Nurain is a Chartered Accountant and experienced non-executive director for charities in New Zealand and internationally. Born in the Maldives, she is a speaker, storyteller and advocate for diversity and inclusion. Her mission is to create a more equitable world through leadership and strategic decision-making.

Her lived experience inspired her to create Authenticity Aotearoa. Nurain currently works as a Senior Consultant in the Turnaround & Restructuring strategy team at Ernst & Young.

Nurain was recognised as a Business Leader in the 2020 University of Auckland's "40 Under-40" honourees. She was a finalist in the 2021 NZ Women in Governance Awards and the 2017 Women of Influence Awards. Nurain represented and advocated for young women of colour at the 2017 UN Commission on the Status of Women.

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Kat is an Iranian-Kurdish New Zealander and former child refugee with a passion for people and social change. With over a decade of experience as an advisor on international development, human rights, social cohesion, and community development, Kat has consulted on a range of pressing contemporary challenges, including refugee protection and inclusion in Jordan, Turkey, and Germany (UNHCR; JLIFC; RSC), gender equality in Washington DC (CEDAW), and integration policies in the UK (UCL; Oxford), to name a few.

After living in 9 countries across 5 continents, Kat has returned home to Aotearoa New Zealand. Her mission is to bring a global vision to local needs through incisive analyses of social realities and strengthening partnerships across sectors.

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Dion is a Senior Solicitor in the litigation team at Duncan Cotterill. He is currently the director of two businesses - a beverage company, and an entertainment company.

Dion brings experience from the non-profit sector with experience across youth organisations such as AIESEC and JCI New Zealand.

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Naushyn is a solicitor and researcher, keenly interested in the nexus between climate change, litigation and policymaking.She is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees of 350 Aotearoa, the New Zealand arm of the international climate movement 350.org. Naushyn currently works as Assistant Crown Counsel at the Crown Law Office.

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Ashreen is a Fiji Indian Kiwi with a passion to serve diverse communities and social enterprise for a greater impact. She has worked in the professional accounting sector for a number of years assisting a wide range of small to medium businesses in Aotearoa.

She has consistently displayed her passion for women empowerment by taking part in various female led initiatives including being a member of CPA New Zealand Women in Business committee.

Her other interests include travelling to diverse countries for vast cultural experiences and exposure, volunteering for causes that speak to her heart and building strong connections.

A few years ago, she ticked off one of her big bucket list items of trekking to Mt Everest Base Camp!

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Maria is a Russian Syrian who moved to Aotearoa at 17 to pursue studies at the University of Auckland. A recent migrant herself, Maria’s goal is to empower BIPOC people living in Aotearoa, making sure ethnic voices are included and heard. Her most recent project was to create Aotearoa’s first refugee-owned business directory.

She is a loud voice in the Russian-speaking community, fighting for the inclusion of North-Asian perspectives and working on better integration for her people in Aotearoa. You can usually catch her on Instagram, bringing awareness to what’s happening in post-Soviet countries as we speak.

She has recently started a new role at Shopify but would like to eventually move to the not-for-profit sector, hoping to bring various skills and languages to use there.

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Nicole was born in China and moved to New Zealand when she was 9. She is a technologist and innovator, passionate about improving diversity & inclusion and representation of BIPOC and marginalised voices. She is also passionate about creating social impact through advancing the adoption of technology to advance sustainable development, particularly in tackling the challenges as set out by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and improving digital equity for all.

She has worked in sectors spanning technology and business with experience in corporates, startups and nonprofits, in diverse roles ranging from Data Science, to Marketing, Consulting and Assurance. She is a prominent voice and advocate for diversity in the tech sector, championing for women and other underrepresented groups. She’s been involved in groups including AI Forum NZ, Philanthropy NZ Youth Advisory Group and has been recognised for her efforts in community as a Kiwibank Local Hero Medalist and as a finalist in the Impact Awards for Inclusion.

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Nidha is a Pakistani-Kiwi passionate about lifting up and helping other women of colour as she understands what it is like to navigate a career in the public sector. Nidha currently works as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Health.

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With ten years of cross-functional management experience across customer service, sales, and operational roles, Nerisa is now pursuing a Master’s degree in Marketing to advance and leverage her existing skill set. She is a mom to a beautiful young daughter, and passionate about empowering women of colour.

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