YES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- National I.Lead Coordinator
Aaron is responsible for co-ordinating all things I.Lead. He is passionate about empowering young people to achieve their full potential and is a strong advocate
Abdulla has been with the team for a year and is one of the Youth Facilitators, organising I.Drive and is one of our Duke Of Edinburgh's Award Leaders.
Job Titles:
- Social Media & Communications Facilitator
Amy is 24 years old. She is studying a Bachelor of Communication, and she has been involved in the disability activism space since she was
Brendon is a past President of Rotary, a long term patron of the Business Excellence Network and currently sits on the Board for another community Youth initiative.
Brendon's work experience includes 20 years in the building industry and he currently runs a property development company delivering new homes in Auckland.
Job Titles:
- Ambassador
- Ambassador Next
Cam Calkoen is our Ambassador for YES, and has lived disability experience through cerebral palsy. He is an inspirational public speaker and has been a
Job Titles:
- Member of the North Harbour Community since Moving to the North Shore
Catherine has been an active member of the North Harbour Community since moving to the North Shore in 1995. She is currently a Relationship Manager for the North Harbour Club and Charitable Trust, having previously held the position of General Manager. Catherine is the Chair of the AIMES Junior Excellence Awards Judging Panel. Along with this NFP experience, Catherine has considerable experience in the education sector having worked in HR, Finance and Business Management & Relationship roles within the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors as well as assisting with a number of Committees at Massey University. Catherine has also been involved in mentoring students in the Young Enterprise Scheme and is passionate about helping develop our future leaders.
Elissa brings extensive communications experience across corporate, government and not-for-profit environments. She is currently an External Communications Manager at IAG, New Zealand's largest general insurer. She has held senior communications roles at Vector, Vodafone New Zealand and the Halberg Foundation. Her experience ranges from corporate, internal and strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, issues and crisis management, brand management, digital and social media. Elissa holds deep respect for the contributions disabled people make in our society and is passionate about removing barriers to participation to create space for everyone to fulfill their potential.
Jason is our Board Chair and has a strong background in technology working for various organisations in New Zealand and overseas. Jason currently works as the General Manager of Innovation and Strategy for a non-profit public health organisation based in West Auckland as well as running his own web design and development company. Jason was raised on the North Shore where he currently resides with his wife and two daughters. Jason is passionate about the role technology can play in reducing inequalities.
Joanne has an extensive career in corporate communications and brand across a range of industries in New Zealand and the UK. Joanne is currently Chief Communications & Brand Officer for the Southern Cross group of health and wellbeing businesses, with responsibility for media relations, government and stakeholder relations, as well as brand and internal communications. Joanne is a busy mum to three young children and lives on a 60-acre lifestyle block raising beef cows and alpacas.
Born with a hearing loss, Joanne is driven to support and mentor others, especially young people, to reach their goals.
Job Titles:
- Accountant
- Finance Manager
Karen is the finance Manager/Accountant of YES and is a qualified accountant. She is responsible for everything related to the finances of YES including the accounts, payments, and payroll. She has life experience with a disability, as she is deaf with cochlear implants, and just loves meeting and working with young people with disabilities.
Her varied career working in large and small organisations combined with a farm life upbringing has given her a wealth of experience and she is very down-to-earth and approachable.
Job Titles:
- Lead Youth Engagement Advisor
Kathleen is our I.Lead Youth Engagement Advisor and is the representative of Kids with Arthritis NZ, and has lived experience with Rheumatoid Arthritis. She is
Job Titles:
- Web Management Facilitator
He is from South Korea, but he lives in New Zealand at the moment. He has become a Christian since 2011. He has been a
I will bring finance, governance, and many years of local government experience to the board. I'm currently an Auckland District Licensing Committee Chair and Board
Lucy comes from Greece and completed her a Master's Degree in Diplomacy in the UK. She worked at the 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2001 looking after the National Paralympic Committees. She moved to New Zealand in 2004 and since then has been involved in fundraising roles. Now she runs her own business on delivering fundraising solutions that have an impact on our community.
Lucy is passionate about her family, the Paralympic movement, music, cooking Greek food and travelling. She has governance experience with Big Hearts, Parafed Waikato, Te Waotu School Board of Trustees and as President of the Greek Community of Auckland for 5 years. In February 2020 she joined the YES Disability Resource Centre Services Trust as a Board Member and the Rotary Club of East Coast Bays as a Member. She is a current member of Institute of Directors and Women on Boards.
Maxwell is YES's Marketing Coordinator, creating and publishing our bi-monthly in-house newsletter for the past 8 years. He brings some very impressive qualifications, with a BA
Sonia Thursby has worked in the Youth & Disability sector in New Zealand for over 25 years, with extensive prior experience in the UK. As a trusted ally to the sector, she has been able to put the voice of youth with disabilities at the forefront of every board she has been a part of, including PHO, Health Boards and Council Advisory Groups.
Thanks to these vast connections within the sector, and across the public and government sectors, she has been able to provide a safe space for youth with disabilities to come together and co-create opportunities for themselves and their peers.
Job Titles:
- Office & Projects Administration Coordinator
- Office & Projects Administration Coordinator Next
She joined YES Disability recently and is really excited to become a part of our team. Sonia told her that no day would be the