Keynote Speakers
Rt Hon Winston Peters
Winston Peters entered Parliament in 1978 for the National Party as the MP for Hunua and was MP for Tauranga from 1984 till 2005. Mr Peters left the National Party in 1993 to establish the New Zealand First party and has been its leader ever since.
Mr Peters grew up in Northland and holds a BA and LLB. He has worked as a primary and secondary school teacher and has practised as a Barrister and Solicitor, including in his own law firm.
He is a former New Zealand Māori rugby representative.
Mr Peters is the Deputy Prime Minister (Until 31 May 2025), Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for Racing and Minister for Rail.
Heather Campbell
Chief Executive, Save the Children New Zealand
Heather has over two decades of experience leading both development and humanitarian portfolios. Most recently serving as Save the Children's Asia Deputy Regional Director, Heather has provided strategic leadership in delivering high-quality programmes, partnership, safety and security, and operational excellence across Save the Children’s $300 million Asia portfolio.
Prior to joining the Asia Regional team, Heather was Country Director for Save the Children in Nepal and Bhutan, where she was a vocal advocate for localisation, climate change adaptation programming and advocacy, and child sensitive social protection. As Vice-Chair of the Association of International NGOs (AIN) in Nepal, Heather also was responsible for high-level multi-stakeholder engagement, climate change mitigation advocacy, and streamlined collaboration with government bodies, elevating the efficiency and impact of international NGOs.
Heather previously served as Country Director for Save the Children in Sierra Leone, and significantly elevated the country office’s profile, programme quality, and governance structure, while also doubling the funding portfolio, despite a shrinking and challenging donor environment. In Sierra Leone, Heather was the first Country Director to sit on the Presidential SGBV taskforce, collaborating closely with the First Lady on the groundbreaking 'Hands off our Girls' campaign, combatting sexual violence against girls. She was also a first mover on Green Climate Funding, starting the process that led to Sierra Leone being awarded one of the first GCF grants for SCI.
Heather has previously worked in leadership positions at the Aga Khan Foundation, Catholic Relief Services, ACTED, CUMO Microfinance, and UNITED Purpose, where she provided leadership in diverse and complex settings, including China, Kenya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, East Timor, and Malawi.
Kate Russell ONZM, FFINZ
Executive Director, Hagar New Zealand
Kate Russell has a 30 year history of work in the New Zealand NGO sector, having held executive positions in a number of charitable organisations. Kate led Cystic Fibrosis NZ for 11 years, the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation and NZ Brain Research Institute for five years and worked within the local government sector as a Community Partnerships Manager.
Awarded an ONZM in 2016 for services to governance and health, Kate has mentored a number of organisations to upskill toward best governance practice, manage change and transformation and create robust strategic and fundraising plans. She has held Chair and Board Trustee positions in several NGOs and has been with Business Mentors NZ for eight years, specialising in advice for the NGO sector.
Having sat on a number of government advisory committees, including Chairing the Pharmac Consumer Advisory Board and advising the Charities Commission during the changeover to the DIA, alongside managing various government contracts over her 30-year career, Kate has a good working knowledge of government and political processes.
Emily Au-Young
Executive Director, REEMI
Emeline Siale Ilolahia
Executive Director, Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Organisations (PIANGO)
Siale is a Tongan civil society leader, women’s advocate and activist, working and base in Suva, Fiji.
As Executive Director of PIANGO, she represents the interests of Pacific civil society in a range of regional and international fora specifically in areas of human rights based approach, governance and institutional building, effective and informed participation of citizens in decision making to ensure that interest of Pacific peoples are safeguarded.
She has brought her experiences from her previous role as Executive Director of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga to the region in the area of coalition building on issues as diverse as ethical leadership, women’s access to finance, women’s leadership and political participation, humanitarian localisation and locally-led development. Siale was awarded an inaugural Jose Edgardo Campos Collaborative Leadership Award in Washington DC in 2016 in recognition of her contributions to local leadership efforts in Tonga.
Samson Samasoni
News Director at Pacific Media Network (PMN)
Samson has more than 40 years' experience in journalism, broadcasting, and strategic communications across New Zealand, the Pacific, and the Middle East. PMN is New Zealand’s largest Pacific media organisation, delivering news, radio, and digital content that reflects and celebrates Pacific communities. Broadcasting in 10 Pacific languages and English, PMN connects Pacific communities at home and abroad through culturally grounded, multilingual content. www.pmn.co.nz
Samson’s career spans media, government, and consultancy, including roles as a journalist, producer, and senior communications advisor in both public and private sectors. He has lived and worked extensively across the Pacific, including supporting government agencies and communities in 13 countries through a UNDP/GEF initiative focused on environmental and governance programmes.
Samson also spent a decade in the Middle East as a communications specialist and management consultant. During that time, he served four years as managing director of an international PR firm based in Qatar, where he advised a range of clients across the region, from government bodies to major NGOs.
