Our People

Helene Phillips
– Chairman

Helene and her partner, Peter Jarvis moved to Acacia Bay in Taupo to semi-retire in 2008.

A Director of Ferner Galleries, one of New Zealand’s leading art dealers founded by Peter in Auckland in 1985, Helene is a former Foundation Trustee of the Auckland Art Fair and Trustee of the Lake Taupo Arts Trust. She has been President of the Tauhara Luncheon and Lecture Club, a member of the Taupo Women’s Club and was secretary of the organising committee for the 69th annual conference of the New Zealand Rhododendron Association held in Taupo in 2013. She served as an Ambassador of the Geyser Community Foundation from 2013 until her appointment as a Trustee in 2018. Helene was elected Chairman in 2021.

Jan Bolton

Jan Bolton is no stranger to the Community Foundation concept. A long-time supporter of the Kaingaroa Village and Murupara communities, she joined Geyser’s Family of Donors back in 2009 and having been appointed as a Trustee in 2021, looks forward to becoming more involved.

A successful local business woman, Jan is proud to live and work in Murupara, where she owns and manages Kaingaroa Roading Contractors, which maintains the unsealed road network in Timberlands’ world renowned Kaingaroa Forest Estate spanning some 200,000 ha in the Central North Island. Six years ago, Jan bought the local garage to house the roading equipment and has also kept it as a working garage.  She can now be found pumping gas from 8 am to 5 pm, five days each week and loves it.

Appointed as a Trustee by the Mayor of Rotorua, Jan has one daughter, a son-in-law – both of whom work for Red Stag Timber, and a granddaughter who attends Murupara Area School.

Mary-Robyn Clement

Born and raised in Rotorua, Mary-Robyn is a chartered accountant and Associate of True North Chartered Accountants. She began her accountancy career in Sydney, and after a short break to raise her family, returned to work in Rotorua. With over 20 years’ experience in the chartered accountancy field, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Geyser.

A people person, Mary-Robyn has four adult children and two grandchildren. In her spare time she enjoys walking, reading and relaxing with friends and family.

Michael Grantham

Michael and his wife, Dineen established Grantham Law in Taupo in 2009. The firm now services the wider Taupo and Turangi region and assists with all aspects of family law, trusts, estates, residential and commercial property, as well as immigration and typical general practise legal services.

Having lived in Taupo for almost 20 years, Michael enjoys being part of the greater Taupo community. He enjoys exercising and makes use of the excellent community facilities available in Taupo, and looks forward to the various art and festival activities offered in the local community. In his spare time, he follows cycling, enjoys catching up with friends and family, reading and pottering in the garden while listening to podcasts.

For the past five years, Michael has served as Parent Representative on their youngest son’s Board of Trustees, and now looks forward to contributing to the continued success of the Geyser Community Foundation.
Michael and Dineen have four children: one at high school and three adults.

Paul Laing

Paul Laing is the Commercial Manager at Red Stag Timber.

A Chartered Accountant, Paul’s background and experience include tenures with Kaingaroa Timberlands and Fletcher Challenge Forests where he managed the accounting and performance improvements respectively.  He also has a high level of understanding of the health sector having held Finance Manager, transition management, analyst and accounting roles for Pacific Health, The Treasury and South Thames Regional Health Authority, and is a former Chair of QE Health.

Well-known in the local community, Paul loves the outdoors where you will often find him mountain biking, water skiing and participating in other sporting activities.

Ann Nicholas

A planning consultant, Ann is a principal of Sigma Consultants, a company she helped establish in Rotorua in 1993. Originally from Christchurch, she completed her planning degree in Auckland before moving to Rotorua 40+ years ago, where she and her husband, Ian, who died in 2013, brought up their three children.

The local community has always been important to Ann. She has been involved in a number of voluntary organisations in Rotorua, including being an active member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Rotorua. Outside of work, Ann enjoys walking, biking, gardening and reading, as well as a variety of handcrafts, and spending time with family and friends.

Ali Painter

Ali and her husband came to Rotorua in 1973.

With a background in education and school sport during her tenure at both Rotorua Girls High School and Rotorua Lakes High School (as Deputy Principal), she has been involved in a wide range of local and regional level sports, as well as a number
of education leadership and professional development groups.

A Trustee of Sport Bay of Plenty for seven years, and member of the Local Body allocation committee for the (then) Hillary Commission, she is a former Chair of St Chads Communication Centre Trust, working for people with disabilities, and
currently serves on the Rotorua Golf Club Board, having been former Chair.

Community involvement includes serving on the steering committee and co-management of the Rotorua Teen Parent School, for which Ali received a Multi Serve School Project Award and in 1994, received a Woolf Fisher Award for School Leadership. In 2007, she left the New Zealand education system to take a Lead Advisor position with Cognition Education, a Kiwi company contracted to the Abu Dhabi Education reform project.

Six local grandchildren, a large garden and the very enticing Arikikapakapa golf course keep Ali busy when not working in the local community.

Don Stewart

Having moved to Rotorua from Auckland in 1980, Don is a well-known and respected Chartered Accountant who has practiced for more than 40 years.

A principal of Nairn Fisher for the past 25 years, Don advises a wide range of clients in the areas of taxation, business structures and succession planning.

He has been involved with many community organisations over the years, including working with the JR McKenzie Trust, and is a Past President of Rotorua Lakes Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow.

Don and his wife Clare have three adult children and several grandchildren.

They are passionate about Rotorua and the lifestyle it offers; golf, fishing and mountain biking are favourite activities when time permits.

Alan Wills – Deputy Chair

The rural community of Reporoa has always ben important to Alan, who grew up there. His parents purchased land post WW2, one of the 170 pioneering families to settle there in the early 1950s.

Educated in Reporoa, Auckland and Canterbury (where he met his wife, Alison), Alan always wanted to be a farmer. After graduating from the School of Agriculture of Canterbury University College (now known as Lincoln University), he took up a 50/50 share-milking position on a family property in Reporoa. He and Alison married in 1976 and after six years share-milking, they purchased part of the family sheep farm and converted it to dairy.

Alan spent 15 years chairing the Board of Trustees of both Reporoa Primary and Reporoa College, and recently completed a six-year term as President of Rotorua/Taupo Federated Farmers.

In his spare time, Alan enjoys competition ploughing and led the New Zealand team overseas to compete at the World Ploughing Championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Alan and Alison have four adult children and 12 grand children.

A Fellow of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand, she is a Past Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Community Trust, a former inaugural Trustee of Parksyde Older Persons Community Centre, a Past President of the Rotary Club of Rotorua Lakes and a Paul Harris Fellow.

You can contact Annette on (07) 349 7496 or email annette@geysercf.org.nz

Originally from Opotiki, Leanne has lived in Rotorua with her husband and their two children for more than 20 years. She currently volunteers for Swim Rotorua and was the Maori representative on the Board of Trustees for Te Kura o Tihiōtonga / Otonga Primary School from 2019 to 2022.

Leanne enjoys being poolside / side-line supporting her tamariki and whanau in their chosen activities. She also enjoys taking time out for herself playing netball / sports, cooking, and spending quality time with friends and whanau.

You can contact Leanne on (07) 349 7496 or email GeyserAdmin@geysercf.org.nz
She is in the office 9 am – 1 pm, Monday to Friday.