Our People

Peter Rudd
Executive Director
Peter is a strategic-minded, impact driven and outcomes-oriented business leader, with a deep set of skills and experience accumulated over 20+ years working within the private sector (local and multi-national companies) and public sector, including international government agencies in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and Fiji.
A results-oriented executive with a particularly strong professional background in strategic leadership, international development, economic development and global trade & investment.
Prior to joining CID, Peter was appointed by DT Global (on behalf of Australian Department Foreign Affairs & Trade) to lead the transition, establishment and operations of the Pacific Island Food Revolution (PIFR) to a stand-alone Non-Government Organisation (NGO) and registered Charity in New Zealand to continue their innovative development programmes in the Pacific.

Ataga’i Donna Burr
Business Development and Membership Engagement Manager
Ata joined CID in March 2023 following an extensive career working in the private, public and NGO sectors in the US, Vietnam, and New Zealand.
She returned to New Zealand in 2017 after more than three decades aboard, working first in the electorate office of Hon. Poto Williams and most recently with Te Tari Taiwhenua (Department of Internal Affairs) providing governance support to the Executive Leadership Team.
Ata, a Christchurch native, is of Pasifika heritage, married with two grown children, and holds a Masters of Public Administration in International Management. She is passionate about working for an organisation that is helping to make a real difference in the international development space.

Stuart Meiklejohn
Standards and Humanitarian Manager
Stuart has worked in a number of emergency management and policy roles in New Zealand government. He has worked at the National Emergency Management Agency for the last three and a half years in planning and emergency welfare services, working closely with NGOs involved in domestic responses. He has also been involved in government responses to Cyclone Gabrielle, COVID-19, and Whakaari/White Island emergencies along with many others. Other roles include senior advisor for emergency management at the Ministry of Social Development, and private secretary for biosecurity while working for the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Stuart has also spent a number of years overseas in emergency management and humanitarian roles, including a year in the Philippines in disaster management planning and a year in Mongolia working for their National Emergency Management Agency.
Stuart has undergraduate degrees in law and business, a master’s degree focused on international law, a post-graduate diploma in emergency management, and has volunteered for eight years in Land Search and Rescue.

Charlotte Smith
Communications and Administration Assistant
Charlotte is a recent University graduate, last year completing a Bachelor of Communication, majoring in Literary and Creative Communication, at Victoria. She delivers CID’s communications – newsletter, website, social media, and podcast – and assists with event management and general administration.
Charlotte is passionate about the role of well-developed communication in promoting positive social and environmental change. She has a keen interest in international development and humanitarian response, and aims to bring forward voices and stories to strengthen and connect the sector.

Mary Yee
Accountant
Mary is as an experienced Chartered Accountant with a diverse background in both financial and management accounting. She is passionate about working in the not-for-profit sector and understands the funding challenges faced by the sector.
For the past five years Mary has also provided regular part time financial assistance to the Chief Executive of Blind Citizens New Zealand. A not-for-profit membership organisation that advocates on blindness related issues.
Prior to these roles, Mary was the Finance Manager of the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand for over 10 years. Joining the organisation at inception, she developed financial systems and processes to ensure the Council complied with regulatory and financial requirements.
Board

Heidi Coetzee
Board Chair and CEO, Save the Children
An experienced leader with strong business, management and accounting skills gained through a career in both corporate and not-for-profit organisations, Heidi first joined Save the Children New Zealand in 2015 as Finance Director before being appointed Chief Executive in May 2017. Heidi’s business interests include developing partnerships that will positively influence strategic direction and performance, enabling the achievement of organisational objectives.

Michelle Sharp
Treasurer and CEO, UNICEF Aotearoa
In December 2020, Michelle was appointed CEO of UNICEF Aotearoa New Zealand. UNICEF drives change for children and young people every day, across the globe. They work in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. And never give up.
Prior to this appointment, she was drawn to the role of Chief Executive Officer at Kilmarnock Enterprises; a pioneering social enterprise providing education, employment and opportunities for people with learning disabilities. For over 11 years, her passion for the non-profit sector enabled me to use commercial excellence as a tool to demonstrate the value of people with intellectual disabilities to customers and the community.

TJ Grant
International Partnerships Director, World Vision New Zealand
TJ Grant joined the World Vision New Zealand in 2018 as their International Partnerships Director and is also the Deputy National Director. He has served on the CID Board since 2019 and has a Master’s degree in International Development studies.
TJ has worked with World Vision globally for more than 15 years and has a passion for working with and walking alongside the poor and vulnerable.

Eliala Fihaki, Tearfund New Zealand
Eliala Lotoala Fihaki works as a Monitoring and Evaluation Senior Programmes Specialist in Tearfund New Zealand. She has 17 years of professional experiences in the environmental sector in the Small Islands Development States with recent experience in gender study and analysis in the area of climate finance. Eliala holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and a Master’s degree in Governance. She is also interested in examining climate change adaptation frameworks in Kiribati and Tuvalu.

Rachel Harrison, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
Rachel Harrison graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in 2019 with a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Studies. In early 2020 she spent two months volunteering with Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) in Tonga, supporting the Tongan Ministry of Internal Affair’s Youth Development Division, before being repatriated to New Zealand due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She maintained her linkages with Tonga by continuing to volunteer remotely with VSA for both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the New Zealand High Commission until the end of 2021, while also working as a Programmes Coordinator at Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand since July 2020. Rachel’s role sees her looking after development and humanitarian programmes primarily in Tonga, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.

Afamasaga Jackie Curry, Spacific Consulting
Afamasaga Jackie Curry has over 20 years of experience working in Samoa and New Zealand, bringing with her, experience in a wide range of industries and organisations such as: Pacific Business Development & Entrepreneurship, Tertiary Education, Digital Marketing, Tourism, Fashion, FMCG & Manufacturing, Pacific NGOs, Pacific Community Projects, Events and the Health sector.
Her current focus is to continue to contribute to Pacific development by empowering our Pacific women, to build successful businesses, thereby setting up their families, including the wider community for success, all while upholding the importance of cultural values and links back to homelands.

Murray Sheard, CEO, cbm
Murray joined cbm in August 2018, after working at Tearfund, where he led the department that introduced the Ethical Fashion Guide and the Justice Conference to New Zealand. Before that, he worked in overseas development and anti-corruption in over 10 countries as well as in the fields of social enterprise and governance. Murray lectured philosophy and ethics at the University of Auckland and trained business people in ethics.

Nick Clarke, General Manager, Habitat for Humanity NZ
Nick Clarke is a humanitarian response and community development professional with over 20 years experience consistently demonstrating excellence in all aspects of emergency response and community development, engaging with multiple stakeholders in many countries and contexts throughout the developed and developing world. He is a strategic thinker regularly engaging at global levels. A proven leader, collaborator and manager including direct and remote management of national and international staff.