One of New Zealand’s leading sports lawyers and directors, Don is a barrister at City Chambers, who has practiced employment law for around 30 years. A founding partner of SBM Legal, Don was previously a partner at Simpson Grierson, where he spent 10 years, the last three as Head of Litigation.

He currently chairs super rugby club The Blues, and the Integrity Vetting Panel of World Athletics based in Monaco.

He has previously served as chair of Netball NZ and was a long serving director of NZ Cricket and chair of its High Performance Committee. He has also served as a director of Sport NZ and High Performance Sport NZ.

Don has conducted several significant independent reviews on sports-related matters.

He has also been a director of various commercial entities and, most recently, chaired the Sport and Recreation Integrity Working Group.

After debuting at the age of 20, Adine Wilson played 79 netball tests for the Silver Ferns, captaining the side from 2005 – 2007.  She led New Zealand to gold medal at 2006 Commonwealth Games with a  memorable victory over Australia in the final.   

Adine played netball professionally for the Otago Rebels and Southern Sting, helping the Sting to five national titles in the space of six seasons. 

A commercial lawyer with Meredith Connell in its sports law team, Adine helped establish the NZ Netball Players Association, serving as its chair or board member for 17-years. 

She is a trustee of the Tania Dalton Foundation, and also works as a commentator for Sky Sports.  

A mother of two teenage boys, Adine is passionate about equity of opportunity across all levels of sport and recreation. 

Tim is in private practice as a barrister. He is widely known and respected for his expertise and experience in the fields of national and international sports law, mediation and governance, and working for and with Iwi/hapū Māori to advance recognition and integration of Māori Treaty rights.

Tim provides strategic advice to national and international umbrella sporting bodies, high-profile national sporting organisations, athletes and support professionals. Tim also represents, as agent and manager, several elite New Zealand athletes across codes and gender, and is an accredited agent with NZRPA.

Tim has significant experience as a mediator in sport. He was New Zealand’s inaugural representative to the International Cricket Council’s Corruption Commission and Appeals Commission; was an inaugural member to the New Zealand Sports Tribunal; and is currently the Chair of the Pacific Games Tribunal.

Tim was a Ministerial appointee to several Ministerial Advisory panels in anti-doping initiatives nationally and internationally. He is currently the Chair of Drug Free Sport NZ.

An award-winning company director and recognised industry leader, Traci is a trusted advisor to Māori, Government and industry on strategic and economic development.

Traci holds a number of directorships in the public and private sector, including Chiefs Rugby and Women in Rugby Aotearoa.

Traci was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to business and Māori in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Hera Clarke (Te Aupōuri, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou) is head of Aotearoa Māori Netball, and has an extensive background as a social worker and counsellor. She has experience in senior management with Ministry of Social Development, Oranga Tamariki and its predecessor Child Youth and Family.

Hera has led family and sexual violence programmes and been a social work lecturer at Unitech teaching family systems and te Tiriti o Waitangi. She has held senior roles in the Anglican Church. 

Nicole (Waikato, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Awa) has extensive experience in sport and recreation as a player, coach, organiser, board chair and in sports development including a distinguished netball career. She currently serves as a member of Te Kōpuka nā Te Awa Tupua ō Whanganui – the group responsible for developing and monitoring the strategy to advance the health and wellbeing of Te Awa Tupua ō Whanganui 

Andrew (Kuki Airani) is the Diversity & Inclusion Lead at New Zealand Cricket, and previously worked in development roles at Aktive and Sport Auckland. 

Mita (Waikato) is the Kaituruki (Development Manager) at Te Huinga Tākaro o Aotearoa (the National Māori Sport Authority). Te Huinga Tākaro brings together 12 Māori national sporting organisations (NSOs) and their collective aspirations for the development and survival of Māori sports. 

Mita has a distinguished touch career as both player and coach. He has been a Waikato Touch representative since 15 and is captain of the Touch Blacks. 

Kuruho Wereta, a proud member of Ngāti Raukawa ki te tonga, Te Ati Awa, and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, currently holds the key role of Kaiwhakahaere Whaihua Māori at Recreation Aotearoa. His journey includes a decade of service as a Ranger for the Department of Conservation and the Regional Parks team in Auckland Council. 

In his role, Kuruho weaves the threads of interconnectedness that binds all things, guiding his team towards the objectives of the Whai Oranga Strategy. A steadfast advocate for the revitalisation of Māori philosophies, he merges creative approaches with game theory and taonga tākaro, fostering a unique environment for transformational thinking. 

Challenging paradigms that disadvantage Māori thinking, Kuruho strives to infuse the wisdom of traditional concepts into modern systems. His work transcends professional boundaries, making significant contributions to systemic change and the promotion of indigenous wisdom in contemporary landscapes. 

A descendant of Tainui (Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura, Ngāti Te Wehi), Bobbi is an advocate for supporting Māori communities to thrive. She resides in Kirikiroa with her family and is actively involved in community sport.

With a passion for systems and cultural capabilities, in recent years her expertise has been utilised within the sectors of Sport and Recreation and Māori economic development.

