Meet our team
The National Office Team is based in Wellington. The team's operations are supported by the Board together with Award Unit Leaders (mostly volunteers) throughout the country.
| Chief Executive Officer | Emma Brown | emma@dofehillary.org.nz |
| Finance Manager | Annelize van Zyl | finance@dofehillary.org.nz |
| Operations Manager | Kylie Thorpe | kylie@dofehillary.org.nz |
| Senior Operations Upper North | Jessica Zanetti | jessica@dofehillary.org.nz |
|
Operations Central & Lower North |
Deb Remacha | deb@dofehillary.org.nz |
| Operations South Island | Nina Simpson | nina@dofehillary.org.nz |
| Communications Advisor | communications@dofehillary.org.nz | |
| Office Administrator | Tasha Davis-Coupe | tasha@dofehillary.org.nz |
| Development Manager |
Leonie King |
leonie@dofehillary.org.nz |
Governing the Award
Ken Hames
Board ChairKen Hames has a wide range of governance experience including in the electricity, fibre communications, contracting, farm environment, genetics, and technology sectors. He is a Chartered member of the NZ institute of Directors and is currently Chair of Extension 350 and a Director of LIC Ltd.
In his spare time, he is a keen tramper, assists the local school with their Duke of Edinburgh Award program and tries to spend a few days a week working on their family Northland Dairy and Beef farms.
With both of Ken’s children having achieved their Gold Awards, he brings to the table a grassroots passion for and knowledge of the Award, and extensive governance experience combined with commercial acumen and delivering strategy.
Anne Lofts
Board MemberJoining the Board in 2021, Anne Lofts saw an opportunity to actively support the Award as it delivers its purpose to empower young people in Aotearoa. With a background in professional services and having run her own consultancy business, Anne brings to the Board expertise in strategy development, sales culture change, marketing, and a pragmatic approach to problem solving.
Ensuring the Award continues to evolve, be relevant for the future and accessible to all young people, is something Anne actively champions alongside her fellow Trustees.
For Anne, the Award has exciting times ahead, especially as we progress our Te Ao Māori journey, Alumni programme, and 60th Anniversary - a perfect opportunity to profile and celebrate our past participants and Award Leaders. As a past Gold Award holder, she knows first-hand how the Award can make a difference, helping unlock potential and meaningfully contribute to our communities.
Cheryl Christini
Board MemberCheryl is a tertiary education professional, combining working as a consultant specialising in quality assurance and learning design with a part time leadership role for a large private training establishment. Previously Cheryl held management and leadership roles in marketing and training in the telecommunications sector and worked in England for 10 years. Her governance experience is on Boards in the education and recreation/sport sectors.
Originally from the Waikato, and residing there again now, Cheryl is a mum to two teenage boys. She is passionate about young people and her aims for the Award include promoting its role in educational outcomes that look beyond academic achievement to the development of young people.
Cheryl has an honours degree in Management Studies from the University of Waikato and is currently studying towards a Master of Education (Educational Leadership). Cheryl joined the Board in 2023.
Sharlene McCormick
Board MemberTēnā koutou katoa
Ko wai au?
Ko Pukekaroro te maunga
Ko Kaipara te moana
Ko Kaiwaka te Kura
Ko Sharlene McCormick tōku ingoa
Sharlene McCormick is currently the tumuaki of Kaiwaka School, with over 20 years experience in the education sector, including a Masters degree with honors, and leading diverse teams and projects, with innovative strategic planning. Further, Sharlene is active as a regular on the DoE tramping teams, empowering taitamariki to reach their goals in the beautiful Aotearoa New Zealand forests and maunga for their gold, silver and bronze awards.
Active in her kaupapa to empower our community and tamariki of Aotearoa to thrive and dream through long term sustainable solutions to reach their potential, Sharlene joins the Duke of Edinburgh Board to actively support and facilitate the work being done in this space, ensuring inclusion and innovation is part of the long term sustainable development for DoE, with the potential to continue to grow and meet the needs of the participants. With the innovative and inclusive leadership skills Sharlene has developed in her roles, she works collaboratively with Board members and staff to successfully govern and meet the goals, initiatives, and objectives the Duke of Edinburgh sets out.
Emily Fabling
Board MemberEmily is a career public servant based in Wellington and is currently Deputy Chief Executive of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority | Mana Tohu Mātauranga o Aotearoa.
