Arts & Culture
Rachel Lang, Writer
Lang is well known as one of the best and most prolific writers in the New Zealand film and TV industry, having been committed to portraying women’s struggles for more than 20 years. The first Kiwi story editor of Shortland Street, Lang has gone on to co-create many of New Zealand’s most-loved series, including Outrageous Fortune, The Almighty Johnsons, Nothing Trivial, Go Girls and Filthy Rich. Lang strives to create strong, intelligent lead characters and has won three Qantas Awards for scriptwriting for her efforts. Lang recently started her own production company, Filthy Productions.
Arts & Culture
Hannah O’Neill, Ballet dancer
O’Neill began ballet at the age of three, and has since been named Dancer of the Year at the prestigious Benois De La Danse competition, often described as the ‘Oscars of Dance’. At 15, Hannah moved from New Zealand to a dance school in Australia on a scholarship and from there went on to Paris where she worked her way up the hierarchy of the Paris Opera Ballet – the oldest national ballet company in the world. She entered the company in the most junior position, but rapidly rose through the ranks and, only two years later, danced the role of the Swan Princess in Rudolf Nureyev’s production of Swan Lake.
Arts & Culture
Billie Jordan, Choreographer
Jordan has officially established the oldest dance group in the world. The World Record-holding Hip Op-eration Crew – consisting of dancers aged 71 to 96 – has performed at the world hip hop championships in Las Vegas, and in 2015 they won the Masters Division at the Auckland Regional Hip Hop Championships. The documentary Hip-Operation propelled Jordan’s troupe even further to international superstardom. Despite having no experience working with the elderly, or in dance, and zero funding, Jordan proved all you need is perseverance and passion to help others bring about change.
Arts & Culture
Aly Cook, Singer/songwriter
A self-starter with no record company backing her, Cook crowd-funded both of her albums, her latest one spawning four Top 20 singles on the Australian Top 40 Country Tracks Chart. Cook has performed all over the world at various festivals and was awarded New Zealand Female Country Artist of the Year in 2012. A spirited humanitarian, she has assisted with setting up APRA scholarships for young Kiwi writers, has worked with indigenous children in aboriginal communities and written songs for Forever Changed – a global awareness campaign for the fight against cancer.
Arts & Culture
Lisa Taouma, Writer/producer
Taouma connects thousands of Pacific Islanders through the realm of arts and popular culture. She has worked as a features producer for Tagata Pasifika, headed TV2’s award-winning Polyfest series, made documentaries on a range of Polynesian subjects, and her TV production company employs 100% Pacific Island staff. She has produced TV shows Fresh and Game Of Bros, and her short films, Brown Sugar and Talk of the Town, have won accolades on the international film festival circuit. Taouma has also been widely acclaimed for her documentary Women of Power in the Pacific.
Business & Innovation
Victoria Ransom, Entrepreneur
Raised on an asparagus farm near Bulls, Ransom now lives in Silicon Valley where she developed three companies, including Wildfire Interactive – a social marketing company that she reportedly sold to Google in 2012 for $450 million. In the same year, Ransom was listed as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs, and one of their 40 under 40. Ransom, who graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA, stayed on with Google after the sale, but left last year. Ransom and her business partner husband are now taking time off to travel with their daughter.
Business & Innovation
Linda Jenkinson, Entrepreneur
Palmerston North-born Jenkinson is a serial entrepreneur dedicated to encouraging others to fulfil their potential. Before leaving New Zealand for the US 25 years ago, Jenkinson turned a small stake in a Wellington courier company into the international delivery firm Dispatch Management Services (DMS), now reportedly worth $250 million. In 2000, she bought LesConcierges Inc – a global loyalty concierge which provides services to financial institutions and Fortune 100 corporations. Jenkinson now uses her business knowledge to mentor women at business schools across the US.
