Our board
Currently our Board is made up of eight volunteers. They are:
Herman Visagie (Co-Chair)
Herman is proud to be a “bi-cultural kiwi” - born in South Africa to Afrikaans parents, he arrived in New Zealand when he was nine years old and spent his formative years in rural South Otago. He now lives in Auckland where he works for TSB as Chief of Staff. Herman brings a strong governance experience, including currently serving as Vice-President and Chair of the Finance Audit & Risk Committee for the New Zealand Law Society. He is passionate about empowering communities and ensuring a better future for our future generations.
Ta’ase Vaoga
Ta’ase (Ngāpuhi, Te Ātihaunui-a-Papārangi and Hāmoa) is passionate about effecting positive and lasting change in our communities as evidenced by her work commitment to the social purpose sector. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from being involved in a number of projects and fundraising for organisations like Wellington Rape Crisis, JustSpeak, ActionStation, WWF New Zealand, NZ Book Council, NZ Centre for Gifted Education, Partners Porirua and others in both a voluntary and paid capacity. She now works as a Project Manager at CORE Education.
Wendy Reid
Wendy has extensive governance experience in a range of social justice and environmental organisations at national and international levels. She is passionate about science and ethics-based sustainable development and direct democracy. Wendy has been a supporter of ActionStation since our inception. She brings years of practical experience from her work in the community-based not for profit sector and the public sectors of Housing, Health and Welfare in New Zealand.
Garth Nowland-Foreman
Garth has extensive nonprofit governance experience. For six years he was national director of a major advocacy group for low-income and disadvantaged people in Australia. He has taught for 18 years in a graduate programme on not for profit leadership, has a keen interest in research-you-can-use, and is widely published on government/nonprofit relations. Garth also brings strong political analysis. As well as leading a national advocacy nonprofit in Australia, he has operated in Cabinet minister's office, serviced a Parliamentary inquiry, participated in numerous government advisory bodies, taught a course on influencing public policy to NGO leaders, and managed a government policy unit.
Daniel Haines
Daniel Haines (Te Rarawa) lives in Tāmaki Makaurau but his bones are in the Hokianga. For work, Daniel supports the Auckland Council's urban regeneration agency to engage with mana whenua. He has joined ActionStation to assist people to unlock their power. Daniel has previous experience in students' and workers' unions.
Vim Jobanputra
Vim is passionate about the potential for technology to act as a lever for change, empowering individuals and communities. He loves working with progressive organisations who want to have a positive impact on people and the planet. He's worked as a software engineer, architect and technical leader for a number of local and international not-for-profits and social enterprises, and brings over twenty years of experience.
Elina Ashimbayeva
Elina's whakapapa extends to Kazakhstan in Central Asia and her heart lies with social justice, equity and diversity. She has worked in biomedical research, start-ups, tech and government. She is also a co-founder of Storyo, where she shares journeys of women and gender diverse folks across Aotearoa. Elina joined ActionStation to extend her passion for communities through campaigning and governance.
Sara Fraser
Kia Ora, Sara is pleased to be a board member for Action Station. She has 10+ years volunteering in the Wellington queer community, with registered charities working with queer youth, and has experience as a chairperson, secretary, and fundraiser. She volunteered for the AS board because she is a firm believer that the ways to change the current capitalist, racist systems must be driven by grass roots, community action. Her interests are in queer action, trans rights, housing for all and equity for marginalised voices. As a cis white woman, I strongly believe it is time for white people to sit down, shut up and listen
