OUR SPEAKERS

Lisa Maathuis is the General Manager for Dignity NZ, a company on a mission to create period equity in Aotearoa. Period Equity means that no one misses out on education, work, sports, cultural activities or anything else, because they don’t have access to period products. Dignity has supported over 230 organisations to date, gifting free period products to people without access, and Lisa and the Dignity team would love to see the problem of Period Poverty solved here in Aotearoa. On a personal note, Lisa is a proud mum of her little boy Timo, she enjoys spending time in nature, taking Timo and her border collie Archie on adventures.

Michele Wilson is the co-founder and CEO of AWWA Period Care, a company dedicated to breaking down the barriers and unpacking the stigma around periods. Michele's business, and personal life, is centred around her Māori culture and she is passionate about decolonising attitudes and bringing these traditional values into mainstream. Michele lives her life in accordance with the maramataka and she is currently undertaking research into the link between ikura (period) and the maramataka. On a personal note, Michele is a keen yogi and māmā to two kōtiro whom she loves spending time with at the beach and in the ngahere.

Sophie Watson (she/her) is a Professional Development Facilitator at Education Outdoor New Zealand and is passionate about all things outdoors and gender equity. She has held numerous roles in the education sector, including as a high school teacher, researcher, and professional learning facilitator for teachers. While some people think she’s mad, Sophie is planning to walk and bike the length of Aotearoa (twice: there and back!) to raise funds for outdoor youth organisations, and because she thinks it’ll be “fun”.

Neo (he/him/ia) is passionate about rainbow liberation, decolonisation, and mental health. He has whakapapa to Kai Tahu and Te Ātiawa. For the past 7 years, he's been involved with InsideOUT Kōaro in a volunteer and then paid role. When not working, providing peer support, or studying Te Reo Māori and Anthropology at Victoria University, he can usually be found playing DND, obsessing over wetlands, or starting but never finishing crochet projects.

Clare Morgan is the CEO of Organic Initiative, a company aiming to “rid the world of hygiene products that harm people and planet,” a journey that started with period products and has now expanded into bladder care products. Clare has over 30 years' global marketing and sales experience within consumer goods.