Meet our Trustees
The Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees who are
Team Members
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Janise H Eketone
Chair
Janise H Eketone
Chair
Janise was appointed Chair (effective November 2024) and has been a Trustee since June 2018.
Over the last six years Janise Eketone has held multiple roles within Te Whatu Ora Waikato – Waikato District Health Board. These include Director of Maaori Health Strategy, General Manager of Maaori Health and Manager of Manu Kahaki – Covid Directorate. Janise was previously the inaugural Chief Executive Officer for the Maniapoto Maaori Trust Board for ten years.
Under her leadership, the Maniapoto Maaori Trust Board achieved the Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipaa River) settlement and the implementation of co-governance and co-management arrangements with Crown agencies and local governance. This settlement continues to enable Maniapoto to exercise their role as kaitiaki across the Waipaa River catchment and wider environs. -
Chris Flatt
Deputy Chair
Chris Flatt
Deputy Chair
Chris Flatt was appointed as a Trustee in June 2018 and is the new Deputy Chair (effective November 2024). He is excited to have the opportunity to serve the wider Waikato community through this work.
He has been the National Secretary of the NZ Dairy Workers Union – Te Runanga Waiuu (DWU) since August 2012. Chris has also worked as a private practice employment lawyer in both Auckland and Sydney and holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons) from the University of Waikato. Chris is also a director for Muka Tangata – People, Food, & Fibre Workforce Development Council, a director for UniMed Ltd, and is a Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, and an Associate Member of Governance New Zealand (formerly the NZ Chartered Company Secretaries Association).
Chris loves living in the Waikato, having lived in Hamilton while studying in the 1990’s and returning to Cambridge with his family after working in Australia. -
Vicky McLennan
Trustee
Vicky McLennan
Trustee
Vicky McLennan was appointed as a Trustee in June 2017, and has held the position of Chair since March 2021 - 2024, following a six-month period as Acting Chair. She previously held the role of Deputy Chair as of October 2018.
She is also the Chair of Braemar Charitable Trust and Alandale Foundation Trust, and a Trustee of Perry Outdoor Education Trust.
As a Partner-Provider for the NZ School Trustees Association, Vicky provides professional development and governance support to school boards. Previously she was Principal at Waikato Diocesan School for Girls from 2008 to 2017. In her nine years of principalship, Vicky was heavily involved in local and regional educational networks and in the wider community, encouraging the school and its students to support local events, community projects and charities.
Having moved to Hamilton from Christchurch to take up the Principal role in 2008, Vicky has become an enthusiastic advocate for the Waikato region. She is passionate about education, the potential of youth and the power of collaborative communities to transform lives. -
Anjum Rahman
Trustee
Anjum Rahman
Trustee
Anjum was appointed as a Trustee in June 2018. She is a chartered accountant with 30 years’ experience, working with a range of entities in the commercial, farming and not-for-profit sectors.
She is the founder of Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono, a project focused on connecting and empowering communities and community-based action. She was a founding member of the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand, an organisation formed in 1990 to bring Muslim women together and represent their concerns. Anjum has also been a founding member and trustee of Shama (Hamilton Ethnic Women’s Centre), a social service organisation that provides support to ethnic women through its social work service, life-skills classes and community development. She has worked in the area of sexual violence prevention both as a volunteer and as part of Government working groups.
Anjum has been a member of the Waikato Interfaith Council, and a trustee of the Trust that governs Hamilton’s community access broadcaster, Free FM. She is a member of international committees dealing with violent extremist content online, being a former co-chair and current member of the Christchurch Call Advisory Network and a member of the Independent Advisory Committee of the Global Internet Forum for Countering Terrorism. She is also a Council member of Internet New Zealand. Along with these roles, she writes poetry, is a member of the interfaith choir, and a mother of two. -
Chong Feng
Trustee
Chong Feng
Trustee
Chong was appointed as a Trustee in June 2017. Practicing as an Associate at Jefferies Law Ltd in Hamilton, Chong has been working at the firm since he obtained a Bachelor of Law with Honours and was admitted in 2015.
He previously graduated with Bachelor of Media Arts with Honours in 2008 and worked from 2005 to 2008 as the Chief Reporter at ‘Waikato Weekly,’ a local Chinese Newspaper distributed in the Waikato region. In 2011, Chong was appointed to the Board of Arts Waikato. During those years of personal and career development, Chong established a strong link with local communities.
Chong has been voluntarily working as the Secretary at the New Zealand School of Traditional Chinese Music and Performing Arts Charitable Trust since 2008. In his spare time, he pursues his personal interest in music, especially the fusion style of music which blends Western rock/metal music with traditional Chinese music. -
Jacob Quinn
Trustee
Jacob Quinn
Trustee
Jacob Quinn was appointed as a Trustee in September 2020. Jacob is a communication specialist, facilitator and leader, with an 18-year career in government and consulting. He has held roles including Press Secretary to a Deputy Prime Minister, UN spokesperson, and Communications Manager at a Waikato Council.
Jacob has volunteered aboard through the United Nations in Kosovo and Fiji. He holds a masters degree in political studies, a diploma of broadcasting, and is IAP2 certified.
