Management

Senior Leadership Team

Sherryll Wilson

Chief Executive

After more than 25 years, my passion for what we are able to achieve for tamariki and their whānau has never been stronger than it is today. Now with two grandchildren, I have become even more committed to ensuring that we, as an organisation, live up to our promise of being the very best that we can be for the tamariki that attend our kindergartens on any given day.

I have been privileged to head Kidsfirst Kindergartens since May 1995 after extensive experience in the education sector.

I am a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, member of the New Zealand Institute of Management, as well as representing Kidsfirst Kindergartens on various organisations, working groups and committees both locally and throughout New Zealand.

The early childhood sector is continually changing and providing even more challenges and I am proud to be part of an organisation that shares the same determination that early childhood education is so very important to the future of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Senior Leadership Team

Karyn Willetts

Manager - Human Resources

I completed my Master of Science (Hons) majoring in Personnel and Organisational Psychology in 1991 and have since supplemented that qualification with a Diploma in Public Sector Accounting and a Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety.

My working career over the past 25 years has always been in the people field and within the service sector working with large and complex organisations such as NZ Police, CDHB and a private international engineering organisation before coming to Kidsfirst nearly 10 years ago.

My role is busy and varied but allows me to interact with staff and statistics on a daily basis – two of my favourite things! That, along with knowing that this organisation is a not-for-profit, with strong community values makes this the perfect role.