Board Profiles

Alan Holmes

Married with two daughters aged eight and two, Alan's eldest daughter attended a Ruahine Kindergarten and his youngest can't wait to start.

Alan's involvement with his local kindergarten committee sparked an interest in the Association. Having been a board member for the past five years, he enjoys the challenge that comes with being part of the early childhood sector and looks forward to continuing to support the Association going forward.

Brent O'Brien

With three children aged three, six and seven, Brent is no stranger to kindergarten life. Brent manages a local business and says his involvement with Ashhurst Kindergarten has made him more aware of issues facing local communities, kindergartens and early childhood education as a whole.

Bruce Pearson

Bruce has been a member of the Ruahine Kindergartens Association Board for three years, initially becoming involved via the Ashhurst Kindergarten Committee. Although his two children now attend school, he says he enjoys the opportunity to contribute to an organisation that provides by far the best early childhood education in the region.

Bruce has extensive experience in state sector health and tertiary education management. He has also managed private sector and voluntary organisations.

Clare Lees-Galloway

Clare is Mum to two wonderful children, both of whom attended Parkland Kindergarten. She chairs the Parkland Kindergarten Committee and is a current member of the Parkland School Board of Trustees, a role she finds both challenging and rewarding. Prior to the birth of her second child, Clare also worked as a event manager.

She believes a new general manager and reinvigorated board will mean new ideas and vision for the future and is excited to be a part of this new chapter in Ruahine Kindergartens history.

Melissa Stott

Melissa is a mother of two young boys, one of whom currently attends Linton Area Kindergarten. She is a strong believer in the value of quality early childhood education delivered by professional teachers.

Melissa says being on the Board will give her an opportunity to assist in making the right decisions to ensure children at Ruahine Kindergartens receive the best possible start. She has previous experience in the health sector as a registered nurse and general manager of a district health board. This practical experience will enable her to provide strategic vision at a governance level. 

Nigel Hardy

As owner of several chiropractic clinics, Nigel feels privileged to be a surrogate dad and health care provider for dozens of children within the local community.

Nigel has a huge community vision, especially when it comes to young people, although at this stage he has not had the pleasure of having children of his own. When the opportunity arose to become involved with Ruahine Kindergartens he felt it was the best way to apply his time and energy for positive change throughout the region. He is now looking forward to some amazing change and development for the future of the Association.

Peter Roberts

Peter has three terrific children, with three completely different personalities. He has enjoyed seeing how Ruahine Kindergartens and its staff enabled each of his children to express themselves, discover and integrate in ways that best suited their individual characters.

Peter has a close interest in understanding children’s learning and achievement. He works for part of the College of Education at Massey University, developing administration software for schools. He believes he can give meaningful support to the Association and its communities by helping to shape the future, sharing his experience, passion and enthusiasm.