Saint Kentigern Trust Board Trustee Update

The Saint Kentigern Trust has announced some changes to its Board of Trustees, with the retirement of its Deputy Chair and the appointment of three new board members.

Thank you to retiring Deputy Chair Mrs Kelly Smith

After serving on the board for six years, Deputy Chair Mrs Kelly Smith has decided to step down from her role effective September 2023.

The outgoing Deputy Chair Mrs Smith has made a significant contribution to the Trust Board. The Trust Board has valued her experience in the area of leadership development specifically, and her support in the wellbeing space generally as we have increased our investment and focus in these areas materially over the last 3 years.  Mrs Smith has an extensive executive career in FMCG, is a business owner specialising in talent development with over 10 years of experience in Governance and is a past parent.  She joined the Trust Board in 2017 and was subsequently appointed Deputy Chair in 2020.  She was also a member of the Finance, Audit and Investment Committee.

The board and the community have benefitted from Mrs Smith’s support towards the vision and mission of Saint Kentigern and extend our deepest appreciation for her contribution over the years.

Appointment of three new Board members

The Board is delighted to announce the appointment of three new Trust Board members, Dr. Catherine Harri, Mrs Hannah McQueen and Ms Sharnika Leleni, effective September 2023.

Dr. Catherine Harri has a diverse background in science, management consulting, and project management. Earning her PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Auckland where she conducted her research within the Centre for Brain Research, Dr. Harri has a passion for knowledge and hopes to never stop learning.

Her wide-ranging career spans across management consulting, project management, quality assurance, brand development, and health & safety in a variety of sectors including public health, banking, FMCG and education.

Dr Harri’s family has a long history with Saint Kentigern with several members including her father, Dr Bruce Goodfellow, having attended the school and served on the board.  Her two children attended the preschool and are currently in the Boys’ School and the Girls’ School. 

An active member of her local Presbyterian Church, the NZ Christians in Science and the Parents in Prayer group, Dr Harri has always fostered a desire to be of service.

Mrs Hannah McQueen is a Financial Advisor and a Chartered Accountant Fellow with a Masters in Taxation from University of Auckland. Starting her career in audit, Hannah went on to set up enable.me in 2007, a company that specialises in providing financial strategy and coaching to thousands of clients. Earlier this year she was appointed a Director of AdviceFirst, one of the largest service providers of high quality financial advice and expertise in New Zealand.

Among the many hats she wears, Mrs McQueen is also an accomplished best-selling personal finance author, media commentator and columnist.

Mrs McQueen sits on different Boards and is excited to bring her financial strategy and planning skills to the Board of Saint Kentigern.  She is passionate about helping young adults build their financial capability from a young age so they can better prepare and successfully navigate the financial headwinds to come. A parent, Mrs McQueen has a child at the College and another at the Girls’ School.      

Ms Sharnika Leleni was Saint Kentigern College’s 10th Head Girl in 2013. Upon graduating, she remained actively involved having been on the Old Collegians Executive Committee for the past 10 years.

Ms Leleni graduated with a Bachelor of Law with Honours and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland. During her time at University, she was awarded first in course awards for sociology, dance and music. She was also awarded the Moana Schwalger Law Scholarship in 2018 and was a Faculty of Arts Student of the Year runner up in 2016.  

Ms Leleni is currently a Crown Prosecutor at Kayes Fletcher Walker and is on the Executive Committee of the Pacific Lawyers’ Association. Previously a Senior Solicitor at Russell McVeagh, Ms Leleni was an AMINZ (Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand) scholar in 2021, being identified as a future leader in dispute resolution. She was previously co-lead of Russell McVeagh’s diversity and inclusion (ethnicity) committee and co-lead of Young AMINZ. Ms Leleni has developed a wide network and brings diverse experience from a range of fields. She is passionate about being a voice for young bicultural women.

Each of these appointments brings a diverse range of skills, wealth of experiences, and unique perspectives that will help strengthen the boards’ collective ability to make informed decisions and renewed commitment to support our schools in delivering educational excellence.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Harri, Mrs McQueen and Ms Leleni to the Board. They look forward to meeting community members in their official capacity at upcoming events.