About Independent Living

Paul Brown has a blend of both commercial and for-purpose experience, working in the automotive, financial services and international development sectors. Paul has held key leadership positions, including being CEO for 16+ years of an international development agency, senior roles within multinationals, and governance positions including chairing a peak body.

Today Paul is a Strategic Advisor in his own consulting business, applying critical insights and transformative thinking to assist businesses to remain relevant, sustainable and impactful. Much of this work is at the intersection of the social sector with purpose-driven corporations.

Paul sees huge potential for Independent Living Charitable Trust’s continued success, in driving impact alongside a critical and growing segment in our community.

Julie is an experienced senior marketer and strategist, with a breadth of industry experience ranging from automotive and FMCG, through to retail and aged care. With leadership roles at some of New Zealand’s most iconic publicly listed companies, Julie applies a sound business lens to decision making.

Julie’s true passion though lies in customer experience, assisting businesses to put the customer at the heart of every decision or process. Today, Julie consults to companies in the healthcare and disability space, on projects ranging from the expansion of customer offerings, growing their service delivery and expanding geographic or demographic reach.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Marketers, Julie is excited about the opportunities Independent Living has to help customers live better lives through providing them with the products and services to remain independent and in charge.

Grace Stratton was born with cerebral palsy, but hasn't let that hold her back. Grace has a double degree in law and communications, and  is currently completing her Masters of Law. 

Grace is passionate about creating opportunities for others. She helped disabled people be cast in Fashion Shows at NZFW for the first time ever in 2019, and her consultancy company All is for All employs 5 disabled people. Grace is passionate about disabled person led, positive change and is passionate about supporting our ILSNZ kaupapa. 

Teresa is Māori (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) and an experienced editor and senior journalist who has worked in both New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Her journalism work at community, regional and national level rests on strong written and verbal communication skills.

A belief that cultural competency is essential in this modern world grounds Teresa's interest in governance, with a focus on insight around simple implementation of Treaty of Waitangi principles at the workplace or board level. As a mother, she also understands the education journey for young people requiring learning support in New Zealand.

Teresa has been involved at management level of a variety of sports codes including netball and swimming. She has key relationships with many community organisations alongside whānau, hapū and iwi. Teresa strongly supports Independent Living's mahi promoting disabled person led positive change in society. 

David brings executive and governance experience across private and government sectors, with a background in disability, immigration, energy, and tourism. His experience at Enable New Zealand, predominantly in Operational Management, IT and procurement, provides David with a deep understanding of the work Independent Living do. 

Together with his wife, David owns and operates House of Travel The Square, Palmerston North. In addition, David has proudly served on the Arohanui Hospice Board since 2020, supporting its vital and enduring work.

A Fellow Chartered Accountant, Sarah Ellisdon is currently GM Digital & Data for Hato Hone St John, a charitable organisation delivering an extensive range of essential health-related services and products. Prior to joining Hato Hone St John, Sarah was the Chief Information Officer with Counties Energy, during which time she  was recognised by CIO New Zealand as the top female senior technology executive, through driving innovation and influencing rapid change across the organisation.

Prior to that, Sarah held a number of senior IT leadership roles with SKYCITY Entertainment Group, who own and operate Casinos, Hotels & F&B outlets in both New Zealand and Australia.

During her career, Sarah has successfully built and led high-performance teams in technology, leading digital transformation in an agile environment, implementing enterprise technology solutions, and business process improvement across a broad range of industries.

Sarah is Chair of the IT Special Interest Group for Chartered Accountants Australia & NZ, and a member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.