Trustees

Mary Bourke

Mary was Mayor of the South Taranaki District for five terms (15 years). She is a member of the National Council of Local Government New Zealand and has held positions at a national level in tourism, e-local government, governance and a “women in local government” advisory group. Locally her current project is overseeing the establishment of the inaugural South Taranaki Medical Trust. She is committed to the principles of economic and community development which she sees as integral to the continued vitality of rural communities.

Archbishop Philip Richardson

Philip is the Archbishop of the Anglican Dioceses in New Zealand and also Bishop of Taranaki. Prior to that he was involved in education at the University of Otago, parish ministry in Auckland, Northland and Otago and community development work in Auckland City. Nationally he carries responsibilities across many organisations within and beyond the Church.  Uniquely he shares leadership of the Anglican Church with Archbishop Brown Turei and Archbishop Winston Halapua in the three Tikanga structure of the Anglican Church in these islands.

Stuart Trundle

Stuart is the chief executive of Venture Taranaki Trust, the regional development agency for Taranaki regarded as one of the premier models for economic development in New Zealand. Prior to jointing the Trust, Stuart was managing director of the largest Chamber Of Commerce in the United Kingdom, chairman of two companies, external examiner of the MBA programme at the university of Wolverhampton business school and course validator for the University of Central England for its Diploma in Management Studies. Stuart’s work in the formation of regional economic development agencies in Poland and Romania were supported by the British Government and European Commission.

Dean Pratt

Dean is a Chartered Accountant and has been a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants for 20+ years. He has been a past Chairman of the Taranaki Branch of NZICA. Dean is a Director of Harris Taylor Limited, a Hawera based accountancy practice. He provides a wide range of advice to the farming and commercial sectors including restructurings and amalgamations, whilst maximising equity growth. Dean has clients throughout NZ and around the world. In a past life he was a Senior Investigating Accountant with the Inland Revenue Department and the Tax Manager of Kiwi Co-operative Dairies Limited.

Te Aroha Hohaia

Te Aroha has a portfolio of interests firmly grounded in local governance and community development work. She holds a number of governance roles with highly public expectations and accountabilities that range from the operational emphasis of a marae committee to the strategic oversight of Taranaki’s wellbeing required for a district health board. The net asset holdings are as small as $63,000 for a social services provider operating in the family violence sector to the ‘considerable’ consolidated asset base of a community trust. Te Aroha is of Taranaki, Te Atiawa, and Ngāruahine descent. Her spare time is spent with her mokopuna or developing her interest in photography. She and her husband, Greg van Paassen, live in Te Hāwera.

Paul Reynolds

Paul is from Ngati Tuwharetoa (Ngati Rongomai), Nga Puhi (Ngati Rehia) and Te Atihaunui-a-Papaarangi. He is currently Kaihautu Awhi Whanau, a social justice educator and trainer for Te Hui Amorangi ki te Upoko o Te Ika, and a social justice co-ordinator for the 3-Tikanga Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

Prior to this, Paul was based in Christchurch working as the General Manager for Te Hui Amorangi o Te Waipounamu. Paul has also worked for over 10 years as a kaupapa Maori researcher, specialising in whanau health and wellbeing. In 2004 he completed his Ph.D. thesis on the impacts of new technologies, such as genetic engineering and biotechnology, on Maori and Indigenous peoples.