Staff  

Leadership team

Jennifer Gill

Chief Executive Officer

In 2004 Jennifer became CEO of our Trust after 10 years as Executive Director of Fulbright NZ. Her career in philanthropy began in 1985 when Sir Roy McKenzie appointed her as the Executive Officer of the Roy McKenzie Foundation. She was a founding member of the board of the Wellington Regional Community Foundation, the Funding Information Service and a current board member of  Philanthropy New Zealand.

Syd Beguely

Chief Financial Officer

Syd joined the Trust after eight years consulting to both not-for-profit and “for profit” organisations. Before this he held senior management positions with energy sector companies. He brings depth and breadth of management and financial skills and experience to his Chief Financial Officer role. Syd holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Otago University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business from Auckland University. He is a CA member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Chloe Harwood

Strategy, Planning and Evaluation Manager

A graduate of Canterbury University , Chloe is responsible for policy development, research, the development of evaluation protocols. Chloe has worked for Britain’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta), where she awarded funding to innovative and pioneering learning projects.

Karyn McLeod

Grants Manager

Karyn joined the ASB Community Trust in 2002, after moving from Christchurch where she worked for five years with the Canterbury Community Trust.  Karyn's passion for philanthropy began in 1997 where she had the privilege of working for organisations such as Richmond Fellowship and with an adult reading assistance scheme.

Anna Palmer

Corporate Services Manager

Anna coordinates the provision of corporate services to the Trust, including information technology, communications, support and general administration. She has been with the ASB Community Trust since 2005.  Before joining the Trust, Anna worked  in communications, procurement, facilities management, training and research in the not-for-profit, public and private sectors across a number of industries, both in New Zealand and internationally.

Louisa Rook

Executive Officer

Louisa’s background is in sales and marketing and she has worked as a personal assistant in the UK,  Australia and New Zealand. As well as being a business manager and account manager, Louisa has been a Principal Environmental Education Officer in local government in Australia. Originally from England, Louisa spent 10 years in Australia before moving to New Zealand in 2011.

Alison Taylor

High Engagement Manager

Alison leads the development of the high engagement funding programmes and capacity support programme. She is a Trustee of the Vodafone Foundation New Zealand and Philanthropy New Zealand, and has held a number of senior public health and social sector management and leadership roles in the UK and New Zealand over the last 20 years. After moving to New Zealand in 1996 to take up a role at North Health as a Public Health Manager, she became CEO of the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, then the General Manager of the Ministry of Youth Development before setting up Sinclair Taylor Consulting in 2007, providing advice and support to the philanthropic, health, youth and social sectors.

Susie Weaver

Investments Manager
Susie has been working with the Trust since 2007 on a range of investment related issues. She has completed investment consulting projects for a wide range of institutions with significant investment portfolios complemented by a varied career in the financial markets. Susie has a versatile background in governance roles on large, medium and small superannuation and investment related boards. Currently she is Independent Chair of Shamrock Superannuation Ltd , the Accident Compensation Corporation's staff superannuation fund. From 2001 to 2009 she was a Board Member of the Government Superannuation Authority where she was Chair of the Investment Committee and she has served on a number of NFP Boards. Susie has  B Sc from Bath University and an MBA from Massey University.
 

Staff

Moi Becroft

Team Leader Māori & Pacific Strategy & Programme

Before joining the Trust Moi worked for the Department of Internal Affairs for 11 years, doing community development work and coordinating Auckland COGS committees during that time. With Nga Puhi connections through her mother (a Beazley), she grew up in Kaipara’s Port Albert as a fifth generation Albertland settler on her father’s side. Well networked and known within Auckland’s social service sector, Moi has a profoundly deaf daughter, which also connects her to the Deaf community.

Grants Analyst

Ross is responsible for all issues related to the payment and monitoring of grants once they have received board approval, manages the grants database and is the IT troubleshooter. His background is in administrative and database management, process improvement and project management. Ross has previously worked in central and local government, in the not-for-profit sector and in the private sector. Ross has been with the Trust since 2005.

Kim Collins

Grants Advisor

Kim has a psychology degree from Otago University and was Business Development Manager with United Way. She also worked for Auckland City Council and has experience in the assessment of funding applications, facilitation and training in the community sector, events promotion, administration and project management.

Catherine George

Senior Grants Advisor

Catherine brings more than 15 years' grant-making experience to the Trust. She was previously employed as a funding advisor to the Lottery and Heritage Committee. Catherine trained as a journalist and has extensive community involvement as a volunteer in children’s theatre and in education.

Kate Holgate

Grants Advisor

Kate is an Aucklander who has experience working in the Wellington not-for-profit sector. Her academic background is in sociology, social policy, and development studies.  Following an internship at Caritas Aotearoa she spent three years as Asia Programme Officer at Volunteer Service Abroad where she evaluated volunteer programmes in East Timor, Vietnam and Bhutan.  Kate then headed to the bright lights of London and became involved in grant making at The Health Foundation, which focussed on funding large and small scale projects to improve patient safety, staff leadership, and quality of care. 

