What we do

We provide an annual awards programme to support women in Aotearoa New Zealand who:

• Pursue tertiary education
• Explore a new career path
• Promote research that benefits for women and girls
• Study in under-represented industries

We achieve this by fundraising and collaborating with like-minded individuals, businesses, and other organisations in the community.

It is much easier conquering the world when you have the strong support group. This award gave me some additional motivation and confidence which I was lacking. Something tells me that after this course my life will never be the same!
- Anastasija Taranenko, Outward Bound Classic Course Award, 2021 

Our Team

​The Trust is governed by volunteer Trustees, and managed by a paid National Trust Manager and Operations Coordinator. 
We are honoured for ​Hon Dame Silvia Cartwright PCNZM, DBE, QSO to be our Patron.

Gail Campbell
Chairperson

Originally from Gisborne and now living in Rotorua, Gail Campbell has worked within the context of Māori development in both her professional and personal capacities for many years. She is active in her community, contributing as a Justice of the Peace and marriage celebrant, through membership of the Maori Women's Welfare League and in past governance roles with organisations such as Hospice Waikato, Community Waikato and Creative Waikato. A passionate advocate of lifelong learning and continuous professional development, Gail is excited about the key role that New Horizons Trust for Women-Hinekahukura plays in encouraging all NZ women to access a wide range of educational opportunities.
Ahakoa, he iti, he pounamu. Although small it is precious.​

Jess Barnett
Trustee - Partnerships, People, Promotions

Jess has spent the past fifteen years refining her skills as a communication, engagement and marketing practitioner - holding senior roles in some of Aotearoa’s leading education, tourism and retail organisations. Currently the Head of Marketing, Engagement and Communication for Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, she is committed to enabling wahine into education and ensuring that education is accessible to all New Zealanders. Born and bred in Rotorua, Jess lives in Pāpāmoa with her husband and an array of furry creatures. She has a passion for architecture and design and spends a lot of her spare time renovating and developing property. When she doesn’t have a paintbrush in hand you’ll find her in the community with friends and whānau, or at her happy place - Lake Rotoiti.​

Johanna Cogle
​​Trustee - Governance & Finance

Johanna Cogle is a retired New Zealand-registered primary school teacher and was the first female Field Officer for NZEI. Since 2000 Joh has worked in a variety of roles in the Export Education Industry. She has also supported private tertiary establishments to build management systems that develop staff professionally and establish appropriate practices that enhance students’ learning experiences. Her own work with international students allowed her to develop and deliver programmes in leadership, management and organisational skills to complement and build on their personal cultural practices so that graduates could engage these skills and competencies no matter where they worked in the future. Joh continues to privately mentor new students in the tertiary sector.​

Robyn Dixon
Trustee - Awards and Applications

​Robyn was a director of the Centre of Child and Family from 1995 until 2013, and co-director of the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse from 2011 to 2020. She has served on advisory boards and as an independent advisor in the Government and NGO sectors. Robyn trained as a nurse and holds an honorary position as Associated Professor at the University of Auckland in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. Although retired, mentoring still keeps her busy - as does her lifelong interest in cricket. Robyn was contracted to New Zealand Cricket as a member of their 1st class scorers panel until 2021 and continues to be involved as scorer for the University of Auckland Men’s Premier team. Importantly, she is a wife, mother of two and grandmother to four. She firmly believes that the key to breaking the cycle of disadvantage is education, particularly that of women and mothers.

