Illa has a degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University. After graduating, she spent a year working for  PR company whose major client was Independent Newspapers.
From there she moved into the newsroom and spent from 1986 - 88 as a feature writer for the Independent Newspaper Group. During this time, she edited their monthly home supplement, The Home Improver.
Despite really enjoying newspaper work, she moved across to the Playhouse in 1988 to become their Drama Publicist. In this capacity she was part of the team that initiated the successful KWASA programme which took the work of the performing arts council out of the formal theatre environment and to community structures in the suburbs throughout the greater KwaZulu-Natal region.
In 1991 she was promoted to Publicity Manager at the Playhouse Company.
A year later, her portfolio was extended to Public Relations Executive in preparation for the organisation’s restructuring which took place in 1993.
In June 1995 she moved to join Sharlene in their own arts publicity company. As Sharlene and Illa have both worked for a combined period of 40 years promoting the arts, their experience has being extremely varied :
from A Night to Remember, a gala performance for Queen Elizabeth II  to the Peace Day Celebration concert in honour and in the presence of then President Nelson Mandela at the Durban City Hall;
from Paul Simon's inaugural concert at the Playhouse, and a variety of opera and symphony concerts including the major Cancer fund-raiser, A Night of 100 Stars  to promoting  musicals,  dramas community events such as fairs, festivals, exhibitions and productions…
And the fabulous mobile art exhibition: CowParade SA. Publicity Matters have done the PR work for Durban Africa for the past five or so years.
Together with Durban Africa, they have conceptualised and co-ordinated the city’s four seasonal media and events launches every year. They have been responsible for all the media liaison, writing of media releases and media statements on behalf of Durban Africa and their events.  They used to do the PR work for the city’s beach events – Ocean Action and Beach Wise events for many years.  
Publicity Matters also does the publicity and media liaison for the past four years for Celebrate Durban on behalf of the City (Eric Apelgren’s office). They were part of the PR team to have launched the ICC and again to launch the new Arena wing in March 2007. 
Illa was part of the team who initiated what is now PANSA (the Performing Arts Network of South Africa), she was the KZN Deputy Chairperson of PANSA in 2003,  she was on the KZN Provincial and on the National Committees (2004 / 5), last year she was deputy KZN Chair and this year she is on the secretariat regionally and nationally.
She was also on the KZN chapter of national arts lobbying body - NACSA.  She was one of the four delegates selected nationally by the British Council to represent South Africa at the “Changing Worlds” Conference hosted by AMA (Arts Marketing Association of the UK) held in Glasgow in 2002.
Publicity Matters does the PR for the annual Awesome Africa Music Festival and the Hilton Arts Festival.
Illa does media liaison work for the Diakonia Council of Churches and voluntary PR work for the Umcebo Trust.
She is committed to train and develop aspirant theatre publicists and to this end, has mentored an intern annually since the inception of Publicity Matters and is delighted to report that virtually all the young people who have worked in the Publicity Matters office have found full time employ within the arts and media environment nationally and internationally. 
Illa is a director on the Board of Keeping the Dream Alive (t/a TheatreBiz) – which is the board which serves the Kwasuka and Catalina Theatres.
She has a monthly column in the Mercury commenting on the state of the arts in KZN – Art Matters.

Sophie joined the business in 2001 as a junior partner.
Sophie brings to the company a wealth of experience and expertise in particular in the sporting arena – she played springbok action cricket; SA colours for athletics; Natal colours for athletics (club and school); hockey; soft ball; water polo and outdoor and indoor cricket.

Sophie has studied Sport Psychology and computer technology. She has been part of the PR team for the Vodacom Beach Africa for the past three years. She ran the PR for this year’s and last year’s Durban International Boat Show.
Since joining Publicity Matters Sophie has worked on Durban involvement in the 2005/6 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, and she has done the PR for many of the major surfing and beach events.

She also manages the PR account for the South African Rugby Legends nationally, and is about to start on a PR campaign for PWA Wrestling – their South Africa launch.

Sophie’s other area of interest is contemporary music and has worked on various music events and CD launches – including Melanie Lowe; Love Jones; Mr Price Pro Concerts;  Roxy Music Concerts, Winter Jamz;  Kearsney Music Festival and the Awesome Africa Music Festival.

Sophie is on the Performing Arts Network of SA (PANSA) KZN Chapter this year and last year.

She is a founder member of the Blue Monday Platform – an arts event hosted to provide a forum for new theatre work created by emerging theatre practioners.