Impact Snapshot
Summer Edition (December 2024, January & February 2025)
In this ‘Summer Edition’ of the Impact Snapshot, read about EHF Fellows in action creating economic, environmental and social impact, plus recent recognitions and awards they’ve received.
Fellows in action 🎬
Image source: chrislynchmedia.com
Rangimarie Parata Takurua’s kura-ā-iwi school Te Pā o Rākaihautū has won the prestigious Zayed Sustainability Prize in Abu Dhabi for its ‘Puku Māra’ project, which blends Māori cultural practices with modern sustainability solutions like composting and land restoration.
This achievement highlights Te Pā's global leadership in sustainability education, with its focus on integrating mātauranga Māori into its curriculum.
The win, which includes a prize of US$150,000, was made possible by collaboration among EHF Fellows (Joanne McEachen, Todd Porter, Steven Moe, Fredric Evenson, Frederique Irwin, Satya Kumar, Nikora Ngaropo, Barry Neal, Sarah Grant, Rich Bodo, Jeffrey Paine and Faumuina Felolini Tafunai), which included connections, funding, and strategic advice, showcasing the power of collective impact.
Image: 2025 Hillary Innovation Summit - Erica Austin, Peanut Productions Photography
The newly formed EHF Fellow collaboration, Te Ara Rangatira, launched in February as a new initiative reimagining education through culture, technology, and contribution. Incubated by Kia Kotahi Ako, this collaboration brings together Fellows and Māori communities to develop rangatahi (young people) into confident, capable leaders.
Projects include:
Nikora Ngaropo’s Young Animators - Using animation and AI to elevate Māori and indigenous storytellers.
Shay Wright’s Te Whare Hukahuka - Advancing next-generation governance for indigenous economic resilience.
Joanne McEachen’s The Learner First - Championing contributive learning for knowledge, impact, and emotional resilience.
Rangimarie Parata Takurua’s Te Pā o Rākaihautū - Strengthening identity and leadership through a community-based learning village.
Kia Kotahi Ako - An alliance of EHF Fellows (including Sarah Grant, Bex De Prospo Carr, and Fred Evenson) activating high-impact education initiatives for Papatūānuku (Mother Earth).
With a joint pilot programme in motion, Te Ara Rangatira is equipping emerging Māori leaders (ages 17-22) with governance skills, emotional resilience, and a kete (basket) of tools to amplify their voices.
Image: 2025 Hillary Innovation Summit - Erica Austin, Peanut Productions Photography
Adam Grosser has been selected as a 2025 Senior Fellow by the MIT Mobility Initiative (MMI), where he will conduct original research exploring the intersection of AI and the Physical World.
The MMI Senior Fellows programme brings together experts with unique insights to advance safe, clean, and inclusive mobility systems.
Adam recently delivered a keynote at the 2025 Hillary Innovation Summit, where he explored the future of mobility and its impact on industries, economies, and societies. He discussed the urgent need to decarbonise transportation, a sector that has seen little disruption despite being a major contributor to emissions. Adam shared that he co-founded UP.Partners to not just invest in mobility solutions but also build companies and communities to drive real change.
Randy Reddig and Lian Eoyang were featured in STUFF journalist Paddy Gower’s TFN, where Randy discussed his journey from co-founding Square - a payment platform now used by hundreds of millions of people - to his deepening commitment to New Zealand’s tech ecosystem.
Randy has already invested in NZ tech companies and sees Aotearoa NZ as a hub for global innovation, citing Xero, TradeMe, and Rocket Lab as examples. His focus is shifting towards supporting local founders and startups, with a long-term vision of contributing to New Zealand’s tech growth and innovation sector over the next 10-20 years.
Randy’s contribution as highlighted in the article shows the impact of EHF in attracting world-class talent and investment to New Zealand, reinforcing the country’s global potential in technology and entrepreneurship.
Alex Lee explored ethical storytelling and the evolving documentary landscape in his articles ‘Story Sovereignty: Storytelling Across the Divide’ and ‘The Future of Documentary – An Evolving Landscape’. He examines who has the right to tell a story, balancing authenticity with creative freedom, and highlights how technology and hybrid storytelling - like docudrama, VR, and AI - are reshaping the industry.
