Board Members
Volunteer Nelson is led by a dedicated governance board comprised of volunteers who are passionate about giving back to their community.
The Board defines our strategic direction and vision, incorporating feedback from supporters, the community, and key stakeholders.
The Board ensures we are consistently progressing in the right direction and that our strategic plan is being implemented to achieve positive outcomes for our community.
Board Officers and Trustees, all volunteers, are appointed with the goals of ensuring continuity plan for the board, along with a diverse skill set and members from various backgrounds, our board benefits from a wide range of perspectives and ways of thinking.
Glen Robinson
Board Chair
Glen is a proud Nelsonian, born and raised in Nelson, having spent most of his working career in Sales Management and Advisory roles before becoming Self-Employed in 2014 alongside his partner in their Accounting and Business Advisory firm.
Glen joined Volunteer Nelson as a board member in 2022 to give back and help make positive change in the Nelson Community, Glen has previously held the roles of Secretary and Deputy Chair, and currently holds the role of Board Chair.
David Taylor
Deputy Chair
David moved from the UK to Nelson in 2014. He is a semi-retired technical consultant and project manager, with experience in assurance and risk management. He has volunteered at Volunteer Nelson, Restore and Neighbourhood Support and helped at Nelson Tasman Housing Trust.
In 2016 he started helping Volunteer Nelson with their IT, and is heavily involved with the business, including the monthly Community & Whānau meetings. He joined the Board at the end of 2016, and took on the Secretary position for three years. He was elected to Chair the Board in 2019 and currently holds the role of Deputy Chair.
Michelle Nunes-Vaz
Treasurer
Michelle Nunes-Vaz is an accountant operating a practise called Accounting for Good in the same shared office space as Volunteer Nelson. She has been on the board of Volunteer Nelson since 2021 as Treasurer.
Michelle is an associate member of Governance Institute of NZ and is studying for an EMBA with Massey University. Michelle is married with 4 adult children and moved to Nelson from Auckland in 2020.
You are welcome to find out more by connecting on Linkedin
Jacqui Anderson
Board Secretary
Jacqui brings to the board her experience in management and administration, joining Volunteer Nelsons board in 2023 as a way to be involved and give back to the community.
Jacqui has two young tamariki and is looking forward to raising them in the beautiful Nelson/Tasman region.
Jacqui enjoys getting out on her paddleboard, reading a good book, baking some tasty treats and exploring the outdoors with her family.
Jacqui currently holds the role of Board Secretary.
Louise Taylor
Trustee
Now happily a New Zealand resident, Louise is originally from the UK.
Her professional background includes recruitment, sales and customer service and she currently works for Te Whatu Ora at Nelson Hospital.
Louise loves to give back to her Nelson community by being on our Board and also working with English Language Partners and the Red Cross to help former refugee families.
Marie Lindaya, ONZM
Trustee
After 5 years working with International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Marie came to NZ in 1990 to settle; and has since worked with the public and private sectors – Department of Internal Affairs, ACC, Nelson City Council where she professionally learned governance matters, being the Mayor’s PA for 15 years.
In 1992 whilst with Internal Affairs, she organised the first meeting of Nelson Multi-Ethnic Council, which has now evolved to Multicultural Nelson Tasman, 27 years on. In between work and life is her community volunteering which grounds her to grass root community issues and allows her to build relations with and help individuals and groups of diverse culture, age and gender. Marie joined the then Nelson Volunteer Centre in 2009 and she is proud to return on the Board after 2 years hiatus.
Shân Gatrell
Trustee
Throughout the last 30 years, Volunteer Nelson has been incredibly fortunate to have had such exceptional members of our community step up to be Board Members, and we wish to acknowledge them and their contribution to our organisation, we thank them all for their hard work and dedication.