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.

Robyn Dixon
Trustee - Awards and Applications
​Acting Chairperson

​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.

Anna Whalan-Bell
Trustee - Governance & Finance

Anna is a lawyer based in Christchurch and partner at Rhodes & Co with specialties in both commercial law and civil litigation. She graduated from Canterbury University with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts in 2014, before undertaking her Masters of Law at the University of Cambridge in England in 2017. Anna worked in London and Melbourne before returning to New Zealand in late 2020. She is on the committee of the Canterbury Women's Legal Association, which provides educational and networking opportunities for female lawyers in the Canterbury region. Anna is passionate about the vital work that New Horizons for Women – Hine Kahukura plays in unlocking women’s potential through education. 

Alison Kuiper
Trustee - Governance & Finance

Alison’s career in education has, from the beginning, had a focus on enhancing the lives of women. She taught and established polytechnic courses for women, which encouraged them to extend their horizons. Her leadership and involvement  in voluntary work included projects for the Society for Research on Women (SROW) on Women in Unusual Jobs and a national study on Women and Money.  She is the co-author of Working Your Way Back to Work, a book for women on returning to the paid workforce.
A trained teacher, Alison has held lecturing and management positions at Christchurch Polytechnic, Lincoln University and The University of Sydney. Her doctorate in educational sociology investigated  opportunities for those returning to further education, continuing her passion for improving opportunities for learning. Her previous experience as a member of boards, includes those of National Advisory Council on Women and Ako Aotearoa. She is excited to be able to continue to contribute through NHWT.​

Karen Shepard
Trustee - Partnerships, People, Promotions

Karen is passionate about making a positive difference in the world. She has worked in various fields, including non-profit, NGO, and local government, for over 25 years. She successfully built her own marketing and communication partnership business for 10 years, helping both new and established organisations with their branding. and business development needs. Currently, Karen works in the healthcare sector, supporting older people in Aotearoa. Karen loves nature and animals. She lives on the Canterbury Plains with family including too many rescue pets, and enjoys gardening, pottery, and spending time with her friends and family. 
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Frances Sheriff
Trustee - Partnerships, People, Promotions
​Deputy Chair

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.
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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 Secretary of the national women’s Pacific collective called “PACIFICA Inc” and is a member of the PACIFICA West Auckland Branch and the Aro'a Tunoa Brance in Porirua.
Marie is  a co-opted committee member for the Porirua Pasifika Community Patrol since 2017. Marie worked for the public sector for 36 years and is now a freelance sole trader. She has experience in governance, being on many reference and advisory groups, and demonstrated abilities in developing constitutions, strategies, programmes and policies.
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.

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.

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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.