Sarah is our Kaiwhakahaere Matua Chief Executive. Her role is to lead Recreation Aotearoa towards Te Pae Tawhiti / our mission Te Whai Oranga – enhancing wellbeing through recreation. Her focus is to ensure we deliver quality programmes and services that support, empower, and inspire our members and stakeholders, and that Recreation Aotearoa is a strong voice for recreation in New Zealand.

Sarah joined Recreation Aotearoa in March 2023. Prior to this she worked for central and local government in roles that saw her working across parks and open spaces, outdoors, community recreation, sport and play. She has held several sector governance roles. She was a founding trustee of the Shift Foundation, and a Board member of Recreation Aotearoa and WORD Youth Adventures. She is also a long-standing committee member for Revolve, a (mostly) non-competitive cycling club focused on getting more women on bikes.

A keen swimmer, cyclist, kayaker and tramper, in her spare time she loves getting active and connecting with our natural environments.