Our Board
Land Search and Rescue’s governance body is the Board of New Zealand Land Search and Rescue Incorporated.
The Board comprises of elected directors chosen by the Land Search and Rescue membership and appointed directors. The Board meets at least six times a year and appoints three of its members to the Audit Committee, which reviews all policies and financial commitments and undertakings.
Graham Pomeroy, Chair
Graham was elected to the Board in June 2017. He has been involved with search and rescue since 1979. He began in Collingwood, and later moved to Golden Bay, as a field member, moving on to team leader and is now part of the Nelson Bays Incident Management Team.
He has recently sold his farm in Collingwood and moved to Nelson where he and his wife, Jenny run a tour company. He is also employed by the Top of the South Rural Support Trust working alongside CDEM Recovery team assisting farmers after the recent East Coast earthquake.
Graham is currently Chair of the Tasman Region and on the Nelson Search and Rescue committee. He is a keen advocate of supporting the volunteer and the groups. He loves the outdoors and he and Jenny spend much of their spare time tramping and exploring New Zealand and many parts of the World.
Charlotte Aronsen, Deputy Chair
Charlotte is a member of the Christchurch Land Search and Rescue Group and was elected to the Land Search and Rescue Board on 10 October 2020. She is a keen tramper who wanted to give back to the community in a practical way.
In 2018 Charlotte became a Committee member, later moving into the Group Secretary role, whilst also managing most of the Christchurch groups’ social media presence as well as fundraising.
Charlotte’s partner is also a member of the Christchurch Land Search and Rescue team as well as NZRT1, so she understands and appreciate the commitment and challenge that can present to a volunteers’ family.
Charlotte brings 14 years’ experience in the insurance industry, and brings a strong interest in risk and governance.
Wayne Stevens
Wayne was co-opted to the Land Search and Rescue Board in April 2019. He is a member of the Wellington Land Search and Rescue group and has been doing search and rescue in the Wellington region since 1984. He is a previous director of SARINZ and is also a volunteer paramedic for Wellington free ambulance and does weekly frontline shifts on Friday nights in Wellington. Wayne has a background in working for central Government including working for Treasury for around 20 years. He currently works for the Ministry for Primary Industries and working on compensation for biosecurity responses.
Wayne’s motivation for joining the Board is to help to continue to improve Land Search and Rescue (SAR) capability in New Zealand. This has improved significantly since the time he started in SAR in 1984; he wants to continue to see improvements including better resources and capabilities for SAR groups.
Camilla Owen
Camilla was co-opted to the Land Search and Rescue Board in April 2019. She has previously worked within government as a crown Counsel within the Treaties and International Law Team of Crown Law, but is now a Barrister specialising in environmental law, and lives in Nelson. Camilla has no direct involvement in Land Search and Rescue but her husband Louis Standfield has been a SAR volunteer for over 20 years and is currently an instructor for Land Search and Rescue. Her background is thus that of a Land Search and Rescue volunteer’s family. She has been a keen South Island tramper since her days at Otago University (although she grew up in the Manawatu).
Camilla sees her value to the Board as providing independent advice to assist the Board’s work in supporting the regions, whilst understanding the context of SAR volunteering.
Megan Dimozantos
Megan joined the board in October 2021 and is a member of Rotorua Land Search and Rescue, including 3 years as Chair.
She has been involved in Search and Rescue for the last 9 years and is a keen tramper, climber, packrafter, skiier and mountain biker. Megan brings a strong background in project management, leadership, change management, volunteer workforces and advocacy to the board. She is particularly focused on keeping an “on the ground” connection to ensure decisions have the best long term outcomes for those doing the work.
Julian Tovey
Julian is a member of the Wellington Land Search and Rescue Group and was elected to the Land Search and Rescue Board on 10 October 2020. Julian’s involvement in Land Search and Rescue started in 1999 on the West Coast and actively continued when he headed to South Westland. In 2015 Julian moved to Tongariro National Park where he became actively involved with the RARO group. In 2017, Julian ended up in Wellington, joining the Wellington Land Search and Rescue group. This involvement with some of the smallest and remote groups, as well as a larger urban group has provided great perspectives of how different groups operate, their needs and priorities. Julian share’s the commitment and passion volunteers bring to helping those we are all here for. Julian’s blended career in the tourism, outdoor, government, aviation, community, and volunteer sectors has gained him a strong and diverse experience to contribute to the Land Search and Rescue Board and its strategic direction.