Team & board

Team

Based across the motu, our team delivers the many activities that our mission and strategic direction requires.

Dorte Wray

General Manager

Dorte works to keep all the various parts and projects of the organisation going. She has a background in the community sector. She first worked at her local resource recovery centre on Waiheke over a decade ago. She enjoys the variety and commitment of the zero waste world so much, she’s been here ever since.

Waiheke Island

manager@zerowaste.co.nz

Sue Coutts

System Change

Sue champions practical zero waste solutions that work for communities and help embed Te Tiriti. She has 25 years experience in the zero waste sector. She draws on international and local expertise to push for system changes that make it easier for New Zealanders to live zero waste lives.

Wānaka

sue@zerowaste.co.nz

Anja O’Connor

Finance Manager

Anja is an accountant with a passion for economic degrowth and a commitment to supporting social and purpose-driven enterprises. With a background in finance and a love for yoga, Anja brings a unique perspective to her work. She views numbers not just as figures on a spreadsheet, but as stories to drive positive change.

Ōtautahi, Christchurch

finance@zerowaste.co.nz

Andy Kenworthy

Communications & Marketing Lead

Andy has a looong history in professional sustainability, starting out at WWF-United Kingdom two decades ago before his move to Aotearoa. He’s adding his comms co-ordination, research and writing skills into the mix.

Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland

andy@zerowaste.co.nz

Valerie Morse

Communications Officer & Regeneration Not Incineration campaigner

Valerie is the communications officer at the Zero Waste Network, the one who keeps all the channels flowing. Val leads the Regeneration Not Incineration project, and is a tireless advocate for systemic change.

Pōneke, Wellington

kiaora@zerowaste.co.nz

Janina Kay

Accounts Manager

Janina is part of the Zero Waste accounts team, counting the beans, crunching the numbers and making sure to get every bang out of every buck.

Ōtautahi, Christchurch

accounts@zerowaste.co.nz

Isy Harris

Project Manager & Graphic Designer

Isy co-manages ZWA’s capability-building project with Sarah, working to support members in their zero waste mahi. Alongside this, she supports the communications team with graphic design and creative content.

Brazil

isy@zerowaste.co.nz

Sarah Lancaster

Membership Coordinator

Sarah is an energetic and passionate zero waste educator. She has a background in behaviour change at Xtreme Zero Waste in Raglan. She also has a lifetime passion for hosting workshops and engaging communities. She serves our members to ensure we’re connected with each other, learning and growing our impact.

Tauranga

members@zerowaste.co.nz

Ashleigh Adair

Strategic Funding & Partnerships Lead

Ashleigh works to sustain the zero waste movement by finding the value exchanges that make partnerships work. She strives to be a good ancestor, bringing decades of corporate and social impact experience together to stimulate system change throughout Aotearoa that lasts for generations.

Matamata

partnerships@zerowaste.co.nz

Kim Edwards

Board Coordinator

Kim serves as ZWA’s Board Secretary, supporting the organisation’s governance and administration. She has worked in the waste minimisation sector since 2009 and is passionate about caring for Papatūānuku through both her work and personal life.

Tauranga

board@zerowaste.co.nz

Board

Our Board of Trustees representing Zero Waste Aotearoa members from around the country steer the organisation via monthly zoom calls, wise words and lots of getting stuck into our projects. As local leaders and managers of zero waste projects, they have an in-depth knowledge of the sector and the priorities and challenges that face community enterprises working towards zero waste. This helps us focus on the projects and issues that are most important to our members and that are most effectively dealt with at the network level. Up to six (of 10) trustee spots are chosen by the members. These fixed term positions are open to anyone that represents a full member of the network. Terms are two years long.

Karen Driver

Chairperson

Karen’s been on our board since 2009. She represents the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum. She’s on the WasteMINZ Product Stewardship Sector Group. And she’s an advisor to Reuse Aotearoa. She honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is learning te reo Māori.

Marty Hoffart

Trustee

Marty is Director of Tauranga-based waste minimisation consultancy Waste Watchers. He’s co-founder and Chairman of Environmental Education for Resource Sustainability Trust (EERST) with its award-winning Paper4trees programme.

Cliff Colquhoun

Trustee

Cliff is a founding member and CEO of the Community, Business and Environment Centre (CBEC) in Kaitaia.

Michael Tavares

Treasurer

Michael leads Community Engagement at the Waiheke Community Resource Recovery Park. He believes the key to success in zero waste work is people. Behaviour change, legislative framework change and societal change happens when people are informed and they care.

Kelli Pike

Deputy Chair

Tena koe, No Maruawai ahau. Ko Mataura toku awa. Ko Hokonui toku maunga. Kei Kirikiriroa matou e noho ana inaianei. Ko Ngati Apa toku iwi. Ko Barnes raua ko Koroheke toku whanau. Ko Kelli Pike toku ingoa.

Kelli has worked with Go Eco since 2016. She entered the environment sector after making a living out of what others considered excess - buying and selling second-hand goods. It opened her eyes to the issues of waste and the changes needed. She believes real progress for climate justice comes from appropriately resourced communities, and she’ll always be an advocate for them.

Aroha Beckham

Trustee

Ko Kai Tahu rāua ko Ngā Puhi ngā iwi o tōku ūkaipō. Ko Tūwharetoa rāua ko Whanganui ngā iwi ō tōku matua. He tamaiti tēnei o tō tātou Awa Tupua, ko Whanganui tērā.

Aroha has an extremely diverse background. The one commonality in all these leads back to the holistic wellness of individuals, whānau, hapū, iwi, and our environment – Te Tai Ao.

She works from the understanding that the health and well-being of our awa and the health, and well-being of us as a people go hand in hand. They’re a direct reflection of each other. One cannot be without the other.

Daniel Barthow

Trustee

Daniel is a values-based leader with over 20 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector. As CEO of the Beautification Trust since 2020, he focuses on community connection, waste minimisation and sustainability. He brings strong governance expertise, strategic leadership, and a deep commitment to a circular, low-waste future for Aotearoa.

Giulio Laura

Trustee

Giulio is a serial tinkerer and reuse advocate with a background in cultural waste research and investigations into systems of waste, value, repair, and sustainability. As Site Manager at the Tāmaki Zero Waste Hub, he oversees resource recovery operations, council contracts, and community initiatives focused on reuse and repair.

He also serves on the board of APPA, contributing to sector efforts addressing single-use plastics. Across his work, Giulio combines creative thinking with practical leadership to support more sustainable and community-focused systems.