We are delighted to welcome five new social innovators to the innovate change whānau. We are welcoming a new new board and a new General Manager.

We are forming a governance team to provide wisdom, advice, connections and oversight of our organisation. Our advisory board will:

• support our staff to bring our mission to life: to use creative and participatory approaches to build social connectedness that enables youth development, positive ageing and whānau well-being

• ensure we operate as a not-for-profit social enterprise, and that any profit that is made is reinvested into achieving our mission

• support our Director to make sure we act as a good and just employer

• support our General Manager and Director to form partnerships that will advance our mission and lead to more thriving communities, families and societies

• provide connections that may grow our work and impact.

As we strive to bring our cultural competency framework (which includes a bi-cultural commitment) and a commitment to young people to life as we form this advisory board, we are:

• bringing on people with great governance experience alongside younger people with less governance experience (with the goal to grow a next generation of leaders)

• seeking to have two of the four positions on our board held by Māori.

We are thrilled to welcome Kate Frykberg, Atawhai Tibble, Apenti Eruera Tamanui-Frasen, and Karan Kalsi to join Simon in making up our new advisory board.

We've also welcomed Aimee Hadrup as our new General Manager. Aimee joined us directly from a year parenting School, and from the Ministry of Health where she has played a senior role in the establishment of Healthy Families NZ. Aimee's government and public health background will be a massive asset to us. She will lead the operational management of our organisation and play a senior role in business development and our social innovation work.

You can find out more about Kate, Atawhai, Apenti, Karan and Aimee here .

June 2017