ANZEA is governed by a Board of up to 12 elected Directors. These Directors serve for an initial three year term and can be re-elected twice. The Board consists of five named office bearers (two Co-Convenors, Deputy Convenor, Treasurer, Secretary) and up to seven general board directors, all elected by the membership.

Kara Scally-Irvine is the current ANZEA Co-Convenor (please refer to full bio below)

ANZEA Board 2022-2025

Karen Bissell

I'm a current ANZEA Board Member and member of the Professional Development sub-committee.

I have worked in public health since 1994 across research, policy, education, evaluation and advocacy. I am a Senior Lecturer at the School of Population Health, University of Auckland where I teach a postgraduate one semester course in Programme Evaluation. I also work as Senior Advisor and Planner, Research and Evaluation for the Auckland Regional Public Health Service, although most of the last 2 years has been work on the response to COVID-19!

Emma Fergusson

Dr Emma Fergusson (MNZPI) joined the ANZEA Board in 2022.

Emma has a keen appreciation of the challenges facing evaluators working in political/politicised contexts, having worked in both central and local government, and as a member of the Cross-agency Research and Evaluation Managers forum. She believes that persistently inquiring into what works (and what doesn’t!) across all kinds of social, environmental and economic policies is an ethical imperative.

Emma has moved between the public sector and academia throughout her career, teaching policy analysis and evaluation at Massey prior to joining Kāinga Ora, where she now manages the Evaluation and Research team. 

Kara Scally-Irvine

Hi! I’m your current ANZEA Convenor/Chair, a position I feel very honoured to hold on behalf of our members. This is my second term on the board.

I'm a passionate advocate for the evaluation profession and the value it can add to any initiative. I'm particularly passionate about 'spreading the evaluation love' by building people's capacity in evaluative thinking and practice.

This is why I'm in my happy place being involved with ANZEA’s Professional Development activities and the upcoming conference. I also try to build it into any of the consulting work I am lucky enough to do. This includes work in the science system (my 'home base'), international development (my other 'home base'), education, sport and recreation, wellbeing initiatives.

Natalie Slade

Tena koutou katoa, ko Natalie Slade ahau. I am excited to join the ANZEA Board in 2022.

As an evaluator, I am passionate about making a difference through evidence-based storytelling. I enjoy exploring the ‘how’ and ‘why’, and helping people answer the important questions that inform evaluative decision-making for policy and practice.

I currently work as a senior advisor in the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) team at MFA. I also share my passion for research ethics as an external member of the Kāinga Ora Human Participant Research Ethics Committee. 

Sarah Talboys

Kia ora! I joined the ANZEA board in 2022.

One of the perspectives that I bring to ANZEA’s Board is that of commissioning evaluations and completing internal evaluations for a central government agency. Working for the Crown shapes my professional interests in being a good te Tiriti partner, collective impact, and strengthening evaluative thinking and monitoring in continuous delivery (aka Agile, which is an iterative approach to project management).

A fun fact about me is that just when I thought I’d completed all of the Great Walks in Aotearoa, DoC added a new one! You’ll find me on the Paparoa Track later this year.

Lee Henley
Lee Henley currently leads the Research and Evaluation team within Te Pou Whakamārama (Evidence, Research, and Innovation) directorate, Manatū Hauora. The R&E team has the functional lead for research and evaluation activities across the Ministry and the team will be designing and implementing frameworks from research, evaluation, and the commissioning of these activities. Lee has held a diverse range of roles across health, social and public sectors in the UK, Aotearoa and Cambodia, with some work in Nepal, Nigeria and Uganda. He is currently undertaking a part time Ph.D. at Massey University focusing on decision-making by allied health professions when asking older adults about alcohol, this study employs Participatory Action Research and Lee recognises he has much to learn!
Ruth Pritchard

Kia ora koutou katoa. I joined the ANZEA Board in 2023. I feel honoured to be part of an organisation which promotes a vision for making a difference to people’s lives through high quality and responsive evaluation, and to work with members who are so passionate, knowledgeable and skilled in evaluation.

My background is mainly in teaching, including professional development and mathematics education at VUW. I have undertaken educational evaluation since joining the Education Review office in 2010, where I currently lead projects as a Senior Evaluator in Te Ihuwaka | Education Evaluation Centre. I have a post-graduate diploma in Social Sector Evaluation Research and have presented at ANZEA and EES conferences and led an evaluation which received the AES Excellence in Public Sector Evaluation award in 2022.

Meremoana Potiki

Tēnā koutou

He uri tēnei nō kā taha e rua o te awa o Waitaki arā ko Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe me Waitaha.

I am passionate about using research and evaluation as advocacy tools for my people and building evaluation capacity among whānau and hapori Māori. I’m particularly interested in designing bespoke evaluative tools and frameworks that reflect the needs of individual hapū and iwi.

I’m currently a research and evaluation consultant at Allen + Clarke having previously worked across the tertiary, health, justice and Māori development sectors as an independent research contractor.

Mauri ora!

Sulieti Filimoehala
Malo e lelei, my name is Sulieti Filimoehala. Born in New Zealand and of Tongan descent, I currently reside in Christchurch.

I am the Research and Evaluation Lead at Elika Consulting Group (ECG). Before this role, I served as an Evaluator at the Pasifika Medical Association, where I evaluated the health and wellbeing of Pacific families in New Zealand. Additionally, I held the position of Knowledge Manager for three primary healthcare clinics in Auckland and Christchurch.

I am passionate about evaluation because it provides the rationale to address diverse needs and fosters opportunities for continuous improvement. My background as a Tongan evaluator has equipped me to thoughtfully consider how various experiences influence the quality, value, and significance of different aspects. This cultural perspective allows me to engage in meticulous and thorough examination of evidence and its interpretation, ensuring a more comprehensive and meaningful evaluation process. 
 

ANZEA's day-to-day operations are managed by our two part-time managers. 

Raewyn McLean (Finance Manager) and Tess Laurenson (Engagement Manager)

Management

Raewyn McLean
Tess Laurenson