Alex also relaunched The Doc Catcher, a platform for documentary creators and enthusiasts. Drawing on 20+ years of festival experience, the platform offers courses on development, production, and ethics, along with consulting and exclusive insights, to help nurture a global community dedicated to impactful storytelling.
Alex, Dan Shanan, and Shannon Service have been working together to develop a series of programmes to elevate storytelling within EHF. In association with Doc Edge, a programme of monthly story salons will be launched in the coming months, which will look at current and urgent issues, and will discuss the role of storytelling today - including the urgent need to address declining quality public journalism, story sovereignty, democracy, and participation. Additionally, Doc Edge will introduce the opportunity for EHF Fellows to pitch their projects at Doc Edge 2025 to an assembly of creatives, decision makers, agencies, philanthropists, and Fellows, to find creative and community partners to develop into impactful stories.
Founded by Rebecca Mills, The Lever Room has played an important role in supporting the advancement of impact investment in New Zealand. A first in New Zealand, The Lever Room has independently verified Purpose Capital’s practices against the International Principles for Impact Management, a global standard overseen by the Global Impact Investing Network
For this independent verification, Lever Room applied its expertise in Impact Measurement and Management to assess and align Purpose Capital’s methodology with best practices.
Rebecca says: “It’s our hope that this verification is supportive to the wider NZ impact investment ecosystem and provides inspiration for other investors and asset allocators to follow suit.’’
Purpose Capital now joins a global network of impact investors representing over one-third of the market, marking a significant step for New Zealand’s leadership in ethical investing.
Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom and Eric Dahlstrom of SpaceBase continue to drive global impact in space democratisation. They have co-founded the Global Space Enablers Network, to scale their efforts worldwide, empowering space enablers to advance access to space.
In their latest SpaceBase Podcast, Emeline talks with EHF Fellow Amarit Charoenphan, who is working to bridge Thailand’s space ecosystem with international networks, including Aotearoa NZ’s. The conversation is helping to create new collaborations, knowledge exchange, and momentum for emerging space economies.
Additionally, their Space for Planet Earth Challenge has led to the creation of Cattle Credit, a startup using satellite data to measure methane emissions for farmers. Founded by Kiwi high-school student Cairo Akerhurst, Cattle Credit has been winning awards and gaining recognition for its innovative climate solution.
Lily Stender and Scott Miller continue to drive impactful change through the Tolaga Evergreen Fund, which has welcomed 11 new Māori and indigenous business owners into its third cohort - bringing the total number of businesses supported to 19.
The fund enables entrepreneurs by providing seed loans, mentorship, and resources to grow essential service businesses, fostering sustainable growth and self-sufficiency.
By helping skilled workers become proud business owners, the Tolaga Evergreen Fund is helping to strengthen communities and create lasting pathways to prosperity.
David Booth was a speaker at the first-ever Waipā Tech Meetup, which drew around 100 attendees, highlighting the growing tech community in Waikato.
Sharing insights from 15 years of startup building and investing globally, as well as his work with Blackbird and Diaspora.nz, David sparked discussions on New Zealand’s productivity and GDP growth challenges - and what can be done to address them.
The Waipā Tech Meetup provides a platform for local tech talent to connect and collaborate. David’s global expertise is supporting the future of innovation in Aotearoa NZ, by equipping founders with the insights to potentially scale internationally.
Sasha Lockley has been appointed to the inaugural Board of Trustees for Thriving Communities Aotearoa, bringing her expertise in business, community, and social enterprise to support cross-sector collaboration.
Sasha’s leadership on the board will help shape strategies to better serve disadvantaged and underserved communities across Aotearoa.
Mark Bregman is spearheading ‘The Crossroads Collaboratory’, a purpose-driven community space designed to strengthen Aotearoa NZ’s innovation ecosystem.
Since September 2023, he has worked with several EHF Fellows to develop this initiative, which aims to connect innovators, host events, and address challenges in making New Zealand a global innovation hub. Mark is seeking support to launch, inviting investment to help establish this collaborative space and drive impactful innovation across the country.
