Meet our Trustees
JAMES BATY – Trust Chairperson
James Baty is of Rongomaiwahine, Ngati Konohi and Ngai Tai descent.
He was educated at Kokako School, Waikaremoana and Te Aute College, Hastings where he was a Prefect and awarded dux. He went on to study at Waikato and Victoria Universities. He is currently in an executive leadership role at the Gisborne District Council.
James believes Wairoa is an incredible place to live with its natural beauty, friendly people and relaxed lifestyle. To affect change, he believes the community needs strong leadership with a coordinated and collaborative approach. Where our young people are concerned, he sees the Wairoa Young Achievers Trust as playing a significant role in working towards growing youth achievement.
James sees his role on the trust as one of encouraging, promoting and supporting youth development in order to enable youth to achieve their potential and to become successful and responsible adults who make positive contributions to our community.
Kati, nau te rourou naku te rourou ka ora ai te iwi
With your basket and my basket the people will flourish
Describe your perfect day spent in Wairoa district?
My perfect day would be spent with family out in nature maybe at Mahia or Waikaremoana, good food, good weather and good company.
DENISE EAGLESOME-KAREKARE – Trustee
Ko Whakapunake te Maunga
Ko Wairoa Hopupu Honengenenge Matangirau te Awa
Ko Takitimu te Waka
Ko Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa te Iwi
Ko Ngāi Te Apatu rāua ko Kurupakiaka ngā Hapū
Ko Takitimu rāua ko Taihoa ngā Marae
Ko Hugh McGregor (Dick) rāua ko Arawhita Tamati ōku tīpuna
Ko Ramona tōku māma
Ko Denise Eaglesome-Karekare ahau
Denise has deep roots in the Wairoa community. She attended North Clyde School and Wairoa College and lives on her tūpuna whenua, in the homestead she was raised in by her mother. She is one of eight siblings. Denise is married to Michael, and they have a son, Hugh, and a whāngai daughter, Gabby.
Denise is WYAT’s Chief Executive and has been involved in delivering youth services for more than 15 years, mostly under the Trust’s umbrella. She holds many roles throughout and on behalf of the community, with a particular commitment to youth advocacy. These include: current Wairoa District Councillor and Deputy Mayor; WYAT Trustee; WDC Economic Development Committee Chairperson; member of the WDC Infrastructure, Finance Audit and Risk and Youth Council committees; Director for Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Housing LP; and Te Matau a Māui Health Trust trustee. She also coordinates CACTUS on behalf of WYAT.
Denise loves everything about Wairoa and is passionate about the community and the youth who inspire her work. She feels WYAT’s role is to provide pathways, support, encouragement, and role models for youth.
Whāia te pae tawhiti kia tata, whāia te pae tata kia mau.
“Pursue the distant pathways of your dreams so they may become your reality.”
Describe your perfect day spent in Wairoa district:
Relaxing in my home with my whānau around me. Simple, but extremely important to me right now.
SARA BIRD - Trustee
Ko Rongomaiwahine me Ngāti Kahungunu ōku iwi.
Ko Mike Bird rāua ko Airini Bird (Ormond) ōku matua.
Ko Dan Couper ōku tāne.
Ko Zane rātau ko Thornton, ko Brock ōku tama.
Nō te Wairoa ahau.
Ko Sara Bird ahau.
Sara was born and raised in Wairoa and is currently the manager at the Wairoa Community Centre.
She has volunteered in many areas of the district – planning, supporting, delivering, and coaching to share knowledge, upskill, and empower rangatahi to become young leaders.
In her spare time, Sara loves fishing, hunting, gardening, knitting, and creating.
Whānau time is most important to her, so when the opportunity arises, Sara will be either travelling to Napier or Feilding to see her mokopuna, sons, and their wives/partners. She has five mokopuna – Ares, Freyja, Blair, Bobbie, and Mahia.
Her passion for young people comes from her upbringing. She wants to give back to the local community and share the knowledge she has been given to ensure young people have the information they need, not just in sport.
Describe your perfect day spent in Wairoa district:
It would be getting up in the morning, walking around our small lifestyle block with my mokopuna, collecting kai, then either heading to the pools or the beach for the day. Later, we would come home for a whānau kai with food we’ve dived for and gathered from the maara.