Cyril Howard

Māori Capacity Development Senior Advisor

Cyril brings to the Trust more than 15 years experience as a grants assessor with the Local Government and Community Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). He began his career as a Community Worker in Mt Roskill and also spent three years working as a Gaming and Censorship Compliance officer, auditing gaming machine trusts for DIA. Cyril says sport has always been a passion and his varied sporting career has seen him playing as a NZ Touch representative, an Auckland and North Harbour Māori Rugby representative, an Under 14’s NZ Softball representative and as an Auckland and NZ Maori Rugby League representative. Although he has lived in Auckland most of his life, Cyril, of Nga Puhi descent, still calls the Hokianga home.

Craig Innes

Accountant

Craig has worked as an accountant in the marine, travel and apparel industries.  Most of his time has been spent in the marine industry working for a super-yacht management company through two exciting Americas Cup defences. Craig holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Auckland University and is also an ACA member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. He grew up in Kaipara Flats, where his family have lived and farmed in the area for five generations. Craig now resides in Pt Chevalier with his wife and two children.

Annie Johnson

Administration Support Officer

Annie is the Office Administrator for the Maori and Pacific Education Initiative team. She joined the Trust after seven years as a school office manager. With an extensive background in administration and finance, Annie is now enjoying the exciting challenge of helping launch a new project that has the potential to raise educational achievements for Maori and Pasifika communities across the region. Born in Auckland and of Cook Island descent, Annie lives in West Auckland and is the proud mother of three children and nana to two grandchildren.

Russell Joyce

Communications Advisor

Russell is responsible for publicity for the Trust, including the website, TrustLine newsletter, press releases and public events. Previously he was a senior sub-editor on the Salisbury Journal, in England, and a senior sub-editor at the Waikato Times, in Hamilton. He was also a journalist on the Waikato Times, specialising in information technology developments and environmental issues reporting. Russell's interests include cycling and languages.

Laura McPherson

Administration Support Officer

Originally from Yorkshire, in England, Laura lived in Scotland for 10 years, where she studied business studies and tourism management at Stirling University. She finished her studies in 2005 and, after travelling through Peru, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, she began work as a youth worker back in Stirling, Scotland. In 2010 Laura again spent four months in South America, including work as a volunteer in Chile and Ecuador, before arriving in New Zealand in 2011.
 

Genevieve Northey

Grants Assessor

Originally from Warkworth, in Northland, Genevieve studied geography at Otago University, before moving to Perth. While living in Perth, Genevieve pursued post-graduate studies in regional development. She also undertook administration work in the education sector before leaving for eight months travelling through central Asia, including China, Mongolia, Tibet, India and Nepal. Genevieve returned to New Zealand in early 2011.
 

Shalini Pillai

High Engagement Senior Advisor

Shalini  joined the Trust after working as an administrative officer and exchange co-ordinator at Auckland University. Shalini was drawn to grass roots community support work by an interest in energy and rural health, in particular their effects on poverty and development.
Born in Malaysia, she has lived in New Zealand since 1989, but has also been a development worker for the Street Children’s Program in Vietnam, a development instructor in India and underwent development work training at the Institute for International Cooperation and Development, in Michigan, USA.

Kimberly Rees

Grants Advisor

Kimberly has well over 15 years work experience in New Zealand empowering not-for-profit groups and funding for improved community outcomes. With a background in policy analysis, social research and sociology, she has a passion for helping build social cohesion. She joined the Trust in 2008 and before that worked for Waitakere City Council, Department of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health / Health Funding Authority and the University of Auckland. Originally from Boston in the USA, she and her husband sailed their yacht on a world trip. “We fell in love with New Zealand and the world trip ended here,” she says.

Peter Stowers

Pacific Capacity Development Advisor

Peter joined the trust in July 2008 after two and half years with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). At the DIA he was Community Development and Funding Advisor for the Pacific Provider Development Fund, so he has considerable experience in working with Pacific communities. Peter was part of the development and the delivery team of the Pacific Cultural Awareness Training package, an internal compulsory training package for all DIA’s community advisors. Prior to that, he was a Tax Information Officer for Inland Revenue for five and half years and was involved in the Industry Partnership Project. A Samoan-qualified accountant, he migrated to New Zealand in 1997 and aims to become a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Anthony Stretch

Grants Assessor

Anthony brings experience working in the not-for-profit sector to his role at the Trust. He has been a manager at Auckland’s Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre and a development co-ordinator at the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Most recently he has worked at PPNZ Music Licensing to obtain fair compensation for recording artists for their public performance rights. When Anthony is not working at the Trust he enjoys being a singer/songwriter for the band Hawkes & Doves, as well as playing rugby and tennis.  
 

Marilou Sambajon

Grants Coordinator

Marilou is the Grants Coordinator supporting the grants team. Before joining the Trust in January 2007 she was Assistant Manager at Student Job Search Auckland. She holds a degree in commerce and administration from Victoria University  and has also worked as a forensic administrator in the Institute of Environmental Science and Research’s Wellington office.

Matthew Stratton

Investment Administrator

Matt manages the day-to-day relationship with the Trust's external investment managers, custodian and advisor. Before joining the Trust in Jan 2001 he spent five years as an investment analyst at Sovereign Funds Management, responsible for all New Zealand asset classes. Prior to that he was the Operations Manager at Citigroup. Matt began his career with a New Zealand-based funds management company in 1985. He has since worked for fund management companies based in Sydney and London. He holds a Diploma in Business Finance and a New Zealand Stock Exchange Diploma.