Business & Innovation
Nicolette Connors, Principal, Propellor Property Investments
Known as New Zealand’s Queen of Property, Connors has endured bankruptcy, domestic violence and depression, but, after pulling herself up by her bootstraps, she hopes to become an inspiration to other women suffering hardships. Following a successful career in publishing, the founder of Propellor Property now provides financial support to charity Ronald McDonald House, has aligned herself with Habitat for Humanity and recently published her book, A Fabulous Failure, to encourage others to learn from their failures rather than be defined by them.
Business & Innovation
Jackie Smith, Founder, Caci Clinic
In 1994, Smith founded the Caci Clinic in Auckland with her husband David as a way of empowering women and building their confidence through a new niche business – a cross between beauty therapy and cosmetic surgery. In the process, Smith revolutionised New Zealand’s beauty industry. With 35 clinics nationwide, treating a range of concerns including wrinkles, pigmentation, unwanted hair and body shaping, the Caci Clinic is now New Zealand’s largest beauty chain, employing more than 150 women. They are also the biggest providers of Botox and Juvederm in the Southern Hemisphere.
Business & Innovation
Rachael D’Aguiar, Director, Chase Life Extension Foundation
In the past three years, D’Aguiar has procured the rights to active ingredient TAM-818, and with it created a serum that is revolutionising the face of anti-ageing. TAM-818 is a telomerase inducer; ie, it re-lengthens telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that are linked to ageing and disease. As founder of the Chase Life Extension Foundation (CLEF), D’Aguiar aims to provide a range of products and therapeutics that support a long, healthy life. CLEF has secured distribution in more than eight countries.
Community
Julie Woods, Motivational speaker
As an inspirational coach and Cooking without Looking founder, Woods has become a champion for the blind community. Eighteen months after the birth of her second son, Woods was declared legally blind, but instead of dwelling on the challenges, Woods decided to get on with life. “I could either be pitied or admired and the first simply wasn’t an option,” she says. Since her diagnosis, she set out to visit 50 countries by the time she is 50, has refereed a game of nude touch rugby and she now co-facilitates the Blind Foundation Seed programme, offering leadership training for the blind.
Community
Marianne Elliot, National director, ActionStation
From working in Timor-Leste and the Gaza strip, to writing a book, Zen Under Fire, on her time working for the United Nations in Afghanistan, where she focused on violence against women, this self-described ‘zen peacekeeper’ has proved a powerful force for social justice and democracy. Today, the former human rights lawyer is the national director of ActionStation, an independent organisation that holds those in power to account on a variety of social justice topics, including poverty, sexual abuse, and New Zealand troops in Iraq.
Community
Dale Nirvani Pfeifer, Founder, Good World
Nirvani Pfeifer is empowering people to become activists, rather than slacktivists. Her company, Good World, works by giving social media users the ability to give money just by commenting ‘#donate’ and a dollar amount on a charity’s Facebook page or by tweeting ‘#donate’ at the charity’s Twitter handle, allowing people to make donations the moment they’re inspired. Since launching Good World in 2014, more than 1600 non-profit partners have signed on, including Save The Children, Oxfam, and Greenpeace. In its first year, Good World saw more than $1.5 million in donations.
Community
Lisa King, Founder, Eat My Lunch
When King discovered 29% of kids in New Zealand live in poverty, she decided to stop marketing junk food and start driving social change. Since creating Eat My Lunch, along with her partner Iaan Buchanan, King has delivered more than 325,000 lunches, giving 180,000 lunches to hungry kids in 32 low decile schools in Auckland and Hamilton. Their ‘buy one, give one’ model has had a significant impact on hungry kids’ lives, as well as the parents who struggle to make ends meet. King has also organised a fundraising event for Auckland City Mission, and sits on a Plunket committee.
Community
Claire Reilly, Doctor & Fundraising Manager
Reilly was given the devastating diagnosis of motor neurone disease (MND) at just 32 years old. Ten years on, Reilly has been fuelled by a dogged determination to raise awareness of the disease and has managed to build a sense of community for people with MND and their families, all while encouraging New Zealand-based research into finding treatments and a cure. Despite being severely physically limited, Reilly works hard to inspire others with MND by organising initiatives including six nationwide Walks 2 D’Feet MND in 2015 and 12 this year.
