Our People

The founder of SBN, Rachel has played a critical role in advancing sustainable business for almost 20 years. She is a regular presenter, collaborator and driver of action within NZ business. She provides strategic sustainability advice to countless government agencies and businesses, ranging from large corporates to small enterprises. In 2018 she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for years of service to sustainable business.

Alaina Pomeroy manages the Million Metres Streams Project. She works closely with communities, farmers and businesses to resource waterway planting projects. She is inspired by the knowledgeable, passionate people working to take care of Aotearoa’s waterways and improve biodiversity and water quality.

She has 9 years’ experience supporting community-led conservation in the Western United States and New Zealand. Alaina has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Spanish. Originally from Portland, Oregon, today she lives in west Auckland with her daughter and husband. She enjoys gardening and getting out amongst Auckland’s beaches, bush and waterways!

Andy has almost 20 years’ experience in journalism, fundraising and communications. His focus is on value shifting for global well-being. He holds a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and a Permaculture Design Certificate. Andy has been a founding writer for Good magazine and Element magazine with the New Zealand Herald. He has also been a lead writer for Idealog. Andy has worked all over the globe for some of the world’s leading environmental NGOs. Clients have included WWF, Greenpeace and Oxfam.

Annie is a passionate advocate for the circular economy and loves working with businesses to achieve meaningful change in this space. She has a Bachelor of Design, majoring in Fashion, and a wide range of experience within the New Zealand fashion industry, using design led thinking to encourage systemic reform. In her spare time, you’ll find Annie cooking up a feast for family and friends or getting involved in some arts and crafts.

Ayla’s role as Network Coordinator means she is constantly inspired by the amazing work of our Investors for Impact. She is passionate about sustainability and the sense of community and purpose it brings. Ayla has a Bachelor of Business majoring in Sustainable Enterprise, and a Bachelor of Design majoring in Communication. In her spare time Ayla loves to do anything arty and spend time outdoors pottering in the garden.

Becky is part of our Culture and Impact team. She comes from a teaching background with a Bachelors in Education and has more recently begun a Masters of Sustainable Development Goals. She is interested in raising the stature of environmental education in Aotearoa New Zealand and enjoys working with a range of audiences. Becky spends the majority of her time in the moana whether it is diving, surfing or enjoying marine life. 

Fiona is one of NZ’s most experienced communicators of sustainability, with 25 years’ experience. She was speech writer for the UK’s chief sustainability advisor for four years and Oxford University’s first PR advisor on the environment. In NZ she has worked on sustainability communications for organisations of all sizes and at different stages of their sustainability journey since 2000. She has Honours and Masters degrees from the University of Cambridge, specialising in Environment and Development.

Georgia is a part of our Climate and Circular Economy teams. Before joining SBN she practised as a resource management lawyer. She has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in classics from the University of Otago. She has a passion for the environment and is excited to help New Zealand businesses in moving to a regenerative future.

In her spare time Georgia runs a charity that holds events on social and environmental issues and works with youth in governance.

Holly comes to SBN from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment where she describes her role as getting strategic about sustainable, future of work solutions for businesses and communities. She is also Chief of Community and Co-Founder of Collaborate, an award-winning volunteer matching platform, that is revolutionising the speed and ease of doing good.

Holly was a Local Hero Medallist in New Zealander of the Year Awards 2019, finalist for MYOB Woman Entrepreneur of the year and Young Tech High Achiever at the New Zealand Hi-tech Awards.

Isla is part of our Nature team and has a key focus on our Jobs for Nature project. She has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Biology and Environmental Science and has experience in ecological restoration and biodiversity monitoring. Isla is enthusiastic about Aotearoa’s native flora and fauna, and increasing community engagement in restoration programmes. In her spare time, Isla enjoys exploring the Waitākere Ranges and working on various arts and crafts projects.

James leads SBN’s work to accelerate the circular economy in New Zealand. He has extensive commercial experience, having worked in large corporates and owned his own business. His business sustainability journey started many years ago via the coffee industry where he was involved in Fair Trade. 

