Venessa was first elected as a Trustee for Wellington Tenths Trust in 2011 and has a governance, commercial and accounting background. Venessa is a registered Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) and holds a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies from Massey University and a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration (BCA) from Victoria University. She has worked as an Accountant in Marlborough and Nelson over the last 22 years including for the Marlborough District Council, Port Marlborough New Zealand and Wakatū Incorporation.
Venessa is a Managing Trustee of the Island Moutere Love Trust, dealing with property management, investment and development and whānau support and kaitiaki for a whānau taonga collection.
Venessa is an elected Trustee the Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Trust (the Post-Settlement Governance Entity and mandated Te Ātiawa iwi authority of Te Tau Ihu), and its predecessor since 2006. Venessa has had a strong involvement with iwi commercial and economic development through the Waitangi Claim Settlement negotiations process and continuing on to-date. Venessa lives in Waikawa (Te Tau Ihu) and is committed to achieving better outcomes for our whānau, iwi, people and communities.