Fiona was born and bred in the Waikato and grew up on a Cattle and sheep farm. After living in a variety of locations around NZ and time in the UK Fiona returned to NZ and the Waikato in 2016. As an experienced manager, professional development trainer and fundraising specialist Fiona wanted to utilise these skills to help Hope Rising Farm continue to grow to allow us to help more vulnerable youth and women learn skills to help them get the most out of life. Fiona is wanting to create opportunities for organisations to have meaningful interactions with Hope Rising Farm where they can undertake Team Building days with a professional development twist in a beautiful rural settling that allows them to leave feeling like they have been part of Hope Rising farm and taken away key messages that help in their own lives.

Rachel founded Hope Rising Farm in 2012 and since then has supported students, as well as working in Buddy training, animal care, communications and everything in between!  She has recently taken a large step back to focus on marketing. Rachel is a connector and is always engaging with people around her, supporting others and making new friends. She has an un-ending passion for helping young people and women.  Rachel won volunteer of the year in the 2022 Volunteer Excellence Awards!

Jan is originally from Liverpool in the UK but has lived in Aotearoa/NZ for nearly 18 years, so she is a kiwi with a funny accent. She has always loved horses but achieved her dream back in 2014 and became ‘mum’ first to Rory, then Jussy and finally Duncan (3 thoroughbred horses). She volunteered at the local RDA for many years. She describes herself as a city girl at heart and a country girl in her soul. Jan’s background is in adult education for over ten years working in private education and studying and worked Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. Over her education journey she has done her Bachelor’s in Adult Ed, Grad Dip in Professional Supervision bi-cultural in practise and is finishing her Master’s in Education with her dissertation being around horses in education. Empowering people is her passion.

Maria was born in England, and came to New Zealand in 1987. For 22 years she lived on a 3500-acre sheep and beef farm but recently downsized to a lifestyle block. She competed on her own horses for many years and worked extensively as a groom for a top 3 Day Event competitor while in the UK. She is an experienced Administrator, and has many years of working with the public, and organising public sporting events. She is passionate about making a difference in the lives of the vulnerable children and women that are struggling in our communities and looking forward to seeing many more lives changed at Hope Rising Farm.

Amy grew up on a sheep and beef farm. She is the middle of 7 children so growing up me and my siblings would often be riding horses or motorbikes. I love horse riding and my favorite place to ride is in the bush. I love working with youth and being able to see the how much you can overcome and achieve alongside them. The reward of their independence and happiness is amazing to see.

Eve joined us initially in 2014 as a general volunteer, then left to study and later returned to us with a Master's in Arts Therapy. and became a Buddy. Eve loves the way the farm provides a unique mix of creativity, animal experience and time in the outdoors. Eve's enthusiasm is infectious, her ready smile and can-do belief in her students encourages them to try new things.