Jenny has worked as a company accountant in the commercial industry sector for more than 15 years. She has moved to SBN to work alongside good people and change her lifestyle. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, cooking, reading and playing badminton.

Kate leads SBN's work in packaging and is passionate about helping businesses innovate towards a circular economy. Before joining SBN Kate founded a plant-based food business and worked for an environmental NGO. She has a Master’s in Environmental Science from The University of Auckland and completed her Bachelor’s degree at Otago University. In her spare time, you'll find her skiing, surfing or hiking. 

Matthew supports Covid-affected Kiwis to find employment and careers in environmental restoration. He works closely with a number of SBN’s restoration project partners to increase their recruitment and operational capabilities whilst simultaneously building relationships with large funders to upscale operations and increase employment opportunities. Matt has a Bachelors’ degree in Biodiversity Management and spent years working in the field managing revegetation projects. He also spent time working in local government managing conservation programmes, including community education. Matt has a permaculture design certificate and spends his spare time ensuring he remains connected to nature in the garden.

Patricia is our brand and design strategist, in charge of inspiring people to fall in love with our work. She’s an insightful designer specialising in brand strategy, emotional design and storytelling. Her professional experience includes identity systems, visual communications, corporate design and marketing in the creative industries, the NZ government and private sector. Patricia holds a Master of Design (AUT University), a Graduate Diploma of Creative Technologies (Media Design School) and a Bachelor of Graphic Design. Patricia is fascinated by design innovation through sustainable practices.

Piet is a first-generation Kiwi from Dutch parents. He grew up in Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) and is passionate about our wonderful natural environment and nurturing its restoration and protection. He has worked for a variety of councils around Northland and Tāmaki Makaurau in roles focused on resource management, business improvement and leadership. He enjoyed 11 years with Te Papa Atawhai (DoC) including a 20-month secondment with Fonterra. He has also been the Kaitiaki Manager for Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust.

Phil’s career in media and communications has involved him as a writer, photographer and video producer. Over the past decade he has been raising awareness of environmental issues and promoting their solutions at both local and global levels. Phil credits a rural upbringing for his connection to the land and ongoing dedication to sustainability.

Phil leads SBN's climate-related work, including the Climate Action Toolbox. He has worked with many businesses and organisations over the last ten years helping them find ways to deliver business value with a sustainable focus, from developing strategy to crunching the carbon numbers. Carbon and climate action has been a consistent feature of this work, across many areas including energy, transport, and waste. 

Rosa is part of our Nature team, focusing on Million Metres. She supports our community and business partners and runs our social media. She has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Zoology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business, with experience managing various wildlife conservation projects in Zimbabwe. She is passionate about the environment and excited to be involved in the restoration of New Zealand’s waterways. Rosa loves all things outdoors and is an avid surfer, spending most weekends at the beach. 

Theresa is our in-house accountant and has worked for SBN and the not for profit sector for more than 15 years. Her favourite pastimes are gardening, cooking, reading and walking in the Waitakere Ranges.

Thiago has worked in customer-focused business administration roles for many years. For the past eight years he has worked on sustainability projects. This includes developing an award-winning project to implement sustainable actions in the hospitality sector. He has a degree and a post-graduate degree in business administration. For the past four years he worked in a non-profit organisation that helps small business owners improve their management. When not at work he loves gardening, playing soccer and tennis, and any outdoor activity.

Tori is our people person.  She’s passionate about promoting a culture where people are supported, celebrated and innovative ideas are allowed to flourish. Her strong corporate background and sustainable ethos immediately connected her with SBN’s mission to help bring about systems change in business. Previously Tori was at Expedia where she established the NZ office and managed the strategy for the NZ market.

Adam is the Sustainability Manager at Waste Management, New Zealand’s largest waste service provider. He is leading the company’s transition to a low carbon and more sustainable future.  He is a Chartered Environmentalist with an MSc in Environmental Management from Hertfordshire University, in the UK. Adam’s sustainability knowledge has been built across a diverse range of organisations including City of London, PepsiCo and Unitec. He is the Chairperson of IEMA-NZ, the United Kingdom’s sustainability organisation with over 15,000 members.