Rachel Harrison
Humanitarian Lead, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
Rachel’s journey in international development began with her Postgraduate Development Studies at Victoria University and a Volunteer Service Abroad placement in Tonga. Since joining Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand in July 2020, she has played a pivotal role in development programming across Kiribati, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands.
The 2022 Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami marked a turning point in her career, steering her focus more intentionally toward humanitarian response programming. In her role as Humanitarian Lead for CANZ, Rachel continues to work extensively in humanitarian response and emergency preparedness. Her contributions span the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, including work in Cox’s Bazar, and extend to Caritas’ international emergency programming in the Middle East and Africa.
Rachel brings a wealth of experience, a collaborative approach, and deep regional knowledge to her role as Chair of the CID Humanitarian Network, where she is committed to advancing humanitarian standards and resilience in the Pacific and beyond.
Rebekah Armstrong
Head of Advocacy and Justice, World Vision New Zealand
Rebekah Armstrong is a specialist in humanitarian law and human rights. With a legal background and extensive experience both in New Zealand and internationally, she leads World Vision’s advocacy to build a better world for children - challenging the systems, structures, practices, and attitudes that prevent children from living life in all its fullness.
Rebekah regularly represents World Vision in the media and public forums. Her career spans work with the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, UNHCR, the NZ government and INGO’s, with a focus on humanitarian and developing contexts, modern slavery, refugee protection and children’s rights. She is passionate about using law and public advocacy to drive meaningful change- and about encouraging others to see how their voice and actions can help create a more just world.
Michelle Sharp
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.
Toleafoa Alfred Schuster
Director, Tutulumanulagi Ltd
Toleafoa Alfred Schuster is a Pacific leader with deep experience in regional governance, development partnerships, and culturally grounded policy work.
He has worked across the Pacific for over two decades, including leading the Smaller Island States strategy at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and supporting countries through regional planning, partnerships, and strategic reform. He brings a strong grounding in Pacific values, languages, and ways of working.
He has advised on partnership and programme design work with MFAT, DFAT, UNICEF, SPREP, and others - helping shape policies and partnership efforts in education, health, and regional cooperation. His work often focuses on creating space for local voices, building strong partnerships, and making sure Pacific-led solutions guide decision-making. At the heart of his approach is a belief in respectful relationships, shared learning, and the power of Pacific knowledge to drive change.
Elijah Buol OAM
With extensive experience in the NGO and public sectors, Elijah recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of Act for Peace. He is currently the Managing Director of Smart Answers Group, a pivotal organisation dedicated to empowering, raising awareness, and fostering understanding in strategic leadership, peace, and conflict management.
Elijah brings a deep understanding of the issues faced by people experiencing displacement and conflict. After losing his parents to conflict when he was a child, he spent many years in refugee camps in Uganda before coming to Australia in 2002 as a humanitarian unaccompanied minor.
Elijah is a distinguished advocate and community champion! Since his arrival, he has actively embraced the opportunities available and dedicated himself to supporting marginalised communities. His advocacy played a crucial role in the successful removal of children under the age of 18 from adult prisons in Queensland.
He strongly believes in the collective power of society to uphold compassion and humanity to create impact.
Tony Sutorius
Tony Sutorius is an experienced advocate, social justice campaigner and documentary filmmaker.
As a documentary filmmaker his work has included cinema films "Campaign" and "Helen Kelly - Together", and a range of current affairs and television productions. He has worked widely in supporting democracy and elections, responsible for community engagement and informational filmmaking collaborations supporting national elections in New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea, and the Bougainville Independence Referendum.
His advocacy work has included work with Pike River whanau Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse in forming and guiding the successful Stand With Pike campaign team. Together they went on to participate in the governance of the Pike River Recovery Agency, initiate and guide the Public Service Commission's Working with Survivors model standard for national disaster response, and serve as script advisors to the upcoming "Pike River" cinema movie.
He currently works as Advocacy Lead for Caritas Oceania, where he is building a network of professional local advocates spanning Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fiji and Samoa, and at Caritas Aotearoa, delivering a range of climate and social justice campaigns. He is Deputy Chief of the Plimmerton Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Tony has a strong ongoing interest in combining sophisticated documentary film tools with community-driven Theory of Change to deliver impactful international development.
Amie Richardson
Communications, Media and Campaigns Director
Amie Richardson is an experienced communications professional, who has worked for a variety of not-for-profit organisations, companies and media outlets over 20 years. She first joined the industry as a journalist, before moving into a freelance career where she split her time between journalism and TV documentary making and PR consultancy and communications.
With a particular expertise across all aspects of storytelling, strategic communications and media relations, Amie first began working with Save the Children in 2020 to support media engagement around Five to Thrive, a multi-agency advocacy campaign ahead of the General Election, before coming onboard officially as Communications Director in 2021.
Outside of work, Amie enjoys running and yoga, exploring nature and spending time with friends and whānau.
Heidi Cotzee
Executive Director, CID
An experienced leader with strong business, management and accounting skills gained through a career in both corporate and not-for-profit organisations. Heidi’s business interests include developing partnerships that will positively influence strategic direction and performance, enabling the achievement of organisational objectives.