Our Trustees
The Trustees of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary bring a wealth of experience to their strategic and governance roles. They are all passionate advocates for a sanctuary within this area of spectacular mountains, lakes and rivers, protecting thriving ecosystems and abundant wildlife that are enjoyed by people who treasure this whenua puiaki.
Greg Lind
Co-Chair
Greg Lind recently retired from DOC after 32 years in a number of roles, the most recent being operations manager for Te Anau District, managing Fiordland National Park. He brings extensive experience in leading large-scale predator control programmes such as Battle for our Birds. In addition to this Greg has had much involvement with community groups and commercial businesses engaging in conservation, including on Rakiura/Stewart Island and in the Whakatipu basin. Greg has recently become a trustee of the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust, is an conservation advisor to the National Parks and Conservation Foundation, and is active on conservation projects around his home town of Cromwell.
Leslie Van Gelder
Co-Chair
Leslie Van Gelder holds a Ph.D. in Place Studies and Experiential Education and is a Professor of Education with specialisation in global and indigenous education at Walden University. She has worked in the conservation sector since 2006 developing an international global leadership network which linked together conservation and heritage professionals from 55 countries. Her work as an archaeologist answering questions about human responses to climate change has allowed her to bring together and manage diverse teams, government agencies, and traditional landowners towards common goals. In the Queenstown Lakes District she recently served on the mayor’s Vision 2050 taskforce and locally chairs the Glenorchy Heritage and Museum Group. Leslie has also served as a committee member of the Central Otago Lakes Branch of Forest and Bird and currently co-directs the Glenorchy Dark Skies Sanctuary project.
Jo Booker
Soho Property Ltd
Jo has grown up in the mountains, and has witnessed the transformation of the four properties which make up the Mahu Whenua Covenants from traditionally farmed sheep stations to high country properties being restored to their natural condition. Jo has a passion for conservation and when she’s not working can often be found in the hills beyond Arrowtown, removing wilding pines or clearing tracks. She is part of the management team of Soho Property Ltd.
Geoff Hughes
Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust
Geoff Hughes was formerly a hospital doctor, taking early retirement four years ago. He has considerable experience in organisational management and governance in the health sector. At the time of retirement Geoff was an executive clinical director with budget responsibilities for $200 million and 1000 staff across two hospitals in Australia, having been a clinical director in NZ before that. On retirement Geoff changed direction and focussed on making a contribution to conservation and was appointed as a part time executive officer to the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust in 2016.
Margrethe (Mags) Helles
Matukituki Catchment Animal Pest Control Project
Mags has been involved in establishing and running various conservation projects in the Wānaka area. She has a passion for behaviour change and motivation psychology to help drive change in the conservation space. Having worked in project management and marketing for non-for-profit organisations, she has extensive experience in establishing and managing relationships as well as community and volunteer engagement. With a background in psychology and research, she is currently working as a Sleep Therapist in Wānaka.
Tony Patterson
Whakatipu Wildlife Trust
Tony’s love for Queenstown, both for its people and its natural beauty, has been a lifelong affair. In fact, it started before he was born; his extended family had a much-loved and visited bach in Frankton and later built in Dalefield, where they were part of a fantastic network of people. Tony has carried this sense of community throughout his life, and is deeply passionate about working for the mutual benefit of local people and environment. A key way this manifests for him is respecting our beautiful backyard, and exploring sustainability solutions that will protect and enhance our native wildlife for years to come.
Andrew Penniket
Central Otago Lakes Branch of NZ Forest & Bird Protection Society
Andrew has been involved in predator trapping and conservation in the Wanaka/Southern Lakes area for over 25 years, reflecting his life-long interest in nature and conservation. After completing biology degrees Andrew moved to Dunedin to join the TVNZ Natural History Unit making wildlife films. He spent over 30 years filming underwater for many overseas networks, including work on several BBC flagship series. In Wanaka he helped establish the Makarora trapping network as well as instigating live capture trapping networks around Makarora and Matukituki Rivers. Andrew managed Te Kakano Aotearoa’s community plant nursery for 12 years and also initiated a high altitude trapping line around Roys Peak and Mount Alpha. He continues to be in awe of our wonderful wildlife.
Kris Vollebregt
Wānaka Backyard Trapping
Kris Vollebregt worked as an exploration geologist in Australia and Indonesia for 8 years, before settling in NZ to raise a family. She “retired” from geology and became heavily involved in working and volunteering on conservation projects. She currently resides in Wānaka, working as Nursery Manager at the Te Kakano Aotearoa Trust community native plant nursery. One of her conservation efforts was establishing the Wānaka Backyard Trapping group in 2018.
Amanda Hasselman
Temple Peak Station, Glenorchy
Amanda has farmed in Glenorchy for over 40 years now alongside husband Mark and has enjoyed exploring the surrounding hills with family and friends. Originally from Suffolk in England, Amanda graduated with a degree in Geography and set off to see the world, eventually ending up in stunning Glenorchy. She works on the farm which is now Carbon Zero certified, and confirms it is a lifestyle where the focus is on living within the constraints of the environment. Amanda says that being a part of the Trust is a great opportunity to help make a difference to local biodiversity and contribute towards Predator Free NZ.
Bruce Jefferies
Conservation Management and Planning Systems
Bruce has worked for over four decades as an advisor, consultant, and practitioner and has knowledge and experience in both the theory and practice of conserving large, complex landscape-scale systems. Bruce’s expertise encompasses a range of conservation planning, management, monitoring/evaluation systems, and training experience, acquired in New Zealand (NZ National Park Service for 25 years), Pacific Island countries and states, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Nauru, Samoa, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, South and East Asia (Nepal, Bhutan, Philippines, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Timor Leste), and several other island nations.
Ross Sinclair
Conservation Biologist
Ross has lived or holidayed in the Southern Lakes Sanctuary landscape since childhood. He started his career in conservation as a Wildlife Ranger for DoC in the early 1990s and has worked in conservation in over a dozen countries, mostly in the Asia Pacific. Ross has a PhD in conservation biology and provides technical advice on conservation, protected areas, nature-based solutions, and environmental and wildlife health. Across the dozens of landscape-scale projects he has been involved in worldwide, Ross has seen few as compelling as the Southern Lakes Sanctuary.