Deborah is our Founder, bringing the food rescue concept to life in Dunedin in 2012 and Auckland in 2015. A qualified lawyer and physiotherapist, Deborah has worked in the public health system, various law firms and is an invited lecturer at the University of Otago as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Otago Legal Issues Centre (UOLIC). Deborah is the co-chair of New Zealand Food Waste Champions 12.3 – a coalition of 12 Champions from New Zealand’s food supply chain who are committed to halving food waste by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3) and being a leading voice in advocacy, strategy and education on food waste issues.
Gavin comes to KiwiHarvest as CEO, having spent his career across the travel, aviation, business and logistics sectors. An ex Officer in the Royal Air Force, he has previously worked with vulnerable communities and individuals in various parts of the world. Gavin has spent many years in Auckland building a sound network of relevant connections that benefit KiwiHarvest. Gavin is well placed to expand the services that are provided by KiwiHarvest to grow the volume of food that is available for distribution throughout New Zealand.
Blandina joins KiwiHarvest from spending the last 10 years in commercial logistics, not-for-profit and Iwi settlements. Blandina spent 20 years as an Army supply chain and logistics officer – so we think we have that professional well covered. Blandina has whakapapa to Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Whātua, although she was raised in Tauranga Moana with Ngāti Ranginui. Blandina has strong motivation to continue to serve the people of Aotearoa through food rescue and providing kai for needy whānau and people.
Belinda is the wizard who works closely with our food donors and recipient agencies to magically move food from where it’s not needed, to where it is! Belinda knows the business in-side-out. Well-versed in corporate, not for profit and social enterprise environments, she brings a wide range of skills and experience to the KiwiHarvest team.
Marti is a seasoned distribution manager who comes from a strong background in FMCG. Mart has a can-do attitude and is not afraid to jump in the forklift and delivery vehicles when the need arises. Marti has a strong passion for getting food on the table for all kiwis and is excited about growing KiwiHarvest capabilities.
Katarina, lovingly known as Kat, wears many hats in KiwiHarvest. Kat is administrator, customer service assistant, coordinates the volunteers and helps with social media and video media. Kat joins us from customer service and sales in retail. Any problem no-one else has solved, we leave it to Kat, especially if it is technology or IT based.
Sabreen is the Financial Services Assistant and comes from a hospitality background. Having worked 10 years in hospitality she decided that she wanted to work for an organisation that had strong vision, passion and drive in the community. She is excited to be on board the KiwiHarvest team and is now putting her skills to good use looking after the Accounting and Finance aspects.
Madi worked in the not-for-profit sector in the UK before joining the team as Communications & Administration Assistant. Madi is leading our efforts in social media marketing and content, for which we feel very grateful. She is passionate about ensuring every Kiwi has access to good nutritious food and sharing stories of the impact our donors and recipient agencies are having on our communities.
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Sam joins us with a strong background in client relationship management and financial management. Sam decided to move away from banking and lending services to pursue work in a sector that has strong social responsibilities and outcomes. He is keen to fully engage in the benefits that food rescue will have for our environment both in protection of our land and our air. We are so pleased to have him onboard with KiwiHarvest.
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Bernie joins our team from a strong history of warehouse and distribution roles. He also has experience in working in the social services sector as a social worker with youth. Bernie also has strong whanau and kaupapa Maori ties which add to the wonderful array of multi-culture within KiwiHarvest. Bernie has a particular passion and compassion towards our food insecurity and food deprivation focus – it is clear to see his absolute dedication to this cause.
Seti knows the food industry inside out from her years of experience working as a chef. She is now putting her experience and skills to good use for KiwiHarvest delivering good produce out to recipient agencies and helping them to work out what to do with it all!
Peter is the newest addition to our Auckland squad of drivers. Every morning he rides his bicycle to work to then spend the day collecting boxes and pallets of good food and delivering it out into to the community. In his free time, Peter loves to explore different golf courses around New Zealand.
Mark joins the team from the aviation industry where he worked in loading and warehousing. Mark has quickly the mastered chilled, frozen and ambient stocks as well as preparing all of the pallets of goodness for our recipients. You will find Mark busy in our Auckland warehouse or out on the road lending a hand to food rescue and deliveries.