In her spare time, she enjoys Netball, Touch and Waka Ama.

In the words of Princess Te Puia “Mahia te mahi, hei painga mo te iwi” (Do the work for the betterment of the people). Where possible Bobbi endeavours to activate this call to action from a prominent Waikato tipuna.

Donna worked in various areas of Blind Low Vision NZ for almost 20 years and in 2020 was elected to the Board of Directors. Currently working for an agricultural staffing agency in the South Island, Donna continues to work in advocacy and support in the blindness community.

Donna is the Chair of Blind Sport New Zealand as well as Chair for New Zealand Blind Cricket Association. Having completed papers in psychology, sociology, social science and human behaviours along with a certificate and sport and recreation, Donna’s passion is not just people, but accessible sport for people with disabilities.

A former professional cyclist with a distinguished 15-year career, Rushlee Buchanan represented New Zealand at multiple Olympics and World Championships. While competing she completed a Bachelor of Business and a Masters in Sport Management through Massey University. She chaired the first Cycling New Zealand Athlete’s voice committee and created and managed an in-house CNZ mentoring program.

Andrea Hansen née Hewitt MNZM represented New Zealand in triathlon from 2005 to 2022. She competed in three Olympic Games and four Commonwealth Games. Over her distinguished career Hansen claimed five World Championship medals, two Commonwealth Games medals and the Under 23 World Championship.

A New Zealand representative in Olympic weightlifting since 2013, Cam McTaggart took up the sport after competing in gymnastics for seven years. McTaggart competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth games and the 2022 Birmingham commonwealth games. 

As a member of New Zealand’s prestigious rowing eight, Ella Greenslade claimed world championship gold (2019) and Olympic silver (2020) medals. Raised on a farm in North Canterbury, Greenslade was introduced to rowing when she attended boarding school at St Margrets College.

James Scott is a member of the Rowing NZ 2023/24 elite squad.  The Tauranga rower was selected for the men’s squad for the 2022 World Cup and made his elite debut in the single skull at that event. He was treasurer of the University of Waikato Rowing Club for three years.

James is in the final year of a double degree in Business and Law at the University of Waikato, with a particular focus on mediation and arbitration. 

Born in South Africa to a Kiwi mum, Natalie Brunzel also lived in Egypt before settling in New Zealand at the age of 14. In 2016 she took up shooting and proved a natural, representing New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup in UAE and the 2019 World Championships in Sydney. At the 2019 World Championships she won a medal in the Air Rifle Teams event.

A member of the Parafed Auckland Shooting Club (PASC), Natalie’s goal is to represent New Zealand at the upcoming Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. She competes with the rifle in the SH2 sports class.

She has a Master’s degree in Communication.

Gymnast Olivia Jöbsis represented New Zealand at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. She has worked as a coach for preschool to competitive gymnasts, a judge, a choreographer, and programme manager.

Jöbsis was an athlete specialist on the Gymnastics New Zealand Steering Committee that worked to implement the recommendations contained in the 2021 independent review of the sport. Since completing her law degree, she has volunteered at Community Law (Women’s Sessions) and Youth Law Aotearoa. 

Triathlete Ryan Sissons is a Commonwealth Game medallist who also competed at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Sissons won bronze as part of New Zealand’s team in the mixed team relay event at Gold Coast 2018. He began racing on the ITU world stage in 2009, notching multiple top 10 performances as well as two ITU World Cup wins.

Sara Winther won multiple world cups and national championships in various sailing classes, and competed at the 2012 Olympics in the ILCA 6 class. She attended the Rio and Tokyo Olympics as a coach and currently coaches part-time for Australia. Winther recently earned her Master’s in Psychology and is publishing her research on stress and mood in elite athletes.

Currently Chair of the Drug Free Sport New Zealand Athlete Commission, former rower Toby Cunliffe-Steel competed internationally from 2009 to 2016. He was the first New Zealand rower to win a medal at a World Universiade and narrowly missed qualification for the Rio Olympics.

He has worked in commercial roles with several National Sport Organisations, sits on boards for various sporting non-profits, and served as an Ambassador for Richie McCaw and Dan Carter’s charity, iSport.

He has a Master’s Degree in Sport Management with First Class Honours. He continues to be active in community sport.

Former Olympic weightlifter Tracey Lambrechs represented New Zealand at three Commonwealth Games, claiming a bronze medal at the 2014 games.  She was selected as New Zealand’s flag bearer at the 2015 Pacific games, and a year later she placed 13 at the 2016 Olympics.  The multiple national champion, Oceania and World Cup medallist has worked as a Drug Free Sport educator and is currently a member of the Drug Free Sport New Zealand Athlete Commission.

Boxer Troy Garton is a five-time national champion and Commonwealth Games bronze medalist. On her debut appearance at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018 Garton claimed the bronze medal in the under 60kg category.

Garton grew up in Auckland and is of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine and Fijian-New Zealand descent. She is a personal trainer and group fitness instructor at Les Mills Auckland City, and recently became a mother.