Trustees
 | Fran Ricketts, Chair, (Auckland) has a long standing and active interest in New Zealand arts – both visual and performing. She and her husband Geoff are Founding Patrons of the Arts Foundation. They are collectors of modern New Zealand art, and patrons of many Auckland and several New Zealand arts organisations. Through Fran’s enthusiasm and energy, she has introduced the Arts Foundation to a number of high profile Auckland people, keen to offer their support to the arts. |
 | Richard Cathie MNZM (Wellington) chaired the Working Party that set up the Arts Foundation and was Founding Chair on its establishment. Richard has maintained his commitment to the arts on an entirely voluntary basis, in the course of managing a busy legal career. In Wellington, he has served on the Downstage Theatre Trust Board, the Hannah Playhouse Trust and the Chapman Tripp Theatre Critics Awards Trust. Nationally he has spent over 30 years on the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship and now chairs the administrating Trust. He is a former president and committee member of the Association of Community Theatres and was a member of the QEII Arts Council and Board of Creative New Zealand. He is Chair of the NZ Players Theatre Trust. |
 | Sarah Eliott (Wellington) has a BA in Art History and a LLB from Auckland University and practised as a lawyer with experience in media and intellectual property. Since leaving law, Sarah's career has focused on communications and the role of brand, community relations and sponsorship in achieving corporate goals. With a strong interest in the arts, particularly visual art, Sarah collects contemporary New Zealand art, with a focus on photography by New Zealand female photographers. Sarah is also a trustee of the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts and City Gallery Wellington Foundation. |
 | Elizabeth Ellis (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou), (Auckland) was a memeber of the Council of Creative New Zealand (12 years), Chair of Te Waka Toi (9 years) and the Pacific Arts Council (10 years). The Māori Arts Board of the Auckland Gallery Toi o Tamaki and New Zealand representative on the Pacific Arts Council. She led the Aotearoa New Zealand delegations of more than 100 Māori artists to Pacific arts festivals in Samoa, New Caledonia and the Republic of Palau. She is a visual artist with a high profile in Māori arts, the education sector and the community. Elizabeth is a member of the Enterprise Board and Chair of Harewa, The Māori Arts Board of the Auckland Art Gallery, Toi o Tāmaki. |
 | Caroline Hutchison (Queenstown) graduated with a BA majoring in Art History from Canterbury, before attending Auckland's Theatre Corporate Professional Drama School. She established and ran the Watershed Theatre, Auckland, where she produced over 20 professional theatre productions. She is a Trustee for Festival of Colour (Southern Lakes Art Festival); Happiness House (supporting Queenstown families in need); the Todd Trust (principally supporting emerging artists with international study opportunities) and Special Olympics Queenstown Lakes. Caroline lives with her husband, Henry van Asch, and four young children in Queenstown where she continues to produce theatre and film. |
 | Andrew Harmos (Auckland). Andrew together with colleagues established a specialist corporate legal advisory and transactional firm, Harmos, Horton Lusk Limited (HHL) in 2002, having been a partner at Russell McVeagh from 1986. HHL has been involved in a number of New Zealand’s most complex and challenging merger and acquisition transactions and provides high level and strategic board and transactional advice. Andrew is a Director of Westfield New Zealand Group and Elevation Capital Management Limited. He is Chairman of NZX Limited and is an enthusiastic collector of New Zealand art. |
 | David Ross (Auckland) is a practising chartered accountant. He is Chairman and/or Director of a number of companies and has a special interest in hi-tech projects. He has a particular interest in the arts and was a founding shareholder and Chairman of Rialto Cinemas Ltd and the Rialto Channel on Sky TV. He is a partner in the Rialto Film Distribution Venture Syndicate. David is an art collector and is a Trustee of a number of arts-related organisations. He was a board member and is a long-time supporter of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and is on the Funding Board of the Auckland Amenities Board. |