Education
Ann Dunphy, Chair, NZ Youth Mentoring Network
The former high school teacher and Auckland University lecturer has worked hard to ensure quality education for students across all deciles. Over 13 years as a high school principal, she grew convinced of the importance of community partnerships, especially in mentoring, to enhance young Kiwis’ life-chances. In 2000 the mum-of-two co-founded what is now The Youth Mentoring Network, which allows any youth seeking a mentor, and any adult who wants to mentor, to find the right programme. She has also created a guide for those wanting to start a mentoring scheme, plus training for mentors.
Education
Chloe Wright, Wright Family Foundation
Wright set up charitable trust The Wright Family Foundation to provide financial and emotional support to key education projects. Among the schemes it supports are Kids’ Lit Quiz, an annual literature quiz for 10-13-year-olds that aims to encourage reading from an early age; and the House of Science, an education hub committed to bringing science education to the community. With husband Wayne, Wright set up BestStart, NZ’s largest early childcare education provider, run on a not-for-profit basis. Surpluses from fees are channelled back into the foundation, and hence to other projects.
Education
Anne Gaze, Founder and CEO, Campus Link
Umbrella charity Campus Link connects students facing exams to top university tutors who have excelled in those subjects. Its goal is to give all students the chance to shine, no matter what decile. Gaze set up Campus Link after sending her own son, who was struggling at school, to an intensive overseas tutoring scheme – and she wanted all Kiwi students to enjoy a similar opportunity. One of the many initiatives she drives is Go-Teach/Teacher-support, where top undergraduates take on full-time teaching roles in subjects battling to attract teachers. The scheme has received superb feedback.
Education
Lorraine Mentz, CEO Springboard Trust
Mentz is the heart and soul of the Springboard Trust, a not-for-profit that has transformed 120 schools, many in low income areas. The belief at the heart of the Trust is that without high-quality strategic leadership, it’s unlikely schools can close the achievement gaps that keep students from reaching their potential. Through an innovative social partnership between business and education, principals receive voluntary coaching from proven private and public sector leaders. From a single programme for six principals in 2007, the Trust now offers seven schemes for
42 principals.
Education
Kendall Flutey, CEO, Banquer
At just 25, Flutey is helping to shape the future of young Kiwis through a revolutionary online tool. She left a graduate accountant role at KPMG after a year to create Banqer, a simulated banking software for classrooms that offers a hands-on environment for kids to learn about money; to date it has helped more than 11,000 students become financially literate. Driven by a passion to bring about social change, and constantly innovating, Flutey says, “Our mission, if achieved, would result in a generation of Kiwis prepared for the financial world ahead.”
Health & Science
Karen Willcox, Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics
As a highly respected player in a male-dominated field, Willcox is an exceptional female role model. Currently based in the Aerospace Computational Design Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, some of her computational methods have been incorporated in aircraft design tools at Boeing and Aurora Flight Sciences. Passionate about her career, she visits schools to inspire girls to pursue maths and science. Willcox has always dreamed of being NZ’s first astronaut; she was a finalist in 2009 and 2013 in the NASA Astronaut Selection but just missed out on making the final eight.
Health & Science
Dr Hanifa Koya, Gynaecologist
Dr Koya, who adopts a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to her practice, has always been unafraid to speak out to protect her own patients and the wider community. With 37 years in practice, the Wellington doctor has been a vocal opponent of spray gel (used to treat endometriosis) and of the use of surgical mesh (to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence). She believes the mesh was put on the market without comprehensive testing. Dr Koya has removed more than 50 surgical mesh implants and has called for a registry of problems arising from mesh implants, similar to that for hip replacements.
Health & Science
Merryn Gott, Professor of Health Sciences, Auckland University
Not only has Gott’s work had a major impact on palliative care, she also supports and trains health professionals working in the field. This mum of nine-year-old twins is committed to reducing the suffering of the elderly at the end of life and her research has led to real change. For example, while home was often thought by clinicians to be the preferred place of death, her research has shown this isn’t so for those who want access to symptom relief and don’t wish to ‘burden’ family. These findings made her paper one of the top five cited papers ever for world-leading journal Palliative Medicine.
