United, a racial justice organization, where she served as the Program and Policy Director. She 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 on 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.