 | Sir Ronald Scott (Upper Hutt) helped drive the initiative to establish the Arts Foundation and has been a Trustee since the Foundation’s inception. Sir Ron has been involved in many key initiatives on the New Zealand sporting scene, including as Chef de Mission of the 1984 New Zealand Olympic team. He has combined his business and team building skills, and involvement in the community to obtain outstanding successes. Sir Ronald has a broad interest in community activities and is a recipient of the 1990 Commemorative Medal, the International Order of Lionism and is a Life Member of the Royal Commonwealth Society. He is Principal of Leisurenz, a strategic planning and project management firm. |
 | Brian Stevenson (Auckland) was instrumental in the establishment of the Arts Foundation while he was Chair of Creative New Zealand. Following senior executive roles in insurance group NZI, Brian founded Spicers a leading financial planning and investment advisory business. Since the sale of this business Brian has been involved as a director in a number of private companies. He is Chairman of the Cancer Society Endowment Trust and is an active Rotarian. He is a Past President of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and a Past Trustee of Chamber Music New Zealand. |
 | Sue Wood (Wellington) comes from a background in journalism, teaching and national politics. She is Managing Director of Sue Wood & Associates, a public relations company she founded. Active in democracy-building programmes over many years, Sue has served as President of the International Institute for Women’s Political Leadership in Washington DC and as a member of international observer delegations. She has extensive experience working on a wide range of projects in the private, public and Māori sectors. She has served on a number of boards and trusts including Te Papa Tongarewa, Downstage Theatre Trust, The Dame Malvina Foundation and Arts Access Aotearoa. She served on the Priory Trust Board of St John for eight years and now serves on the board of Wellington Free Ambulance. |
Governors
 | Dr Lloyd Williams, Chair, (Auckland) is a highly experienced arts manager, an accomplished musician and a passionate supporter of the arts. Lloyd managed the Auckland Philharmonia, and is now is a member of the executive committee of Arts Advocates in Auckland, Director of the MA programme in Arts Administration at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, and a Trustee of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition. Lloyd was awarded his PhD, on the organisational structure of symphony orchestras, in early 2009. He is Chair of the Board SOUNZ (the Centre for New Zealand music). |
 | David Carson-Parker (Wellington) has been involved with the establishment and implementation of numerous arts related projects. David received an Honorary Advanced Diploma in Fine Arts from the Whitecliff School of Art and Design. His interest in craft led him to become President of both the New Zealand Society of Potters and the New Zealand Crafts Council. He was Associate Producer of Utu (landmark New Zealand film) and is past Chairman of the New Zealand Printmakers Council; a Member of Downstage Trust Board; Founding Director and Chairman of the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra and a Trustee of the NZ International Festival of the Arts, New Zealand National Youth Choir and the Adam Foundation along with an involvement with many other arts organisations |
 | Elizabeth Knox ONZM (Wellington) is the author of three short novels (published together as The High Jump) and ten other novels. The Vintner's Luck was the winner of New Zealand's most prestigious literary prize, the Montana Book Awards' Deutz medal for fiction, and the Tasmania Pacific Region Prize. It is published in nine languages, and has also been made into a feature film. Elizabeth's books for young adults, Dreamhunter, won the 2006 Esther Glen Medal while Dreamquake, 2007, was a Michael L Printz Honor book for 2008 and, in the same year, was named an American Library Association best book. Elizabeth was made an Officer of the New Zealand order of Merit in the 2002 New Zealand Queen's Birthday Honours. And in 2009 she won the artist category in the Wellingtonian of the Year Awards. |
 | Jonathan Mane-Wheoki (Auckland/Wellington) has an extensive knowledge of New Zealand art across many genres. Of Ngā-puhi and English descent, Jonathan has held the positions of Dean of Visual and Performing Arts at Canterbury University; Kaitiaki Māori (Honorary Curator of Māori Art) at the Christchurch Art Gallery; and Director of Art and Collection Services at Te Papa Tongarewa. He has been active in developing exhibitions and presenting lectures and seminars on art, museums, heritage, and cultural topics both nationally and internationally and has stood on numerous national and international bodies. Jonathan is currently Professor of Fine Arts and Head of Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland.and is on the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Board of Trustees. |
