OUR LEADERS
Project Kiwi is well governed by a board of top professionals from a variety of industry sectors. Trustees are recruited for their knowledge and skills that help the Trust constantly improve and raise the bar for kiwi conservation. Grounded in science and our love of the land and its avian inhabitants, we headhunt people we want to have a long-term involvement in our legacy project.
We are hugely respected for our ability to grow a kiwi population as well as our integrity, fieldwork methodology, mentoring and governance.
We’re 100% committed to securing a place for kiwi in the future.
We’re diverse.
We’re dynamic.
We’re professional.
We’re focussed.
PAULA WILLIAMS
Project Kiwi Trust
Project Manager
& Secretary
Paula is our hands on project manager. She brings exemplary knowledge, enthusiasm, experience and a management skillset that creates a positive and productive foundation for the Trust to flourish.
Living in Kuaotunu means she is close at hand to Project Kiwi Trusts operational area, as she spends a good amount of her time in the bush looking after kiwi.
NICK GILLINGHAM
Architectural Designer/ Ecologist
Chairman
& Founding Trustee
Apart from being the best place on earth, with the best people on earth, the Kuaotunu Peninsula has been logged, gummed, mined, farmed, exotic forested, and it still holds some of the highest densities of kiwi in the country.
The kiwi are trying hard to do their part by putting all of their energy into breeding, so how can we not contribute by trying to save their chicks?
DOMINIC WILSON
Governance advisor & Landowner
Founding Trustee
Aiming for kiwi to thrive is a great vision. This kaupapa inspires us to help as best we can. Perhaps kiwi will thrive, as the whole ecosystem thrives?
I bring skills and expertise arising out of a background in law and work in a space where cultures interact, but will always seek to listen and learn. My present role works closely with co-governance entities of mana whenua and the Auckland Council.
SUZANNE TAYLOR
Company Director & Governance Advisor
Founding Trustee
When I attended my first Project Kiwi AGM in 2009, I was captivated by the vision and commitment of Trust members, tackling the vital task of protecting and promoting the growth of our precious Kuaotunu kiwi population.
Since then I've been involved with egg deliveries, chick pick up and release, predator control, assisting with legal and contractual matters, and promoting awareness and support for the Trust. It’s a huge privilege to work with such an energetic, talented and committed group.
JULIE BEAUFILL
Natural Resource Manager
Founding Trustee
I'm lucky to be able to contribute to my community and the planet through the amazing work Project Kiwi does. I feel an enormous responsibility for the hundreds of kiwi and other native wildlife we support, these vulnerable species need us and we need them.
My skills come from a rural background and a career in natural resource management spanning over 24 years.
Kia kaha tatou (together we are strong).
AARON POWER
Business Owner & Special Projects
Executive Trustee
A nature lover since childhood, Aaron always has one foot in the bush and gets great enjoyment from hearing birdsong and seeing native areas flourish.
This love of our flora and fauna has seen Aaron help with conservation and community projects and he is looking forward to now putting this energy into Project Kiwi.
His business and governance skills, as well as practical knowledge from a Building Project Management background, come in handy for Project Kiwi.
REBECCA ALEXANDER
Marketing & Designer
Executive Trustee
The ability to make a difference to the population and future of our national bird is an incredible opportunity, and being able to contribute to the identity of the Trust is an inspiring position to be in.
I enjoy working with some of the most passionate and hugely respected leaders in a project well known for setting benchmarks for kiwi conservation on a national and global scale.
WARWICK WILSON
Farmer & Landowner
Executive Trustee
I offered my land from day one because I believe Kiwi are a tremendously emotive symbol that can help us raise the funds needed to restore their habitat and the ecosystem to its original pristine state.
The kiwi population at Waitaia seems to appreciate the Waitaian mix of pasture, bush, beach and exotic plantings.
AMY HYDE
Chartered Accountant
Treasurer & Accountant
When I moved my Chartered Accounting Practice to Whitianga to live in Opito Bay, Project Kiwi was instantly on my radar as something I wanted to be involved with.
I believe we are caretakers of this planet, and I have a keen desire to save and preserve a unique part of New Zealand’s natural heritage.
Being a part of such a well-run trust with people who have the same passion about where we live is wonderful, and learning about the adorable Coromandel brown kiwi and its habitat is a privilege.
OUR PROJECT MANAGER
Describe your image.
Describe your image.
Describe your image.
She's a certified kiwi handler, stoat killer, telemetry trainer, quad bike rider, writer, thinker, capacity broker, mentor, manager and bush hostess - she'll pack your lunch, change the batteries in your GPS and feed you butterscotch lollies.
She's a lady that likes a good deal of adrenalin in her work life to balance out the pace of motherhood. Throw in a quad and her smile's a mile wide.
Keen to do her best by kiwi and be exemplary in every way, Paula is a life-long learner, committed to being useful, perceptive and enabling of others.
She's been mastering this job since 2008 and adores contributing to kiwi recovery at local, regional and national scale.