Who We Are
Our Board
Shelley Wilson
Chair
Shelley Wilson joined the Board as a Trustee in 2024, and takes over as Chair in 2025. With over 28 years of experience in the tertiary education sector, Shelley is passionate about delivering high-quality, learner-centered, and industry-relevant programs that prepare students for the future of work. As Executive Director – Teaching and Learning at Wintec, Shelley oversees the teaching and learning delivery of the business division, leading a team of over 400 staff.
Shelley has also fostered strong partnerships with industry, government, and community organisations to ensure that Wintec’s programs are aligned with the needs and expectations of the employers and the society.
Deb MacCauley
Trustee
Deb MacCauley (GradDip in HR Management) is an HR professional with general management experience, and a pragmatic view of the challenges faced by rangatahi looking to enter the world of work. She currently owns a small business in Hamilton and has been able to employ two team members while they have been studying, allowing them to develop their practical skills in a real business environment.
Deb’s first-hand experience with Smart Waikato initiatives was in her recent role as People and Culture Manager at Hamilton-based engineering business Longveld which inspired her bid for board appointment after she saw the positive impact of the trust’s work.
Deb’s previous roles include New Zealand National Fieldays Society HR and Health & Safety Advisor as well as being a joint owner-manager of a commercial construction company. She believes that her personal experience with her own whanau and their pathways to employment along with her business experience working with a wide range of people allows her to contribute positively to the trust’s success.
Grace Reid
Trustee
Grace Reid is now a Trustee after being the Youth Advisor to the Smart Waikato Board. A national winner of the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) for her business, Just Kidding Babysitting, Grace’s has a passion for innovation and support for youth development. Born and raised in Hamilton and a graduate of Wintec in accounting, she maintains strong roots in the Waikato and a clear commitment to its future.
Apulu Alo Aliitaeao (Tjay) Asiata
Trustee
Tjay rejoined the family’s 100% Samoan-owned enterprise in New Zealand – LM4 Group – in 2020. LM4 Group is the parent company of three distinct subsidiaries Alignz Recruitment, Puatala and Oyonnx. As the Group CEO of LM4 Group, Tjay has been instrumental in expanding LM4 Group with offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Christchurch (and soon in Wellington). In 2023, Tjay established a marketing and media company, ASIAL, with his sons. They are not just building brands but fortifying communities and supercharging economies across Aotearoa.
Teresa Poli
Trustee
Teresa Poli has worked in construction and infrastructure across Australia and Aotearoa. Bringing a boarder understanding and context of education, Te Ao Māori, sustainability, infrastructure and engineering sectors. Teresa holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), majoring in Environmental Engineering and a Masters of Engineering from the University of Waikato. Her thesis investigated enhancing Mana of Māori in the Engineering profession and education.
Teresa is deeply connected to her hapū, Ngāti Haka, and has been working with whānau to strengthen connections to their marae, ensuring that their Mātauranga is more readily available, in addition she has been exploring opportunities for whānau to consider alternative career and education pathways. Teresa believes that education and career development serve as crucial tools for unlocking generational wealth—not just in terms of economic prosperity, also in fostering mātauranga (knowledge) and spiritual enrichment for individuals and whānau, enabling Māori communities to truly thrive.
Her goal is to promote and support rangatahi, particularly Māori and wāhine, in construction and infrastructure roles. She brings her passion for broader social and environmental outcomes associated with the industry, advocating for a stronger Māori voice within the engineering, education, construction, and infrastructure sectors.
Neil Harray
Trustee
Neil Harray (B Phed, DipGrad, DipTeaching, M EdLM, M InstD) is the Principal of Te Aroha College since April 2023. Neil has been a secondary principal for 10 years and has worked in seven different types of schools throughout New Zealand and England across his career in education. This range of experience has allowed Neil to understand the varied contexts that are part of the education landscape and the different needs that communities face. He is most at home in rural co-educational secondary schools and loves the opportunities these types of schools provide students.
Neil has a range of governance experience. He is also the President and Board Member of the Waihi Beach Surf Life Saving Club, Chairman of the Thames Valley Rugby Union Secondary School Council and has been involved in Local Government as Deputy Chairperson of the Katikati Community Board and other volunteer groups. He is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.
Neil is a strong supporter of the work that Smart Waikato undertakes and has seen first hand the impact this has on students and communities. At Te Aroha College, Neil has introduced SSEP in 2024 and Career Hauora in 2025.

Roger Evans
Patron
Roger Evans is the Founder of Stafford Engineering Ltd, established in 1986 to service the local precision engineering market. Over the ensuing years the business has prospered and evolved into a comprehensive facility manufacturing food processing and packaging equipment for the world. In recent years Roger has discovered that skill shortage has been an impediment not only to the business operation but also the opportunity to grow.
Frustration motivated Roger to first understand and devise strategies then confront the issues by providing leadership, vision and energy. Roger helped establish WECA (Waikato Engineering Careers Association) with a vision to raise the profile of engineering so that young people see engineering as a career of choice. This led to Roger becoming a founding trustee of Smart Waikato Trust, with a vision to co-ordinate meaningful connections between Waikato Schools and Waikato work places. In 2019 he became the first Patron of Smart Waikato Trust.