Julie Paalvast

General Manager

Married with a young boy of 3, Julie is originally from England, and has been living in Christchurch since 2009. Julie had her hip replaced in 2013 and was first attracted to Aspire to assist people with mobility challenges - since starting she has been incredibly inspired by peoples life stories and the difference an organisation can make. Coming from a corporate company background, this is Julies first experience of working within the charitable sector and one she is enjoying!

Kylie Taylor

Information and Community Manager

Kylie is South Island born and bred and spent her youth in Rakaia. Married with 6 children, horses, dogs and cats it will come as no surprise when we say she's a great "multi-tasker". Winnie is Kylie's youngest daughter; Winnie is 12-years old and has Cerebral Palsy; a confident and bright teenager, Winnie can often be seen helping out at Expo's. A people orientated person, Kylie ran a respite lodge called Sunnyvue for over 10-years before starting at Aspire Canterbury.

Lisa Holmes

Information and Community Coordinator

Lisa was born in Christchurch. In her spare time, she plays a lot of board games and enjoys going for walks and petting dogs. She also has a relatively new-found interest in travel. Her background is mostly in school and public libraries and she looks forward to visiting the community and connecting people with the resources Aspire Canterbury provides.

Vitasta Sharma

Retail Assistant

Originally from India, Vitasta moved to Christchurch recently after getting married. Earlier, she had worked in the corporate sector but always wanted to do something for society. Her husband, Rohin has been working with people with intellectual disabilities for more than three years and has been an inspiration for her. With ample experience in the retail sector, she joined Aspire as their Retail Assistant and is responsible for streamlining its retail operations. In her free time, she loves to go for walks, long drives and travelling; she dreams of going on a world tour someday.

Tania

Accountant

Tania was born in Christchurch and has three boys. In her spare time, she enjoys going to the gym, gardening, travelling and walking her dog. Tania’s background includes auditing and management accounting. She has served on many PTA’s and Boards, and works as Aspire one day a week.

Nathan

Volunteer

Born in Christchurch, Nathan moved to the Gold Coast when he was seven and spent 18 years there! A hard worker, Nathan started working at the age of 15 and eventually ended up running his own roofing business. At 31 Nathan suffered a stroke and had to learn to walk, talk and spell again. Finding himself starting from scratch, Nathan isn’t one to let life beat him; he’s currently studying to be a Support Worker at ARA and working with us here at Aspire Canterbury. Nathan's home marae is Ōnuku and he is a part of the Ngāi Tahu iwi. Nathan is using his experiences to positively impact lives.

Jamie

Volunteer

Jamie has been a true inspiration, with cerebral palsy, he has been wheeling round town since high school. Jamie (40) is Vice Chairperson of the Disabled Persons Assembly and works with us at Aspire Canterbury. A proud Cantabrian, Jamie supports the Crusaders, enjoys swimming, karaoke and, to use his own words, is “a gun” at Ten Pin Bowling. A positive, thoughtful and caring person, Jamie is engaged to be married to Marie. The exciting news is that this pair will be setting up in business – watch news to hear more about this in the future.

Rebecca Scott

Chairperson

Teresa Hoult

Simon Wing

Clay Baker

Martin Zelas

Stephanie Emery