Our People

Sophie Ward, General Manager

Sophie has taken on the position of General Manager from Megan Williams. Sophie’s background is in project management and has over 7 years experience managing large and small projects in a variety of industries including water supply, financial services, entertainment and resource recovery. Sophie has been in Wanaka for 3 years and first became involved with Sustainable Wanaka when she volunteered to run the bag the habit plastic bag reduction campaign in 2006.

Sophie is also employed by Wanaka Wastebusters on a part time basis managing the many improvement and education projects they have on the go. She provides a valuable link between the two organisations whose objectives are closely linked.

Sophie’s role is part time and she can be found in the Sustainable Wanaka office (upstairs at 4 Helwick Street) on Wednesdays and Fridays (afternoon only).

Jessica Eyers, Sustainable Building Consultant

Jessica trained in architecture before obtaining a Masters degree in environmental architecture (MSc: AEES) in the UK. She moved to Wanaka in 2006 to work on NZ government funded research and advocacy projects for Sustainable Wanaka.

In April this year Queenstown Lakes District Council commissioned Jessica through Sustainable Wanaka to prepare sustainable building guidelines for the region.

Jessica has published several articles on sustainable building principles in New Zealand and UK publications and presented several papers at the SB07 conference in Auckland in November 2007.

She is a Green Star assessor for the NZ Green Building Council and is skilled in advanced thermal simulation for buildings.

Her particular area of interest is in passive solar design and solar shading.

Ella Walters, Eco Design Adviser (Wanaka)

Ella Walters is Eco Design Advisor for Wanaka and an environmental resource planner for the Queenstown Lakes District Council. After gaining an undergraduate degree in international business at Otago University Ella went on to study resource and environmental planning at Massey University.

Ella has been involved with non-profit organizations promoting sustainable projects in both New Zealand and the USA.

She is passionate about incorporating sustainable design principles and green living standards into very day life to improve family health, comfort and social wellbeing while protecting the land for future generations.

Her particular area of interest is sustainable building materials.

Christina Newnham, Eco Design Adviser (Queenstown)

Christina is trained as a Chartered Building Surveyor and first became interested in environmentally sustainable building principles in 2002, eventually channelling this into completing a UK Masters Degree in environmental architecture.

Moving to New Zealand in 2006 and after having taken time out to have her baby girl and complete her Thesis, Christina is returning to the field of environmental architecture to focus on projects which aim to reduce the energy use and emissions from buildings in the Queenstown Lakes District.

Christina has published several articles on sustainable building principles, with a focus on addressing the existing building stock.

She has a particular interest in the principles of ecopsychology and reconnecting humans with nature through architecture.

Megan Williams, Sustainable Tourism Consultant

Megan Williams consults to a number of organisations on sustainability issues. She is contracting to Sustainable Wanaka to fulfill the Sustainable Tourism Project role with Lake Wanaka Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism. She has audited over 70 businesses to enhance their performance in environmental and social management on issues that reach beyond the businesses themselves. This work has extended to run courses for the Otago Chamber of Commerce, other regional organisations and i SITE New Zealand on sustainability issues within the network. Her previous role was manager of Sustainable Wanaka from its inception for a period of 3 years. Prior to Wanaka, Megan worked at a national level within the NZ tourism industry. Her qualifications include a BA and a BCom from Otago University and a CELTA teaching certificate from Cambridge University.

Trustees

Denis Bartley

Denis is the Anglican Vicar of the Upper Clutha parish and has lived in Wanaka with his wife Ngaire for the past 3 years. He has a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Liverpool University and is a member of New Zealand Institute of Professional Engineers. For 30 years he worked in the Oil and Petrochemical Industry including working in UK, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and for 16 years with the New Zealand Refining Company at Marsden Point. He was ordained in the Anglican Church in Northland in 1991.

Two of the main threads which are included in the mission of the Anglican church and which are dear to Denis’s heart are :

• To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
• and to seek to transform unjust structures of society.

These two threads have raised the question, which has been at the forefront of Denis’s thinking over the past decade, of exploring the relationship between Physical and Spiritual Energy.

As a Trustee of Sustainable Wanaka his aim is to encourage a respect for the Earth, and its resources within the community of Wanaka which emphasizes a spiritual, social, holistic approach ensuring a strong sustainable future.

Anne Salmond

Anne is principal of Wanaka architecture practice Salmond Architecture, having previously been director of Wellington based practice Architecture Plus.

She is interested in design which is appropriate and sustainable in the unique environment of the Queenstown Lakes District at both the urban scale and the individual building scale. Having designed many residential and commercial buildings – including her own house – in accordance with environmentally sustainable design principles Anne understands the practicalities of translating theory into practice. As a trustee of Sustainable Wanaka she has contributed to the various sustainable building projects undertaken by the charity.

Anne is trained in Post Occupancy Evaluation.

John Beattie

Sue Coutts

Roger North

Ian Ross