Our tīma
Leaders in people development
Our philosophy is to help people be the best they can be at work which will ultimately help your organisation perform well
Shaun Sheldrake
CEO, Coach & Facilitator
Shaun is a creative thinker – always looking at how to design experiences, simplify processes and then convey these ideas through visual story telling. He underpins this creativity with a practical – ‘let’s get it done’ approach. Shaun’s background in human resources and learning and development gives him an appreciation of what helps individuals, leaders and teams succeed in rapidly changing business environments.
Belinda Byrant
Director, Coach & Facilitator
Belinda’s high-energy, thought-provoking approach will leave you confident she can deliver an experience people will enjoy and remember – and help them be better at work! She’ll work with you to bring out the brilliance of those in your organisation. That’s about supporting people to be clear on what they need to do so they know how, as individuals and teams, they can best contribute and learn to develop the capabilities and strategies needed to make those contributions.
Reremoana Ormsby
Associate Consultant and Coach
Reremoana brings warmth, diverse experience, and strong te ao Māori insights to our team, offering a bi-cultural perspective in designing leadership and team experiences. Her passion for creating opportunities for all, from glassy to kitchen hand, and making them feel seen, respected, and valued, aligns with our belief that success starts with how people feel about their work, team, and organisation.
Nicky Benson
Associate Consultant and Coach
Nicky is passionate about helping leaders drive change and performance in their organisations while leading through complexity. She develops courage, flexibility, and resilience that align with each leader’s style to foster inclusive, high-performance cultures. Recognising the importance of continuous development and self-care, Nicky enables individuals to thrive amid the complexities of their roles. She is an experienced ICF PCC-accredited coach and facilitator with a certificate in Systemic Team Coaching.
Jemma Brunton
Associate Consultant and Coach
Jemma’s facilitation career began with rehabilitation programmes for offenders, igniting her passion for developing leaders through rich conversations and learning experiences that catalyse behaviour change. With 17 years of facilitation experience across various Public Service Agencies, she spent 3 years at the Leadership Development Centre designing and facilitating leadership programmes. A Results Certified Coach through the Neuroleadership Institute, Jemma is available for projects across NZ but resides in Ōtautahi | Christchurch.
Toby Cooper
Associate Consultant and Coach
Toby is energised by helping others improve their working lives. Work is hard – we are too busy, juggling too many demands, and struggling to focus on what really matters. Toby can help you make sense of what’s going on around you, identify opportunities to make improvements, and discover ‘better’. Toby’s rich and varied career is a perfect grounding for coaching – the variety of experiences he brings helps others find their ‘better’.
Sue Hope
Associate Consultant
With over 20 years of experience in learning design and development, Sue brings warmth and creativity to every project. She specialises in co-design and design thinking approaches, partnering with teams to create learning solutions that truly work for the people who use them.
As an excellent agile project manager, Sue works flexibly and collaboratively, using iterative development to refine solutions based on real feedback. Her diverse toolkit and adaptive approach mean she can respond quickly to changing needs while keeping projects on track.
Ryan Meachen
Associate Consultant and Coach
Ryan’s mission is helping people find their path, realise their potential and lead fulfilling lives. For him, the most important leadership project is leading your own life—that’s the foundation for leading others well. He also specialises in leadership development approaches that weave together mātauranga Māori and contemporary psychological science.
Alongside his work with us, Ryan is an Assistant Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington and a former Fulbright Scholar at Harvard’s Leadership & Happiness Laboratory.
Kirsty Dallinger
Associate Consultant and Coach
Kirsty’s experience and approach combines practical human resources and employment relations expertise with a deep appreciation of the human dynamics that influence leadership effectiveness in complex, politically sensitive environments.
Kirsty has supported executive leaders, and people leaders to lead confidently through change, manage risk, navigate ambiguity, and engage diverse stakeholder groups with clarity and integrity. Her work is grounded in real operational experience, ensuring learning is pragmatic, relevant, and immediately applicable within Local Government settings.
Jenny Miller
Associate Consultant and Coach
Jenny is an experienced change practitioner, engaging in acting, experimenting, observing, interpreting, reflecting, and learning to support the next steps. She focuses on applying new knowledge or skills in context, driven by curiosity about human change. Over the last 18 years, Jenny has designed and developed materials and facilitated groups on leadership development, team development, team coaching, and performance conversations.
Tessa McGoverin
Team & Marketing Coordinator
Tessa supports the delivery of learning, team and coaching programmes. She is passionate about making it easy for our clients to work with us while keeping our coaches and facilitators free of any administrative burden so that they can be their best. Tessa creates a seamless & consistent experience for our programme participants by continually refining processes and automating systems.
Sarah Clear
Accounts Wizz
Sarah is adaptable, enthusiastic, and a quick learner. Always ready for a new challenge or system to dissect. Sarah is fundamentally over qualified for the work she does at Updraft-keeping our accounts in order and finding ways to improve our internal processes. Her background as a senior business analyst with project development and execution is a demonstration of the capability she brings to our team.
Phil Hartwick
Director
If there’s something new happening in the industry Phil will know about it. He’s a voracious learner always looking at how to apply new ideas to benefit Updraft clients. Phil is driven by the desire to see people find joy in their work, develop personally and professionally and feel more confident in themselves. He walks the talk with 35+ years in management and consulting roles in the science sector both in the United States and in New Zealand.
Danica Prowse
Associate Graphic Designer
Danica is our almost resident visual guru. Danica is the driving force behind making everything we do look so good. Her experience and expertise in how people interact with learning materials, websites and tools enables her to bring our vision for the end-user to life visually. Making the interaction with the material feel effortless.
Sarah Tocker
Associate Consultant
Sarah has worked as a coach and facilitator for sixteen years, with a background in leadership development, systems leadership, culture, and change. She is passionate about helping people and organisations thrive during times of flux and supporting leaders in creating lasting improvements. With 20 years of experience leading teams across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, she brings real lived experience to our engagements.