Sarah Matthews
Waipā Networks Trust chair Sarah Matthews is heading to Canada on an overseas manager exchange programme.
Matthews, who was finance manager at Waipā District Council until July 2021 and is now group manager Finance and Environment at Taupō District Council, is one of four to win a place on the Taituarā programme.
The others are Anne Blakeway of Tauranga, Dennise Elers (Central Hawke’s Bay) and Libby O’Brien (Taupō).
Taituarā – Local Government Professionals Aotearoa is the national membership organisation for local government professionals. Its purpose is to promote and support professional management in local government.
The exchange programme provides local government managers with an opportunity to focus on their management development and career in local government through a short exchange with a partner manager in another country.
This is the second award Matthews has won from Taituarā – she won the ‘Emerging Financial Manager’ award two years ago.
She credits the sector for her leadership style and is passionate about making a difference in the community. Outside of work she lives in Te Awamutu and is mother to a blended family of five children.
Matthews became the first woman to lead the Waipā Networks Trust after she topped the poll in the trust elections. She had been its secretary/treasurer for more than a decade.
