Simon Perry

Chairperson

Simon is chairman of Perry Group and Brian Perry Charitable Trust, based in Hamilton. Born and bred in the Waikato, Simon is married to Marlene and a father of four. He is passionate about health and wellbeing, and involved in various community projects including Te Awa Cycleway trust.

Why is Simon passionate about affordable housing? New Zealand has become divided into a society of “haves” and “have nots”, and the majority of our hard working young people can no longer dream of owning a home. Home ownership has become the No.1 issue for our community. Bridge Housing has a vision to give first home buyers a chance to get on the housing ladder, we hope to make a genuine impact in this vitally important space.

Leah Gordon

Trustee

Leah joins the team at Bridge Trust with vast experience as a real estate professional via a previous career in education. She is currently a Branch Manager at Lodge Real Estate leading an outstanding team of salespeople.
Having lived in Hamilton for over 30 years she is a true Waikato advocate – passionate about our wonderful region and keen to see our young people afforded the opportunity to property ownership, – her own three Hamilton born and bred sons in their 20’s included.

Leah offers a positive, high energy commitment to the Bridge Trust Board along with market knowledge, a network of like-minded, can-do colleagues & friends and a desire to educate our communities about this wonderful achievable housing concept for many.

Leonard Gardner

Trustee

Leonard is passionate about creating great communities.  A Chartered Accountant by training, Leonard’s experience in property has come from 19 years at Foster Construction where he is now the CEO and a major shareholder.  Leonard is also a shareholder and director of Anthem homes, and a past trustee and Chair of Momentum Waikato Community Foundation.

Leonard is married to Denise, has three sons and lives in Raglan.

Marlene Julian

Trustee

Marlene is a qualified secondary teacher who resigned to raise four children.

She is strong in governance from her experience as a trustee on a number of boards. Marlene is Chair of the Perry Outdoor Education Trust – an organisation aimed at delivering quality outdoor education experiences for students at low decile schools. Marlene is also on the board of the Brian Perry Charitable Trust and Perrinpark Retirement Village.

Nic Greene

Trustee

Nic Greene is the CEO of Habitat for Humanity Central Region, providing housing services to communities in the lower half of the North Island. Nic is also a council member of Community housing Aotearoa, the sectors peak body, co-chair of the Waikato Housing Initiative and is deeply committed to affordable housing outcomes.

Peter Southwick

Trustee

Peter Southwick has spent his entire working career in property, primarily as a property valuer in New Zealand and Australia. He is an active investor and has built affordable housing. More recently he has been involved in affordable housing via 5 years as a Trustee of the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust.

Sharleen Nathan

Trustee

​Sharleen is passionate about making a difference for young people and their whānau. She has been in the Education space for over 25 years. Her last school role was as 2IC Deputy Principal at Hamilton Girls’ High School where she was based for 8 years. Sharleen is now at the University of Waikato, as Director of Te Whai Toi Tangata: Institute of Professional Learning. 

Sharleen’s interest in property started at 25 when she went through the process of purchasing her first home. She has been in numerous governance roles over the past six years, including: Sport Waikato, K’aute Pasifika Board, Women in Rugby Aotearoa, ‘future director’ role on the Chiefs Rugby Board; and, member of NZR Board ‘Rugby Committee’.

Carli Nolan

Housing Support

Carli is originally from South Africa, but is grateful to have established roots in New Zealand from a young age.

She has experience in the mortgage industry, where she has spent a number of years assisting multiple Mortgage Advisers, including her husband, with client interactions and applications. She has been able to carry knowledge across from this environment to help Bridge Housing’s applicants in their journey to homeownership. Carli interacts with individuals and families from the moment they register their interest, to the moment we hand over the keys, and everything in between.

Robyn Wilson

Finance Administrator

Robyn is our finance administrator, her family moved to the Waikato 19 years ago. Her background is in accounting, and she is very proud to be working for a company that is giving back, helping more people into their first homes. Her bubbly personality brings an uplifting energy to the office, she’s always up for a good chat and will prove to you working with numbers doesn’t have to mean boring! When not in the office, she’s supporting the “Chiefs” or is busy renovating a 100-year-old villa with her husband and two daughters.

Shona Fuller

CFO

Shona has recently returned to New Zealand with her family after many years in England and has enjoyed settling back into the vibrant Waikato region.

Having worked for over 20 years in many areas of finance in a variety of industries, Shona is adept at finding practical solutions to commercial problems. Applying her experience to help with the challenges Bridge Housing faces is very rewarding for Shona. After relocating with her husband and two small children, she appreciates the value of a stable home and believes strongly in the opportunities Bridge Housing is creating so that more families are able to experience this. Knowing that the work we do at Bridge Housing strengthens our community and drives the right kind of change, Shona is extremely proud to be a part of the team.

Jennifer Palmer

General Manager

Jennifer is General Manager of the Brian Perry Charitable Trust, which provides the operational and management support to Bridge Housing. In her role, Jen has also overseen the development of the Te Awa River Ride, the Podium Sports Lodge, and played a key role in the development of the Home of Cycling’s National Velodrome. She is thrilled to now be part of a project that transforms the dream of homeownership into an accessible and affordable reality.

Originally from Ottawa, Canada, Jen is married to Craig and together they have twin daughters.