Margot van de Water
Trustee - Governance & Finance​

​Margot is the Financial Controller for Tāwhiri Festivals and Experiences, based in Pōneke. Originally from Ōtautahi, Margot graduated from the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts (NASDA) in 2014, and then pursued further study in business management and accounting and graduated with a Masters in Professional Accounting from the University of Canterbury in 2016. 
Past roles include trustee and treasurer for The Physics Room Trust, advisory board member of Wā Collective, and Senior Consultant at Deloitte Wellington. Margot is a full member of the Chartered Accountants Association of Australia and New Zealand. She has a passion for creating positive impact through thoughtful decision-making and quality financial data.
In her spare time, Margot enjoys being with her family and working on her creative practice.
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Marie Schmidt
Trustee - Governance & Finance

​Marie Schmidt is from West Auckland and is of Samoan and Tongan ethnicity. 
Marie is currently the National Treasurer of the national women’s Pacific collective called “PACIFICA Inc” and is a member of the PACIFICA West Auckland Branch and the Whitireia Branch in Porirua.
Marie is on the committee of the Auckland Government Women’s Network (AGWN) and has been a co-opted committee member for the Porirua Pasifika Community Patrol since 2017. Marie worked for the Ministry of Social Development for 34 years and now works at the Ministry of Housing, Urban and Development (HUD) as a Principal Advisor. She has experience in governance, being on reference and advisory groups, and developing strategies and programmes. 
Her outside interests are staring at her idle motorbike and E-bike, swimming lengths at the pools to de-stress, attending church events and supporting her favourite rugby team, THE BLUES.

Frances Sheriff
Trustee - Partnerships, People, Promotions

Frances is based in Wellington where she graduated with a Bachelor of Communications, majoring in marketing and minoring in linguistics. With a key interest in intercultural communications and fiction writing, she gained a marketing internship at AFS Intercultural Programmes, a voluntary, non-governmental, non-profit organisation that provides intercultural learning opportunities to help people develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to create a more just and peaceful world. Frances was recently the Fundraising and Alumni Co-Ordinator at Hutt Valley High School, and is now an Advertising Executive for a large creative agency.

Ani Stace
National ​Trust Manager

​Kia ora, I am Ani Stace and I live in the beautiful Bay of Plenty. After many years of living in Europe I returned home in 2011. I have worked and volunteered for a variety of charitable organisations and ran my own small business for a while too. I am so excited to be working with New Horizons For Women as the Trust Manager and with the wahine toa that make up this awesome organisation.

Amanda Earl
​Operations Coordinator

Hi - I’m Amanda and I am based in the Bay of Plenty. I have worked for non-profit organisations for the past 10 years and have been studying part-time over the past three years. I know the challenges and triumphs that come with balancing work, study, family and life! I’m passionate about lifelong learning and I’m so excited to be part of an organisation that helps wahine to fulfil their learning goals.

Karen Shepard
Trustee - Partnerships, People, Promotions

Karen has dedicated nearly three decades to a career in the non-profit, NGO, and local government sectors.. She spent a decade co-owning her own marketing and communication enterprise, offering essential services lsuch as strategic marketing, branding, and fundraising assistance to both emerging businesses and non-profit entities. Presently, she is engaged in the healthcare sector, focusing on the elderly population.
Originally from Taranaki and presently residing on the Canterbury Plains, Karen's greatest joys include tending to her garden, taking pottery classes, time with friends and family, and being surrounded by her assortment of rescued animals.​

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Our History

Our organisation exists because of the hard work of many dedicated, skilled, and accomplished people over the past 30+ years. Read about our challenges and achievements in our history pages. 

Dame Catherine Tizard, Awardee Roslynne Lovell, and Valerie Rhodes at the first award ceremony.

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Our Moko Kauae ​

The moko kauae is traditionally acquired by women on the basis of their mana, established through their whakapapa. To receive such design is an honour to the wearer, their iwi, hapu and whanau. It is a connection to our ancestors in knowing where we come from and allows a directive path of where we are going. As a right of Māori women to wear such design, moko kauae is extremely sacred. 

In this context, this design represents the importance of Mana Wahine (prestigious strong women) and the opportunities they embrace. The design shows two faces coming together as one to share and pursue knowledge.  This is also represented by the three points depicting Ngā Kete o the Wānanga (the three baskets of knowledge). The Moko Kauae was designed and gifted to New Horizons Trust for Women: Hine Kahukura by the artist Jim Wiki, Te Aupōuri.