Barry Coates is founder and CEO of Mindful Money, a social enterprise shifting investment towards ethical investment and sustainability. Barry has been active in sustainability since the Earth Summit in 1992, working in NZ and internationally on fair trade, climate change and poverty. Barry has worked across business, government and charities. Since returning to NZ in 2003, he was head of Oxfam Aotearoa for a decade, initiated a sustainability programme at The University of Auckland and was briefly a Green Party list MP. Barry has a Master’s in Management from Yale University and was awarded Sustainability Champion in the 2016 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards. Barry has many years of governance experience, including on boards of member organisations. He is an enthusiastic supporter of SBN’s work.

Dawn is a highly experienced sustainability business leader. She has a passion for embedding sustainability into core business strategy, building purpose led brands and strong customer and employee value propositions. Over the last 5 years, Dawn has worked with the integrated thinking and reporting (International Integrated Reporting Council) framework as a critical tool for understanding all forms of value creation.

Dawn has worked for 11 years as a sustainability professional working in New Zealand and Denmark, 8 years as Head of Procurement at Westpac Banking Corporation, New Zealand and 10 years in social housing in the UK.

She is the editor and initiator of the Change the World for $15 book in New Zealand.
Dawn holds a Masters of Science in Responsibility and Business Practice from Bath University, UK and is an alumni of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership Executive programme.

Jacqueline is a founding Partner of The Purpose Business,. She is a passionate advocate for values and purpose driven business, and bringing the customer’s voice into an organisation to drive better decisions, performance and results. She has over two decades of experience working with leading New Zealand businesses and brands to improve the quality of their stakeholder engagement and reputation capital. Jacqueline is recognised as a thought leader in sustainable business and brand strategy. In her previous role leading New Zealand’s most respected market insights agency, she created The Colmar Brunton Better Business Report, a seven year longitudinal study into the growth of conscious consumerism in New Zealand.

Natalie is part of the Chief Sustainability Office at Auckland Council. Her role is Sustainability and Resilience Advisor, helping to embed Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan. After studying Geography and Māori Resource Management at Victoria University, she wanted to make some measurable, positive change in the world. Natalie was a member of The Now Crowd Board for over a year and the Bay of Plenty lead. She has experience in the horticulture, energy, and telco industry, having worked across strategy to enact change and assist business to embed sustainability into decision-making.

Sean has recently become the CEO of Smartfoods Ltd, producer of the Vogels and Something to Crow About cereal brands. He was formerly the CEO of Hubbard Foods.   Sean has been a Chartered Accountant, with over 20 years experience predominantly in food & beverage companies. While the latter part of his career has been as a CEO he has a strong accountancy background.  Most notably, his time as CFO of Hubbards gave him the opportunity to be instrumental in driving sustainability and community-based projects for the company.

Sean has been on the Board of SBN for 6 Years, and during that time has chaired the Audit and Risk committee.

Tom is the Commercial Account Manager at Ecotricity. In addition to corporate sales, he is responsible for maintaining Ecotricity’s Toitū carbonzero certification, working with solar partners and promoting distributed renewable generation projects across New Zealand. Tom has a passion for the environment and for addressing climate change. He is motivated to connect with like-minded people and to promote and inspire a sustainable reset of New Zealand’s economy in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Amber is an uri of Ngāruahine and māmā to a very opinionated toddler. In her spare time she is a Lecturer in Management at AUT. Her PhD entitled 'Whenua Tupuna, Whenua Hauora: Ancestral and Relational Landscapes' explores ways to enhance multi-dimensional wellbeing through recognising the landscapes in which business operates. Amber is also a founding member of K.I.N., on the executive committee of the University of Auckland Ngā Taniwha Māori Alumni network, and loves to play indoor netball (socially).