 | Gaylene Preston ONZM (Wellington) is an award winning independent filmmaker, whose films have a distinctive New Zealand flavour. Many of her feature films are considered to be New Zealand Classics including Mr Wrong, Ruby and Rata, Bread & Roses and War Stories our Mothers Never Told Us, all produced by Preston with Producer, Robin Laing. Gaylene has served on the Executive of the Independent Producers and Directors Guild, the Board of the New Zealand Film Commission, The NZ Film Archive and New Zealand on Air. She also Chaired the NZ Film and Television Awards Society in addition to raising a family and making films. She has been a strong advocate of equality within the industry and has been an inspirational role model for many young women film makers. Her forthcoming feature film, Home by Christmas is scheduled for NZ cinemas in April 2010. Gaylene Preston has been made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit for her services to film making |
 | Deirdre Tarrant MNZM (Wellington) is Company Director and founder of Footnote Dance, a national contemporary dance company. She is a choreographer, teacher, Vocational examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance and has her own studios in Wellington. She has taken many roles working with dance organisations in New Zealand at both local and national level. She was made a Distinguished Alumni of Victoria University in the inaugural awards in 2007. |
 | Marilynn Webb ONZM (Dunedin) is an artist and art educator, who had international stature as a printmaker early in her career. She is of Nga Puhi, English and Welsh descent. Marilynn has had an extensive teaching career and has been involved in over 180 national exhibitions and over 35 curated exhibitions/symposiums. She has received many national and international awards. Marilynn has maintained an art career in tandem with mostly full-time teaching and has taught nearly all the emerging print artists in Otago. She currently holds the position of Emeritus Principal Lecturerer, Otago Polytechnic School of Art. |
 | Dame Gillian Whitehead MNZM, DCNZM (Dunedin) is a prolific composer whose output includes operatic, choral, orchestral, vocal and instrumental chamber and solo pieces, with some works involving taonga puoro. One of five inaugural Arts Foundation Laureates, she was awarded a D.Mus. (honoris causa) by Victoria University of Wellington and the KBB Citation for Services to NZ Music. In 1999 Gillian was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit and in 2009 she became a DCNZM for services to music. Gillian is on the Board of SOUNZ (The Centre for New Zealand Music) and is the Patron of the John and Anna Caselberg Trust. |
Staff
 | Simon Bowden has been Executive Director of the Arts Foundation since 2002. Prior to this, he was the Director of the Wellington Jazz Festival. Simon studied at the Wellington Conservatorium of Music in the late 90s and he is still actively involved in music playing guitar and banjo professionally. His band C.L.Bob, won Jazz album of the year in 2002. Simon has an Advanced Diploma in Jazz Studies from Wellington Polytechnic, a BA in Public Policy from Victoria University and is half way through an MBA at Massey University. Simon, his wife Amanda and son Finn welcomed their twin girls, Molly and Sophie to their family in early December 2009. |
 | Angela Busby has an extensive background in arts administration. She joined the Arts Foundation shortly before the first Laureate Awards in 2000. Previously she has worked in Wellington with the Central Regional Arts Council, the New Zealand Film Archive and Capital Discovery Place (now Capital E). All these organisations were in their pioneering days. She was also involved with Treaty negotiations, recording the early negotiations between Ngai Tahu, Tainui and the Crown. Angela spends her weekends in Martinborough, where she is a visual artist in her own right. |
 | Bryna O'Brien graduated from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours, majoring in Art History, in 2004. After a year in London, Bryna returned to New Zealand and started working at the Arts Foundation in 2006, right in time to work on the first New Generation Awards. Bryna lives in Wellington with her son James. |
