Mele Wendt

Mele Wendt MNZM, has 25 years of governance and 17 years of management experience.  In her early career, she was a high school teacher, and later, was the founding Pacific islands liaison officer and manager of the student recruitment office at Victoria University of Wellington, before becoming the executive director of Fulbright New Zealand – a role she held for ten years. 

In 2019, Mele was awarded a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for her services to governance, the Pacific community, and women. In 2022, she was the recipient of the Not-For-Profit Governance Leader Award at the Women in Governance Awards, and is also a White Ribbon Ambassador and a member of various professional and community groups.

Mele currently chairs Wellington Community Fund, and serves on the boards of Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (The Correspondence School), the Real Estate Authority, Tāwhiri: Festivals and Experiences, Tokelau International Trust Fund, ANZ Bank (Samoa) Ltd, and The Helen Clark Foundation. She is also the National Vice President - Central Region of P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A. and provides consultancy in governance training, Pacific peoples’ development, organisational capacity building, scholarships management, and mentoring.

Mele’s heritage is a mix of Samoan (Malie, Vaiala, Lefaga) and Palagi (NZ, Britain). She is married to Eteuati Ete - they have four grown-up children and four grandchildren, and Wellington has been her home for more than 35 years.