Trustees

Our mission is to encourage Northlanders to give where they live. We know that Northlanders are generous people. We want to ensure that everyone has the chance to give a gift that goes on giving to something that they are passionate about in Northland.

The Foundation’s Trustees bring together a wide range of expertise including business and financial management, law and community development. Board members volunteer their time to oversee the functions of the Foundation and provide representation from around Northland.

Meet the Trustees

• 

  Richard Ayton

  Born and raised in Mid Canterbury Richard studied Law at Canterbury University eventually becoming a partner in a Christchurch law firm in the 1970’s. Richard found that the Northland weather was more suiting to his passion for sailing and moved here in the early 1980’s. He eventually settled in Kerikeri and extended his interests in horticultural, farming.

  Richard is a partner in Law North and supports the Northland Community Foundation with his expertise in the legal field. He has been involved in many sporting and community organizations with competitive sailing being Richard’s pastime of choice. In between he has found time to raise two children and two stepchildren with his wife Tracey.

  Richard has a commitment to the Northland Community Foundation and he summed that up by saying “After more than 20 years in Northland I feel like a local – the area has been good to me and I see my involvement with the Foundation as a way of developing the opportunities for the community that I live in and work within.”

• 

  Brent Eastwood

  Born and bred in Northland, Brent graduated from the University of Otago with a Bachelor of Physical Education. He has been the Chief Executive at Sport Northland – one of the leading regional sports trusts in NZ – since 1999.  Sport Northland’s core business is leading and supporting sport and recreation in Northland.

  Brent is experienced in governance, having held a variety of directorships since 1996, from a local level right through to national level.  He was a board member of Sportnet NZ for 6 years and was a Director of Northland Rugby for 5 years.  He is currently also on the board of Recreation Aotearoa and the Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST).

  Brent’s many strengths led to him being awarded the CK Doig Leadership Award at Sport NZ’s 2016 NZ Sport and Recreation Awards.

• 

  Gavin Buckingham

   Gavin grew up on his parent’s dairy farm just south of Kaitaia. He milked cows for his parents for a year after leaving school and then attended Massey & Auckland Universities focusing on an accounting degree.

  After working in Auckland for five years he headed north to Whangarei becoming a partner at Russell Turner Chartered Accounts in 2006. He enjoys life on his small lifestyle property at Whakapara with wife Ursula (a passionate Waipu girl) and new daughter Brianna, a few pigs and some Pitt Island sheep.

  He is a keen diver, fisherman, kayaker and a multisport enthusiast, completing the one day coast to coast event in 2008.

• 

  Richard Alspach

  I am a farmer. I have spent the best part of the last fifty years representing and advocating on behalf of rural communities. Increasingly over that time it has become obvious that those communities are on the back foot. We simply don’t have enough votes. We have to find ways of looking after ourselves, because nobody else is going to do it for us. Hence my strong support for the Northland Foundation, and particularly the Northern Wairoa Fund. It provides a way to fight back, and support our own area and people into the forseeable future. A great concept.

• 

  Season Downs

  Season-Mary Downs

  (Te Kapotai, Ngati Hine, Ngapuhi)

  Season-Mary was born and raised in Northland and is a Director of Tukau Law. Season-Mary has extensive experience advising and representing whanau, hapu, and iwi clients in Maori legal matters and Treaty of Waitangi claims processes. Season-Mary is an active member of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa (Māori Law Society). Season-Mary has completed a PhD with the University of Waikato, on her thesis being “Nga taumata o te moana: Reconciling the governance and ownership of the takutai moana (foreshore and seabed)”. Season-Mary is dedicated to working with whanau, hapu and iwi clients to achieve their long term aspirations.

• 

  Megan Wills

  Megan Wills is a Director of Wills Westerna a boutique law firm in Whangarei. Megan is also the Treasurer for Volunteering Northland and Trustee of Te Hau Owhiowhio Otangarei.

  Megan’s areas of expertise are commercial work, conveyancing and establishing family and charitable trusts. Megan is also focused on helping her clients with relationship property issues together with estate planning including wills and estate administration.

  Megan has a genuine interest in her clients wellbeing and works towards ensuring they receive the best outcome available.

  Having lived in Auckland and Wellington, Megan was a foundation student at the University of Waikato graduating with an LLB in 1994. Megan has worked in a number of law firms in both Auckland and Whangarei gaining a broad knowledge of law. Once established in Whangarei Megan completed a Bachelor of Arts in history. Megan joined the firm at the beginning of 2014 becoming a Director in the same year.

  Megan enjoys supporting her three children in their academic and sports activities. Megan also enjoys putting on her gumboots and helping her husband in their family farm in her spare time as well as relaxing with friends and family at the beach.

• 

  Nicola Hartwell

  Nicola Hartwell is a lawyer employed by Northland Regional Council and an active member of the Whangārei Heads community, volunteering her time as: deputy chair of the Bream Head Conservation Trust; trapper in the Bream Head Reserve; and coach of the nippers at Whangārei Heads Junior Surf Lifesaving Club.

• 

  Pip Zammit

  Pip Zammit is our new Northland DHB representative on the Foundation Board. Pip is the Director of Allied Health, Science and Technology for the Northland DHB. Pip is the Service Manager of Oral Health and is also the Chair of the Northland Regional Clinical Governance Forum.