SEAN GASKIN – Trustee
Sean was born in Windsor, United Kingdom and is of English and Irish descent.
On leaving school, he trained to be a chef and then spent many years travelling, living and working around the world.
On returning to the UK, Sean decided on a career change and being of an adventurous artistic nature, he settled in London and became a freelance cartoonist.
After living on the Mediterranean island of Malta and then Australia, Sean moved to New Zealand in 2000 where he established the Hope In Life Trust in Auckland. The trust worked with the NZ Kidney Foundation to produce 12,000 cartoon books every year for 10 years to entertain, educate and reassure children who were in hospitals throughout New Zealand.
Sean moved to Wairoa in 2004 and fell in love with the district and its people.
He worked with the late Ralph and Pat Wichers, minding and educating children, under the church banner. He was invited to become a WYAT trustee in 2005 and subsequently designed the organisations logo.
As an original WYAT trustee, Sean wants to continue supporting youth development and encouraging young people to believe in themselves to become high achievers. He is on the grant sub-committee.
Describe your perfect day spent in Wairoa district?
It would be either cooking up a storm, using the fruit, vegetables and herbs I grow in my large back garden and the meat I purchase from local hunters, or to be out and about in the district, socialising with all the many people I have the pleasure of knowing.
ROSLYN THOMAS - Trustee
Roslyn Thomas is a founding trustee who played a pivotal role in reactivating the Wairoa Young Achievers Trust (WYAT) and securing its registration as a charitable entity. Roz is deeply embedded in the Wairoa district, actively contributing to business, economic, and community development initiatives. Her comprehensive understanding of the rural township and its people has made her a respected leader in the community.
Economically, Roz has been involved in several impactful projects, including the creation of Wairoa Upstream, a business action incorporated society, and the formation of Vision Projects, a community and economic development company. She also spearheaded the intensive 2013 Business Week and completed an environmental scan of Wairoa’s business landscape.
Roz’s voluntary work has been equally significant. She has led and managed fundraising efforts for numerous local causes, including upgrading the Wairoa Water Ski Club and building Tiaho School’s obstacle course. In just one year, Roz raised over $100,000 for WYAT projects, supporting initiatives like CACTUS, NEET, Ross Shield, Wairoa Athletics, and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. She was the driving force behind WYAT’s creation of Wairoa’s Destination Playground, overseeing the design process and securing necessary funding.
In 2022, Roz was elected to the Wairoa District Council, further extending her influence and leadership within the community.
Roslyn and her husband live in the Wairoa district, where they have developed a citrus orchard. They are proud parents of three adult daughters.
Describe your perfect day spent in Wairoa district?
My perfect day in Wairoa starts with a peaceful walk by the river, followed by visiting local markets and catching up with the community. I’d spend the afternoon at the beach or Lake Waikaremoana with family, and end the day at our citrus orchard, enjoying a relaxed dinner with loved ones.
ROBERT HAMBLYN - Trustee
Robert Hamblyn was born and educated in Gisborne.
He moved to Wairoa in 1978 to teach at Wairoa Intermediate, with the intent of being here a short time.
He was appointed Principal at Waihua and Turiroa Schools prior to moving to Wairoa College in the mid 1990s. He has retired from full time teaching but is still involved in education in a relieving capacity and works with Wairoa Taiwhenua and the Attendance Service supporting students and their learning pathways.
Robert’s children were all raised and educated in Wairoa and, for two of them, received unparalleled community support in their sporting endeavours to reach the international stage.
Robert says it was this support, and his love for Wairoa, that has kept him here.
As a teacher, the youth of Wairoa are certainly a large part of Robert’s life. He sees an unrealised potential in local young people across all areas of life.
As a WYAT trustee, Robert believes his role is to continue to give support, not only to wider projects, but to individuals to support them to achieve at a higher level.
“We can be another part of the village that helps to raise the child”.
In his ‘semi’ retirement has plays as much golf as time permits and still enjoys the battles on the squash court.
Describe your perfect day spent in and around Wairoa?
My ideal day includes a mixture of “work”, sport and spending time with family. My wife, Diane, has just retired and spending time together will be something to look forward to in the future.