BOARD

Lee is a CEO and Chartered Director who has had significant and varied experience in the NZ national business scene, working on large contracts and projects throughout the country specifically within the infrastructure and environmental sectors. Lee is mostly known in the top of the south for his leadership of Nelmac from 2011 until late 2018, his involvement in and as former Chair of the Mahitahi Co-lab, which partnered with the Chamber of Commerce, the NRDA, NMIT and many others to focus collaboration on the region.

During his time as the Chief Executive of Nelmac Ltd, a provider of integrated asset management services for natural and built environments, the company diversified, significantly and increased in revenue from $14 mil per annum and 120 staff to $35+ mil per annum with a team of 300.

Lee is currently a Director of Network Tasman Ltd, Chairs the Health and Safety committee and is a Director of Agfirst Consultants Nelson. Lee also independently consults to several local and national businesses.

Lee is a passionate believer in all organisations having responsibility for their social and environmental impact. He brings strong commercial and social organisational values to RISE and a belief in its transformational potential in the lives of both people who use violence and those who experience it and a healthier society.

Suzanne is an independent industry advisor and consultant in the health sector. For over a decade she provided expert advice to government and the regulatory industry in senior leadership roles. She also owned and managed her own healthcare businesses and ultimately franchised them.

Breaking the cycle of family violence in our community parallels well with a career in health, she says. Over time she has come to understand the psychosocial predictors of ill health and strategies to boost people’s physical and psychological capacity. After a long career in patient care, and with insight of family violence borne both from lived experience and through researching effective family violence support and empowerment strategies, Suzanne felt RISE was the perfect fit for her.

Suzanne has held several previous board positions in the aged-care, disability, finance, and health sectors across Australia. She is Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Nelson Marlborough Branch Committee member of the Institute of Directors, NZ. She is delighted to join the Board as of January 2023.

As a strategic communications and public relations consultant for the last ten years, Angela worked on several high-profile projects and for some of Nelson Tasman’s most recognised organisations.

After emigrating to Nelson from the United States in 2006, Angela was on the communications team at Nelson City Council for eight years, including as Communications Manager for three. As part of that role, she served as the region’s Public Information Manager for Nelson Tasman Civil Defence.

Non-profit work is where Angela’s heart is. She co-founded and was the first employee of a statewide organisation in Colorado, USA. In New Zealand, Angela is a Trustee with the Fifeshire Foundation, was a board member for Nelson Netball Centre, was a member of the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary Trust’s Visitor Experience and Marketing Committee, and was a founding trustee of the Nelson Regional Breast Cancer Trust.

In 2023 Angela retired from private consultancy to enjoy a slower pace of life and increase work in governance roles. She lives in Tasman on an olive grove with her husband Don and their two feline kiddos.

Nicole has more than 15 years of marketing and management experience primarily within the community and not-for-profit sectors.

She is the New Zealand Manager of the Family Business Association, an organisation that supports family businesses with education, networking opportunities, succession planning and family dynamics. Nicole worked with the association in Australia before moving back to New Zealand to help establish it in Aotearoa.

During her 10 years living in Australia, she also worked for the Australian Institute of Company Directors for six years.

Nicole brings to the board a background in governance and experience in strategic planning.

As a young professional she is looking forward to honing her leadership skills and offering insights and perspectives from her generation.

Nicole is excited about working as part of RISE’s governance and is keen to deepen her connections to Nelson and the community here.

“I’m looking forward to understanding the impact RISE has in the community, and shedding a light on the good work that it does.”

She grew up in Nelson, and her family and her husband’s family live here. She lives in Stoke with her husband and step-children.

Sonia is the regional manager for Oranga Tamariki and brings to the RISE board 20 plus years of experience working in the public sector.

Brought up in a council estate in South Wales, Sonia’s parents instilled in her a strong moral compass and showed her how to support and look out for your community. Sonia has worked in service and support roles throughout her career, and she remains passionate about helping and empowering people and communities.

Sonia studied a BA in Education and a BA Community Justice working in Probation and Youth Justice in Wales. Moving to Christchurch in 2008 she again worked in Probation, Youth Justice and Care and Protection teams in leadership roles in community and residential settings. She was seconded to work at the Ministry of Social Development, focusing on cross government collaboration to support better outcomes for tamariki and whānau. More recently she has worked as site manager on the West Coast and Nelson before moving into the role of a regional manager for Oranga Tamariki. She is currently the co-chair of Te Ohu Whāngaiā a Māui – the Upper South Island cross government, iwi and NGO joint response to family violence.

This is Sonia’s first board role. She is looking forward to using her public service experience to empower RISE as it carries out its specialist Family Violence work. She was drawn to working with RISE because of the organisation’s reputation and the important work it does. She supports RISE’s whole whānau approach of working with people who use violence and those who experience it.

She lives in Nelson with her partner and nephew. In her free time, she is studying for an MA in Applied Management.