In his day job, Jacob leads an engagement team within an infrastructure design consultancy. An enthusiastic advocate for life in the Waikato, Jacob grew up in Hamilton and now lives in Whatawhata with his family. -
Metua Tangaroa-Daniel-Malietoa
Trustee
Metua Tangaroa-Daniel-Malietoa
Trustee
Metua was appointed as a Trustee in September 2020 and enjoys collectively working with like-minded people, learning new skills, sharing experiences and skill sets for the betterment of all communities we serve in the greater Waikato region. Metua is of Kuki Airani Maori/Cook Islands Maaori descent, fully conversant in her native tongue and passionate about making a difference for her Pacific people in Aotearoa, including back in her Pacific homelands.
Born in Rarotonga and raised in Aitutaki by her paternal grandparents until she was five, Metua returned to her birth parents in Rarotonga for schooling. She left for Aotearoa at the age of nine, as it was her parents' wish for her to have a better education and feels truly blessed to have been raised by three sets of special families that have significantly contributed to the person she is today.
Metua is a member of the St. Luke’s Pacific Islands Presbyterian Church in Tokoroa and strives to apply the principles of the Christian faith in her daily living. She is also a Trustee for Te Ara Metua Punanga Reo Kuki Airani Early Childhood Education Centre in and holds the roles of Treasurer and Licensee for the centre for nearly 30 years. Metua is the Chair for South Waikato Pacific Islands Community Services Trust (SWPICS) in Tokoroa, having held this role for 22 years. She also holds a position on the Aere Tai Collective Board in her capacity as Chairperson for SWPICS.
A long-time resident of Tokoroa who has worked in the area of intellectual and physical disabilities and mental health and addictions services for 25 years. years. Metua enjoys meeting and interacting with people from all walks of life. She and her husband Tupuiariki Daniel-Malietoa have been blessed with four adult children, 11 mokopuna and one ina - great-mokopuna. -
Michael Noonan
Trustee
Michael Noonan
Trustee
Michael was appointed as a Trustee in August 2021. An strong advocate and passionate Coromandel local, Michael established and led the Coromandel Independent Living Trust, delivering a wide variety of social services and community development programmes to the area.
He has also been a Trustee on a number of local and national organisations over the years including Moehau Nga Tangata Whenua Trust, SPAN Trust, Inclusive New Zealand, Coromandel Community Services Trust, and Driving Creek Railway Arts and Conservation Trust. Michael was the Chair of The Supported Life Style Hauraki Trust from 2007 to 2018 and still sits on the Board of Trustees.
Michael is a full member of the Blind Foundation and Blind Citizens Aotearoa. In his spare time, he and his wife enjoy restoring the 5.5 hectare block they live on to native bush, thereby encouraging the return of many indigenous birds to the Coromandel. -
Parmindar Singh
Trustee
Parmindar Singh
Trustee
Parmindar was appointed as a Trustee in September 2020. She is a fourth generation Waikato dairy farmer, Managing Director, and an independent consultant. In addition to hands-on farm work over the last twenty years, Parmindar has built a career in education, organisational development, strategic thinking and planning, and leadership.
She was a 2022 Nuffield Scholar, completing a Masters in Management (Agribusiness) with the research topic of emerging market opportunities for trade in dairy. Her work experience includes working alongside executives in education, commercial, corporate, local government and not-for-profit sectors.
Her governance experience is broad, and ranges from farm directorships, to trustee and associate director roles. These involvements include Trustee of the Gordonton Woodlands Trust and Committee Member of Rural Women New Zealand.
Parmindar is committed to leading change and influencing through governance roles to generate prosperity for future generations. -
Robert Dol
Trustee
Robert Dol
Trustee
Robert was appointed as a Trustee in August 2021. Professionally he is a Project Director / Shareholder of Colliers Project Leaders, one of New Zealand’s premier Project and Property Advisory Consultancy firms. With over 33 years’ experience in the construction industry, Rob has gained skillsets that allow him to view issues from a governance perspective to assist in finding solutions to complex situations which benefit wide sectors of the community.
Robert’s governance experience includes 6 years on Horsham Downs School Board of Trustees, with three years as Chairperson. He has also served as Waikato branch president and national council executive of the Property Council of New Zealand from 2011 to 2015 and was on the Central Region branch committee from 2010 to 2018.
Robert is actively involved with football and served for 6 years Northern United Sports Club committee, two of which as club president and has coached or managed his daughter's teams in some capacity for the last 10 years. Born and raised in Auckland, Rob moved to Hamilton in 2006 and continues to live in the city with his wife and three daughters, who are passionate supporters of the local community. -
Tarena Ranui
Trustee
Tarena Ranui
Trustee
Tarena was appointed as a Trustee in August 2023. A dedicated coach and educator, Tarena is a teacher at Ngaaruawaahia High School and Head of Women’s Football at Melville United AFC. She is also a member of the Lion Foundation’s Regional Grants Committee for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
One of the leading youth coaches in the country, she was named New Zealand’s Junior Coach of the Year in 2019. Raised in Hamilton, Tarena attended university in the United States as a college athlete playing soccer and later returned to her hometown. Her transition from player to coach was marked by her passion for the game and her commitment to youth development.
She is a recent graduate of Te Hāpaitanga’s second cohort, a holistic coach development initiative enabling more women to pursue and maintain careers in high performance coaching in New Zealand, which has inspired her to apply unique aspects of her culture and tikanga Maaori to her coaching philosophy.
The Trust has been governed by trustees since its inception in 1988.
Appointments are usually for a four-year term and trustees may be reappointed.