Health & Science
Roslyn Kemp, Immunologist
Kemp is at the forefront of research which could lead to immune-based treatments against cancer. Her recent work shows that a new vaccine formulation generates a particular type of immune response, which is predicted to protect against melanoma. In 2015 she won the prestigious Association for Women in the Sciences Miriam Dell Award for her work inspiring female immunologists across Australasia. She has mentored Māori students from first year through postgraduate study and teaches about the importance of health disparities between Māori and non-Māori, as well as how to align with Māori values.
Health & Science
Dr Hinemoa Elder, Professorial fellow, Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi
Dr Elder, of Ngāti Kuri, Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngāpuhi Hinemoa descent, is a brilliant role model, especially for Māori women, thanks to her contribution to the field of child and adolescent psychiatry and her pioneering work in traumatic brain injury. Currently employed in indigenous mental health, recent research projects include exploring the health needs of remote rural communities. Despite a series of tragedies in her private life, her dedication to Māori health has never faltered. Dr Elder mentors Māori students and has set up a research centre in her tribal territory.
Sports
Annabel Anderson, Elite athlete
A leader and innovator in stand up paddle boarding (SUP), Anderson has led the World SUP Rankings consecutively since their inception. Much of her success can be attributed to her involvement in design of equipment, a lot of which goes into production for global distribution to raise the profile of SUP. Her achievements include being 4 x consecutive winner of the Carolina Cup, 2 x consecutive winner of The Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge and 6 x consecutive NZ National Champion. She was also overall winner of the 2013 Stand Up World Series in France – the only female to ever win a men’s world cup.
Sports
Lauren Boyle, Swimmer
In 2015 Boyle made history when she won two silver medals at the prestigious FINA World Championships in Russia. She has more world championship medals than any other Kiwi in the sport’s history. In the 2012 Olympics she placed 4th in the 800m freestyle in a time three seconds faster than she’d ever swum. Rather than be devastated at missing out, she saw this as proof she had what it takes to get on the podium. A year later she did just that at the FINA World Champs. Boyle’s rise on the world stage has come later in her career than it would for most elite swimmers, but her focus and drive are second to none.
Sports
Christy Prior, Snowboarder
The Olympian and World Cup Slopestyle champ has won multiple international awards, and was recently labelled “the most talented and ambitious female snowboarder out there right now” by the World Snowboard Tour. Self-taught and only taking up the sport at 17, Prior first made a name in Rail Jam competitions in Queenstown and Wanaka – a freestyle event where males tend to dominate – while working three jobs in between competitions. She also participates in the High Cascade Snowboard Camps, which she sees as a valuable chance to give back to her fans.
Sports
Trina Tamati, General manager, NRL Auckland Nines
Since returning to New Zealand in 2010 after 14 years overseas, Tamati has made a huge contribution to our sporting landscape. Taking on the launch of the inaugural two-day rugby league Nines in 2013, and following its success that year, she was made Tournament CEO. The self-taught single mum, who guides and mentors over 300 staff, has paved the way for Māori and women aspiring to executive sports roles, where they are currently heavily under-represented. In 2014 she was named Māori Sports Administrator of the Year, and in 2015, NZAEP Event Professional of the Year.
Sports
Kayla Whitelock, Captain, Black Sticks
After a pause from international hockey with the birth of daughter Addison last year, Whitelock spent many hours in the gym and on the field getting her fitness back. Amazingly she was able, just months later, to return to the Black Sticks and chase her dream of Olympic gold. She has 247 international test caps and captained the Black Sticks to their most successful Olympic campaign in 2012 (they came fourth) and at this year’s Games, where they again secured fourth place. As an ambassador for the NZ Olympic Committee, she visits schools nationwide to inspire young Kiwis to follow their dreams.
