Our People

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.

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.

Sarah Bell is an experienced foreign and trade policy professional. She has spent the last 16 years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in a range of roles covering trade negotiations, bilateral relationships and human resources. Sarah was posted to Chile from 2013-2016 as Deputy Head of Mission in the New Zealand Embassy in Santiago, and most recently worked on New Zealand’s trade and economic relationship with Australia. Sarah lives in Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai (Lower Hutt) with her husband and young daughter.

Dr Rose Crossin is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Population Health, at the University of Otago (Christchurch campus). SHe completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne on harm arising from inhalant misuse, and then worked at Monash University and Penington Institute doing population health research on drugs and alcohol, and drug policy advocacy.

Her research is on understanding and preventing drug harm, and how harm data can inform
evidence-based drug policy. She collaborated with harm reduction organisations including the New Zealand needle exchange programme, and with clinical colleagues in Psychological Medicine and Emergency Medicine. She works with the New Zealand Ministry of Health, Te Whatu Ora, Ministry of Justice, and Police on research-policy translation.

Sophia is currently working as a Research Assistant/Project Coordinator on ‘Addressing Sexual Harm in Aotearoa New Zealand’, a project being undertaken by The Helen Clark Foundation, with funding from the Clare Foundation. Sophia completed an internship at The Helen Clark Foundation in 2024, as part of her Masters of Public Policy at the University of Auckland. Prior to starting her Masters, Sophia worked in population health and education research at the University of Auckland and the University of Canterbury. During her undergraduate, she co-authored a series of papers exploring systemic barriers and equitable interventions to low fruit and vegetable intake in children. Sophia lives in Waitākere with her partner and two children.

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.

Lotti is a recent graduate from the University of Oxford, where she achieved first-class honours in history. She is very excited to be joining The Helen Clark Foundation this year as an intern on the Social Cohesion Project, in which Lotti will be drawing on policies enacted and imagined around the world. She will be moving to New York later in the year to attend Syracuse University to do a postgraduate degree in International Relations and build upon what she learns at the Foundation.

Isaac is a student from the University of Cambridge in the UK. He is interning at the Helen Clark Foundation in July and August, sponsored by the Laidlaw Leadership and Research Scholarship.

Isaac is working on the quantitative side of the Foundation’s ongoing work in social cohesion, which aligns well with his background as an economics student with great interest in Development Economics and Econometrics.

Outside of academia, Isaac is a big sportsman, often engages in debating societies at Cambridge, and plays a variety of card games with friends and family.

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.

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.