Murray Bruges is the Executive Director of the Helen Clark Foundation. Prior to the Foundation, Murray worked for Fonterra Co-operative Group in Auckland on resource management and environmental policy. From 2011 to 2020, Murray worked for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in a range of roles focused on trade, economic, tech and climate policy, including a three year posting to the New Zealand Consulate General in Los Angeles. Earlier in his career, Murray worked for the Ministry of Fisheries on a range of policy issues. He lives in Auckland with his wife and son.
Our People
The Helen Clark Foundation is led by our Executive Director Murray Bruges, and is overseen by an independent Board of Trustees.
Kali Mercier
Deputy Director and WSP Fellow
Kali Mercier is the WSP Fellow and Deputy Director of the Helen Clark Foundation. She is passionate about social justice and improving public well-being through policy reform.
Kali has an extensive background in law, policy, and international development, which has taken her to Berlin, London, Mexico City and Botswana. She has an LLB (Hons) majoring in international law, a BA in French and German, and a Masters in International Development Studies. Before coming to the Helen Clark Foundation, Kali worked as Principal Advisor at the Ministry of Justice, Policy Director at the NZ Drug Foundation and as a human rights advocate for Amnesty UK and other charities overseas.
Contact: kali@helenclark.foundation
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Helen Gaeta
Development Manager
Helen Gaeta has over three decades of experience in tertiary health science education and research across New Zealand and the United States. She graduated Ph.D. from the University of Auckland and has held academic and research positions at The University of Auckland, University of Florida, NY State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, and AUT. Alongside, she has held various voluntary leadership roles, fostering community outreach and support for opera and classical music—my foremost passions. She is excited to apply the comprehensive developmental skills she has acquired over the years in her new role as Developmental Manager.
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Victoria Cederle
Communications & Outreach Director
Victoria Cederle is the Communications and Outreach Director for the Helen Clark Foundation. Victoria has a rich background in community management and executive support, having held various roles across the education and private sectors in the USA, Spain, and New Zealand. She holds a Bachelor of Science and a minor in Psychology from Virginia Tech. Victoria lives in Auckland with her husband and two young children.
Oliver Winter
Researcher
Oliver has recently graduated from the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) programme at Victoria University, having completed an undergraduate degree in History, International Relations, and Classical Studies in 2022. They are exceptionally grateful to be joining the Helen Clark Foundation as a researcher, helping generate evidence-based research on some of New Zealand’s most significant policy issues. Alongside their work at the Foundation, Oliver’s current postgraduate research is a longitudinal analysis of trends in institutional trust in New Zealand. Based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Oliver also has a strong interest in theatre.
Tom Pearce
Web Manager
Tom Pearce is the Web Manager for the Helen Clark Foundation. He is a doctoral student in the Critical Studies in Education department at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and Social Work. He has a background in Primary School Education going back more than ten years, and has worked at schools in Pōneke, Tāmaki Makaurau and overseas. He completed a BA and PGDipTchg (Primary) through the University of Auckland, and an MEd through Victoria University of Wellington. Tom lives in Tāmaki Makaurau with his partner and two young children.
Contact: tom@helenclark.foundation
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Haare Williams
Advisor Māori to the Executive Director
Christopher Swasbrook
Chair
Christopher Swasbrook is the Chair of the Helen Clark Foundation. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Christopher has been a long-time supporter of business and art communities and is an Inaugural Member and current Chair of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Advisory Board. He has a long-standing interest in public policy.
Christopher is the Co-Founder and Director of Elevation Capital and Co-Founder and Director of NZX-listed New Zealand Rural Land Company. He is also Chair of the Auckland Future Fund and Executive Chair of McCashin’s Brewery Limited. Previously, he has been Chair of NZX-listed Allied Farmers, Director of NZX-listed Mowbray Collectables, Director of NZX-listed Satara Co-Operative Group, and a Director of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts.
Early in Christopher’s financial markets career he became a Foundation Broker of the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) after having been a Full Member of the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZSE). He became Partner and Co-Head of Institutional Equities at Goldman Sachs JBWere (NZ) in 2003.
Christopher is currently a Board Member of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) having previously served as a Member of the NZX Listing Subcommittee (2008-2023) and a Member of the New Zealand Markets Disciplinary Tribunal (2013-2023).
Since graduating from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) in 1996, he has undertaken Executive Education courses at Columbia University (New York), New York University (NYU), London School of Economics (LSE) and the Harvard Kennedy School in Boston, Massachusetts.
Simon Mitchell
Simon Mitchell is a King’s Counsel and litigation lawyer and based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Simon specialises in family and employment law and regularly appears in the Family Court and all of the employment institutions including the Mediation Service, Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court and Court of Appeal.
Helen Klisser During
Helen Klisser During is an art advisor, curator, and photojournalist who has championed global art projects for over 25 years. Recognised by KEA as a World Class New Zealander, she creates, documents, and fosters cultural exchange to promote understanding and address issues of social justice. An art world insider, Helen nurtures relationships among individuals and institutions to create significant cultural initiatives. Helen is committed to facilitating partnerships and cultivating connectivity using her extensive global networks.
Helen serves as Ambassador to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor at Auckland University of Technology, where she has co-founded the AUT Art Science Lab, a dynamic cross-pollination space where multidisciplinary artists, innovators and industry experts combine to solve real-world challenges.
Helen has directed and produced numerous large-scale arts programmes including #UNLOAD: Arts Trigger a Conversation, a foundation to promote conversation through the arts and education around the issue of gun violence in America, and Voices for the Future, an immersive art installation by Joseph Michael which projected collapsing icebergs onto the United Nations General Assembly and Secretariat buildings in NYC ahead of the UN’s Climate Action Summit and global school strikes in 2019.
Geoff Pownall
Geoff has nearly 50 years experience in the management of private clients’ assets, trusts, and compliance, and has held senior positions at a number of NZ trust and company service providers. Geoff has also participated actively in the formation and administration of a number of NZ charitable entities, for which he is currently the Treasurer.
Mele Wendt
Mele (Samoan, palagi) has over 25 years of governance experience and is a respected leader in the not-for-profit and education sectors. She currently chairs the Tu Ora Compass Health Board, is a member and Chair of Tu Ora Pacific Health Committee, and also chairs Wellington Community Fund, the Real Estate Authority, Tāwhiri: Festivals and Experiences, and the Tokelau International Trust Fund. She was previously on the board of Te Kura (the Correspondence School).
In 2019, Mele became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to governance, the Pacific community and women. In 2022, she won the Not-For-Profit Governance Leader Award at the Women in Governance Awards. Mele is also a White Ribbon Ambassador and the National Vice President – Central Region of P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A. Inc.
Professor Peter Davis
Trustee
Dr Peter Davis is a trustee of the Helen Clark Foundation. He is an Emeritus Professor in Population Health and Social Science in the Faculty of Arts, and an Honorary Professor in the Department of Statistics in the Faculty of Science, at The University of Auckland. Dr Davis served as an elected member of the Auckland District Health Board from 2019-2022.
