CLASS OF 2020
MEET OUR ALUMNI
Every year, we welcome a new cohort of participants we endearingly call "CELFies"
CLASS OF 2019
Mike Ryan
Manager, Product, Stakeholders & Industry
ultrafast Fibre
Norm Hill
Kaiarataki; Te Hihiri - Strategic Advisor; Māori - Boffa Miskell
Kylie Leonard
Dairy Women's Network
Amanda Hema
Director - The Stakeholder Agency
Huge Wakelin
Shane Keesom
Technical Support Manager - Gallagher
Lizana Tuake
Co CEO - CORE Education Ltd
Karlene Verryt
Finance & Property Manager
DV Bryant Trust
Nathan Collins
Operations Manager - Habitat for Humanity
Thomas Campbell
CEO New Zealand - Power Farming
Chris Horan
Partner, Agribusiness - BNZ
Pat Peoples
Director - Schick Civil & Construction
Teresa Bidlake
Regional Retail Manager - Hospice Waikato
Rachel Karalus
CEO - K'Aute Pasifica Trust
Andrew Matheson
Director - Matheson Consulting
Tania Witheford
Executive Director - CELF
Ross Lamberton
General Manager - New Zealand
Prolife Foods
Rick Thorpe
Founder - XtremeZeroWaste
CLASS OF 2018
Vicky Costain
GM People and Performance, WEL Networks
Karen Morrison-Hume
Director, Anglican Action Mission Trust
Alison Ferris
Regional group Convenor Representative, Dairy Women's Network
Luke O'Dwyer
Economic Growth and Planning Manager, Hamilton City Council
Ian McAlley
Director, McAlley Consulting Group
Mark Lucas
Programmes and Events Manager NZ Cycling
Ellie Wilkinson
Operations Manager, Hamilton Multi-Cultural Services Trust
Ian Jackson
GM Marketing, Profile Foods
Shannon Te Huia
CEO, Puniu River Care Inc.
Carolyn Jerome
Head of Legal and Compliance
Kingsley Fink
GM, Tristram Marine
Rangimahora Reddy
CEO, Rauawaawa Trust
Andrew McKenzie
Partner, Huntly Joinery
Leah Crawford
Gateway Huntly, Smart Waikato
Tony Douglas
Senior Partner, BNZ
Holly Snape
CEO, Community Waikato
Adam Findlay
Construction Manager, foster Construction
Cheryl Reynolds
CEO, Momentum Waikato
Clare van der Most
GM Organisational Capability & Development , Community Living Trust
Andrew Scothern
Software Development Manager
CLASS OF 2017
David Cowley
Grants Manager, WEL Energy Trust
Sarah Nathan
CEO, Creative Waikato
Lisa Hicks
Regional Coordniator,
Dairy Women's Network
Simone Molenaar
CEO, Aspire Community Support
Dean Martin
Manager, Earthworks Waikato
Brendon McLean
International Business Manager
Mike Rolton
General Manager, St Vincent de Pauls NZ
Andrew Richardson
Chief Technology Officer
Jane Searle
General Manager, Child Matters
Nick Smith
Managing Director, Proform Plastics
Andrew Byod
GM - Central Region, St John New Zealand
Vaas Conradie
Manager - Group Strategic Initiatives
Sean Austin
Commercial Manager, Chiefs Rugby
Lee Patchett
Construction Support Team Leader
Andrea McBeth
District Prosecution Manager, NZ Police
Silvana Erenchun Perez
Manager, Sharma Hamilton
Ethnic Women's Trust
Pat Mellsop
Commercial Manager - 37 South Events | Marketing Manager - Montana Catering
Jason Cowan
Corporate Partner
Melissa King-Howell
Services Manager, Department of Conservation
FOUNDATION PARTNERS
The 2016 Elevate Leadership Programme the first programme made possible by our inaugral sponsoring partners.
Sarah Ulmer, Olympic Cyclist – Te Awa Trust Graeme Geurts, Senior Partner – BNZ
Wayne Naylor – Director of Nursing – Hospice Waikato Sean Lambly, GM Operations and Supply Chain – Prolife Foods
Deanne McManus-Emery – Hamilton City Council Tyler Langford, Dairy Women’s Network
Nic Greene, Manager – Habitat for Humanity (Central North Island) Nathan Twaddle, Athlete Life Advisor – High Performance Sport NZ Raewyn Jones, Trust Manager – WEL Energy Trust.
Susan Trodden, CEO – Orchestras Central
Roni Albert, Co-Founder – Waikato Women’s Refuge Adam Black, Security Administrator – Gallagher
James Murray, Principal – St Joseph’s Fairfield Catholic Primary School Peter Shepherd, CFO – Schick Construction
Graeme Ward, Director Infrastructure & Assets – Wintec Leonard Gardner, Commercial Manager – Foster Construction
Mary Jensen, CEO – Smart Waikato Trust
Julian Williams, CEO Raupatu River Trust
Trisha Benge, Centre Director – McKenzie Centre Peter Pooran, CEO – Stainless Design
WANT TO BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER?
It starts with a conversation
TESTIMONIALS
It is one thing for us to talk about how great our foundation is, and the quality of the courses and programmes. It is quite another when you have real insights and testimonials from our Alumni.
Here, you can scroll through some of the thoughts and feedback from people who have been through, and grown from, our programmes.
Melissa King-Howell
Services Manager. Department of Conservation
“It is clear that the purpose of CELF which is to increase self-awareness, develop personal leadership potential and make great connections with people across the region, was accomplished. I highly recommend it to anyone in a leadership role that has the opportunity.”
Graeme Geurts
Senior Partner - Agribusiness,BNZ
“I can’t speak highly enough of the programme. It’s been great mixing with the other participants learning a great deal from their own experiences and backgrounds. The quality of the programme overall has been exceptional, great speakers and field visits to places you wouldn’t normally get the privilege of seeing.”
Wayne Naylor
Director of Nursing, Hospice Waikato
“While on the Community Leadership Programme I have heard leadership wisdom from the leaders themselves, and been challenged to explore my own personality and leadership style, and how I have come to be the person I am today. But this is only one side of the programme; the field visits to see and hear about leadership in action have just been brilliant, energising and opened my eyes to the world of leadership beyond the state sector and not for profit and how there is so much we share across all work environments.”
Vikki Blundell
ex-CEO, Graeme Dingle Foundation
“After completing the course, I now believe that CELF has the potential to significantly support the economic development of the region. Investing in leadership results in investment in teams and organisations. The course is nothing short of transformational – for the individual CELFies, for their organisations both now and in future and for their more connected networks.”
Sean Austin
Commercial Manager, Chiefs
“The greatest thing that CELF has helped me with is the realisation that my role as a leader is to be a servant first to those I lead. The result has been really positive in terms of results and satisfaction for me and for the members of my team, and the organisation.”
Vaas Conradie
Manager Strategic Group Intiatives, Gallagher
“The most impactful message for me was just how important it is to understand personal and professional purpose in order to be successful. I strongly recommend the CELF Elevate Programme to any Waikato-based company or organisation. My leadership journey will be forever influenced by the experience with CELF, the programme, and my fellow graduates.”