Yasmine El Baggari, founder and CEO of Voyaj.com, a global platform that connects people for authentic experiences towards peace, continues to make an impact on global connection and peacebuilding.
She has been nominated for Entrepreneur of Impact, with the chance to be featured in Forbes Magazine and win USD$25,000 to support the launch of the Voyaj Refugee-Astronaut Monthly Dinner Series - an initiative fostering belonging and understanding among refugees, astronauts, and local communities.
Additionally, Yasmine has been appointed as the Harvard W3D: Women in Defense, Diplomacy, and Development Morocco Chapter Lead - a community that is dedicated to fostering global leaders who collaborate to drive sustainable peace and impactful change. She will lead initiatives in defense, diplomacy, and development to promote sustainable peace and global collaboration.
Andrew Wilkinson spoke on the ‘My First Million’ podcast, sharing insights on how AI is reshaping business.
He discussed why he’s stopped traditional hiring in favour of AI-driven ‘digital employees’, how software is becoming a tougher industry, and the implications of a ‘K-shaped future’ where AI accelerates disparity. Andrew also revealed his AI hedge stock pick and strategies for adapting to the shifting landscape.
Andrew’s insights are helping to spark conversations on how founders can leverage AI to stay ahead in an evolving market.
Ed Baker gave a TEDxBoston talk about the ‘Viral Loop’, explaining how he helped drive growth at Facebook, Uber, and WHOOP using this concept. A viral loop is a self-reinforcing cycle where existing users bring in new users, fueling organic expansion.
As Facebook’s former Head of International Growth, Uber’s VP of Product and Growth, and now Chief Product Officer at WHOOP, Ed shared insights from 25 years of experience, breaking down how viral loops have shaped some of the world’s biggest tech platforms.
Through this talk, Ed is inspiring entrepreneurs and innovators to harness viral growth strategies for scalable, high-impact businesses.
Ian Harvey, a former Manawatū farmer turned social entrepreneur, published his first book, As It Turns Out - No One’s Got Their Sh*t Together: Learnings from Inside the Collective Intelligence Journey.
The book reflects on his 30-year farming career and 17 years leading Collective Intelligence, a business network he founded in 2008 to help leaders navigate complexity. He shares insights from his journey of reinvention, emphasising that even the most accomplished professionals don’t have it all figured out.
During an interview with The Post, Ian noted that he hopes the book will resonate with young professionals struggling with self-doubt and comparison.
Bex De Prospo Carr has published her first book, Coming In From The Cold, an anthology written on behalf of Tautoko Tāne Male Survivors Aotearoa, which was launched in Ōtutahi Christchurch on 18 February.
The book shares the stories of 26 male survivors of sexual abuse and violence in Aotearoa New Zealand, offering a glimpse into the environments and systems in which these experiences took place, as well as the survivors' reflections on their journeys.
Bex’s work is helping to give space for often-overlooked voices, creating a greater awareness and compassion for survivors within the community.
Elizabeth McNaughton spoke with two influential leaders shaping disaster response and resilience in the latest episodes of her podcast Disrupting Disasters.
In her conversation with Megan Stiffler (Fire & Rescue NSW Deputy Commissioner), they explore leadership, gender diversity in emergency services, and the role of advocacy and storytelling in driving change.
In an episode with Dan Neely (WREMO Community Resilience Manager), they discuss how WREMO’s Community Emergency Hub model empowers communities in disaster response and why a strengths-based approach is key to preparedness.
Both episodes offer thought-provoking discussions on resilience, leadership, and community-driven disaster management.
Steven Moe interviewed Mike Casey, founder of Rewiring Aotearoa, on the Seeds Podcast to discuss the bold vision of electrifying everything and eliminating fossil fuels.
Mike shared his journey from tech entrepreneurship to planting a fully electric 9,000-tree cherry farm in Otago - demonstrating the potential for fossil-free agriculture. The conversation explored the movement’s goal to electrify millions of machines by 2030, alongside insights on resilience, whakapapa, and sustainability.
As Rewiring Aotearoa’s legal advisor, Steven continues to support this initiative, which is driving impactful change through research, advocacy, and real-world examples.
*Images have been provided by Fellows or sourced from the Internet. EHF does not claim to own the images.