Meet the ACVE Team

Kate Clark
National Director

Kate has 15 years interdisciplinary experience in youth development, management of overseas expeditions with international volunteers, teaching and research. She has worked with one of the UK’s leading youth development charities, Raleigh International, where she developed a real passion for working with young people and helping them to participate in challenging and adventurous expeditions worldwide. After living and working in Africa and Belize on a range of marine conservation expeditions, Kate studied for a Masters Degree in Tropical Coastal Management. This led to further adventures as a marine biologist, including working with local coastal communities in Indonesia, mapping coral reefs in Tanzania and developing a management plan for the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Kate’s wanderlust has taken her to visit the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, trekking the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, to climbing inside the Great Pyramids in Egypt and many countries in between! She has settled in New Zealand in a house with a view of the ocean to raise her two daughters, and is delighted to have the opportunity to use her experience and passion to lead ACVE in delivering quality and challenging international volunteering programmes.

Sue von Kloeg 
International Educational Consultant 

Sue von Kloeg is the International Educational Consultant for ACVE. She has had many years’ experience in teaching ESOL – in England, South Africa and New Zealand. She was the principal of a night school in Johannesburg, South Africa where 700 adult students had a “second chance” opportunity for education. Since coming back to New Zealand 17 years ago Sue has taught ESOL in Secondary and Language Schools and was the principal of an International School for ten years. Part of her job was International Marketing and this has meant travelling to many countries in Asia, South America and Europe. In fact it was her love of travelling that inevitably led her into International Education having travelled to over 50 countries and having studied many different cultures. A thirst for adventure has seen her drive a truck through the Sahara Desert with nothing more than a compass for direction, been chased by a Hippo in Kenya, swum in crocodile infested waters in Zaire and paddled through the Mekong Delta in a canoe.

Rachel
President
Rachael has 14 years’ experience in law, management, planning and policy.  She has practised as a lawyer both in New Zealand and as an in-house legal advisor in the London office of a New York inter-dealer broker.  As President of the ACVE Board, Rachael’s  leadership, resolution and mentoring skills have been valuable in co-ordinating our governance team.   Rachael’s current role is Policy, Planning and Community Manager for the Western Bay of Plenty District Council where she manages a team of strategic planners to plan for a sustainable future in collaboration with our local communities.  Before settling down to raise her young family in Mount Maunganui, Rachael and her husband lived in London for two years and took every opportunity to travel to Europe and Africa. Rachael brings a cultural perspective to the board with her Maori/European heritage, as well as her work with local Iwi and Maori communities.  She loves running on the beach, spending time with family and is looking forward to seeing the ACVE programme grow and offer young Kiwi’s the opportunity for a unique, international, educational experience.

Frances Herriman-Holmes
Treasurer

Frances has a strong medical and public health background. She originally trained as a Comprehensive Nurse and specialised for 12 years in the Alcohol and Other Drugs field where she had many roles, including being a nurse, educator/trainer and counsellor. Frances was also the Health Nurse at the Bay Of Plenty Polytechnic. Having grown up living on a yacht with her parents and sister, she developed a great spirit of adventure, cultural respect and passion for finding out about the world with a childhood spent sailing around New Zealand and the South Pacific. Frances has lived in the Philippines and like many New Zealanders has travelled and worked in Europe and the United States. She is currently a stay at home mum raising her two energetic children who attend the Tauranga Rudolph Steiner School. Frances believes in the mission and values of ACVE and feels she is able to help young people work towards cultural respect and understanding through a governance role as a Trustee for ACVE.