Emily recently served as Deputy Secretary of Policy at Manatū Taonga | Ministry for Culture & Heritage and Deputy Secretary of Strategy, Planning and Governance at the Ministry of Education. Previously, Emily held leadership and management roles at Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and holds Honours Degrees in International Relations, Modern Languages, Political Science and Government.
Alongside good strategy, planning and governance, Emily's priority for the board to date has been working towards a greater diversity of participation by rangatahi/young people and Award Leaders – especially Māori, Pacific and other ethnicities, disabled people, and people from lower socio-economic areas. Emily drafted the board’s first diversity statement.
Dionne Thomas
Board MemberDionne is the Tumuaki of Karamū High School, the only co-educational Secondary School in Hastings, where she has the pleasure of leading over 900 ākonga and 90 staff. Having trained as a Physical Education teacher at Otago University in the late 1990’s Dionne has immersed herself in the leadership of education for the past 25 years, providing not only young people, but many adults, the opportunity to grow and develop into successful members of society. Most of her experiences outside of education have been in the governance of sport and recreation where she lives by the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”. She has served on the Boards of Clifton Reserve Society, Hawkes Bay Netball and Sport Hawkes Bay and looks forward to continuing to make the Award Scheme accessible and relevant for future rangitahi.
As a mum to three boys and a hockey mad husband, she has spent many hours sideline, and continues to coach and umpire Netball herself.
Gabriel Tupou
Board MemberCr Gabriel Tupou brings a holistic perspective to board leadership, underscored by his mission of "Driving positive outcomes for communities." Currently acting as Tumu Whakarae (Co-CEO) for Sisters of Compassion Group and Kaihautū Māori (Senior Advisor), Gabriel's focus is squarely on advancing the welfare of communities through compassionate service and strategic guidance.
In the realm of public service, Cr Tupou has been a City-Wide Councillor for the Hutt City Council for over a year, having previously served as an Elected Representative on the Wainuiomata Community Board for six years. His extensive governance experience also includes a nearly three-year tenure as a Company Director at Our Lady’s Home of Compassion Island Bay Limited. Supplementing these roles is experience providing MP Support for Parliamentary Services and earlier career experiences in customer service and legal assistance.
Emma Millar
Pou RangatahiEmma is from Hawke’s Bay and has whakapapa to Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne and Rongomaiwahine. She is the Benefits Analyst in the Enterprise Portfolio Management Office at Ara Poutama Aotearoa – Department of Corrections. Her experience spans both public and private sectors, including roles at EY and EY Tahi as a business consultant, and at Te Puni Kōkiri in Iwi-Crown relations. She has worked across strategy development, organisational design, service design, and applying a kaupapa Māori approach throughout her engagements.
Emma holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, majoring in Management and Māori Resource Management. She is passionate about engaging in Te Ao Māori and supporting outcomes that contribute to a thriving future for Aotearoa. Emma enjoys staying active through regional walks, touch rugby, netball, and dance.
As a proud Gold Award holder, Emma brings a rangatahi perspective to the Board and is committed to supporting inclusive, future-focused growth of the Award. Her commitment to youth advocacy and education has been evident in both professional initiatives and leadership roles in university executive societies. She brings a unique blend of lived experience, professional insight, and cultural grounding to her role on the Board.
Emma sees this role as an opportunity to continue her service and give back to a programme that gave so much to her and her peers.
As she reflects on her journey, she carries with her the whakataukī:
“Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei.”
Seek the treasure you value most dearly; if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.
Piper Pengelly
Pou RangatahiPiper is from Ōtautahi Christchurch and brings a background in youth engagement, environmental stewardship, and community involvement. Through the Award, she had her first introduction to New Zealand backcountry - an experience that continues to shape her life and has led her to her current endeavour of walking Te Araroa, the 3000km trail stretching the length of Aotearoa. Piper sees the Award as a powerful pathway for young people to access the outdoors, build confidence, and find pride in our natural heritage.
Piper has come from a background of youth engagement, working with various youth advocacy and engagement groups and initiatives in Canterbury and the South Island. She has most recently been on the Ministry of Youth Development's Youth Advisory Group, helping lead the development and implementation of the Government's Youth Plan: Voice, Leadership, Action which aims to embed youth voice in all levels of public decision-making.
Piper has recently completed a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury. Piper will start as an Environmental and Planning Law Clerk in early 2026.
Piper hopes to see the Award become more accessible to all young people and recognised as a space where rangatahi are valued contributors and leaders of their communities - particularly at a time when youth involvement in service spaces is in crisis.