Our Board and our team are innovators with diverse backgrounds and experience, from human rights, to technology start-ups, to design and innovation, to corporate leadership, to social enterprise and social innovation.
John Allen has been Chair of the Be. Institute since its inception in 2011 and is the current Chief Executive of WellingtonNZ, formerly known as the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency.
Prudence is the Chief Executive of the Disabled Persons Assembly NZ (DPA), a Be. Leadership alumni, and a proud disabled woman dedicated to designing a more accessible Aotearoa for all.
Aroha Lowe is a fluent speaker of Te Reo Māori and a social justice activist, community worker, educator and advocate. She co-founded NOA Open Art Studio at Te Manawa Museum and Art Gallery in Palmerston North.
A former CEO of Wang New Zealand (now known as gen-i), which under Ant's leadership reinvented itself from a product company to become one of the country’s most innovative and successful systems integration and services companies.
A positive, visionary, optimistic and authentic leader with a blend of public and private sector experience and strong academic qualifications.
Minnie Baragwanath is the Founder of the Be. Institute and Chief Possibility Officer of the newly established Global Centre of Possibility @ AUT.
Neville joined the Be. Team in 2016, and has an extensive background in Customer Experience and taking services and products to market.
Lesley was part of the founding team of Be. Accessible, bringing with her extensive experience in human resource, organisational change and leadership development.
Hannah joined the Be. Team in 2015, and is passionate about people, the planet, and the power of stories to create change.
Lauren's journey with Be. started at the very beginning, as Minnie's first employee and personal assistant in 2011.
Sarah joined the Be. team in 2014, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in employee advocacy, recruitment and professional development.
Michael joined Be. Lab in 2020, bringing with him experience in the community, not-for-profit, and diversity and inclusion space.
Angelo joined the Be. Team in 2021, and is committed to sharing his knowledge with others, and to being part of the solution in building a world that is inclusive of people with access needs.
Colleen joined the Be. Team in 2018, and is passionate about ensuring our built environment welcomes and empowers the diverse array of people that make up our communities.
Genevieve joined the Be. Team in 2015. She loves sharing her knowledge with others, to help them broaden their understanding of accessibility as benefiting a wide range of people, not just those with physical disabilities.
Jessica joined the Be. Team in 2021, and is passionate about social sustainability, and ensuring that all people can access all spaces, places, events, and experiences in New Zealand.
Rosie joined the Be. Team in 2021, bringing with her experience in the sector, and a belief in the power of sharing stories of those with lived experience, to inspire change to create a fully accessible New Zealand.
Samantha joined the Be. Team in 2021, after a decade of working in the building compliance, architectural and accessibility space. Using her experience, she loves showing others just how easy accessibility can be to achieve.
Tony joined the Be. Team in 2011, and is passionate about creating pathways to a society that is accessible for all people.