Susie spent 8 years in the New Zealand Army as a chef, training in Culinary Arts and Logistics before moving to Dunedin to complete a Bachelor of Applied Management and working in events management. Susie currently volunteers for Land Search and Rescue and Bellyful so has an appreciation of the difference a helping hand can make for people in a time of need.
Rae’s role as volunteer coordinator in Dunedin means she meets every volunteer to provide their orientation and keeps our rosters running smoothly.
Christine helps with day-to-day running of our Dunedin office. Christine ensures our administration processes are as effective as possible.
Allan has been part of the team from the early days. His role as one of our drivers means he visits our many different food donors including the Otago Farmers Market early on Saturdays. Big Al is also our resident handyman.
Dan is one of our superstar drivers. He is kept busy collecting food donations around town from the likes of cafes and supermarkets.
Trixie started as a volunteer in Auckland in 2018 and relocated down south to take over for Susie while she is on maternity leave. She also is our health and safety representative. A recent sociology and health promotion graduate, Trixie has a passion for sustainable food systems and an eye for the big picture.
Jane coordinates our Hawke’s Bay operations in collaboration with local agency, Nourished for Nil. Having lived in Hawke’s Bay most of her life, she is especially happy to be able to give back to her community. When she is not working hard rescuing good food, she puts us all to shame as she is very active and loves going to the gym.
Lucy coordinates the KiwiHarvest operations in Queenstown which were established in partnership with Sustainable Queenstown Charitable Trust. As a certified reduce, reuse, recycle geek, Lucy welcomes every chance to discuss how we can reduce waste in our community!
Janice was the driving force behind bringing KiwiHarvest’s operations over the bridge with the creation of our North Shore Hub, which now has its own van rescuing food and supporting North Shore agencies five days a week. Janice is a long serving dedicated member of the team supported by a well established team of volunteers.
Daniel joins from his former profession as a personal trainer. Daniel started with us as a casual driver but was so good we had to have him on the team – full time. Daniel rescues and delivers food in the North Shore area and increasingly beyond this boundary. Daniel is a key member of our community interface and we are so grateful to have him onboard.
David Kirk is familiar to many Kiwis through his achievements at the top levels of both business and sport. He captained the All Blacks to win the Rugby World Cup in 1987. In business, David is Co-founder and Director of Bailador Technology Investments. He is also the chairman of Kathmandu and Forsyth Barr, as well as director on multiple boards. He was awarded an MBE in 1987 and spent a period as an advisor to the New Zealand Prime Minister.
Suneil Connor is the Group Chief Financial Officer for Service Foods. He is a Chartered Accountant, Committee Member & Treasurer of the Auckland Branch of the Institute of Directors, board member of Auckland Foundation and holds the position of Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for both KiwiHarvest and Auckland Foundation. He was previously the CFO for LINK, and ex KPMG.
Deborah is our Founder, bringing the food rescue concept to life in Dunedin in 2012 and Auckland in 2015. A qualified lawyer and physiotherapist, Deborah has worked in the public health system, various law firms and is an invited lecturer at the University of Otago as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Otago Legal Issues Centre (UOLIC). Deborah is the co-chair of New Zealand Food Waste Champions 12.3 – a coalition of 12 Champions from New Zealand’s food supply chain who are committed to halving food waste by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3) and being a leading voice in advocacy, strategy and education on food waste issues.
Suzanne is a Director of January Group – an executive search and recruitment firm. She was formerly a Partner at PwC leading the Supply Chain & Operations consulting service line assisting clients in the agribusiness, FMCG and 3rd party logistics sectors. Prior to that she worked as a supply chain manager in the automotive and FMCG sectors. Suzanne has a Commerce degree and post graduate qualifications in Supply Chain. She is a member of the University of Auckland Advisory Group for the Centre for Supply Chain Excellence and Women in Supply Chain. Suzanne comes to KiwiHarvest with 25-years experience with not-for-profit organisations as an active member of Downtown Rotary.
James Heath is a student at the University of Otago studying a Masters of Politics with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. He is the former President of the Otago University Students’ Association and also sits on the boards of Student Job Search Aotearoa and the Academic Quality Agency.