Our Whakapapa
Our founders
The Wilberforce Foundation was established by Ian and Wendy Kuperus in 2008. Ian and Wendy both hold a deep Christian faith, and have a strong desire to support others. Their dream for Aotearoa New Zealand is to see all people have the opportunity to encounter the person of Jesus, and have a life long relationship with him.
Blessed financially as a result of the success of their business endeavours, Ian and Wendy have generously committed significant resources to enable the work of the Wilberforce Foundation.
Our name
The name of the Wilberforce Foundation was inspired by the example of William Wilberforce (1759–1833). William Wilberforce was a leading member of the Clapham Community – an informal gathering of business, social, political, church and community leaders who, inspired by their Christian faith, advocated reforms including for women, children, workplaces, education and indigenous communities. Such was their reach that in the words of historian Stephen Tomkins “The ethos of Clapham became the spirit of the age.”
The Clapham Community came from diverse backgrounds and occupations and worked together over many decades and generations to achieve significant social change.
William Wilberforce is best known for his role (along with the Clapham Community) in the enactment of laws to abolish slavery.
The Clapham Community was also influential in Aotearoa New Zealand in the years leading up to the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840), with most of the 25 members of the British Colonial Office also being members of the Clapham Community. This group campaigned and advocated strongly for the protection and preservation of Māori culture.
Our board
Our Board is currently made up of four members - Ian Kuperus, Jessica Palmer, Marc Fountain and Graham Burt, and assisted by an additional advisor, the Reverend Doctor Lyndon Drake.
Together this group brings a range of personal and professional experiences to guide the overall vision and strategy of the Wilberforce Foundation.
Board Members (left to right): Graham Burt, Jessica Palmer, Marc Fountain and Dr Lyndon Drake.
Graham Burt
Graham is the Founder and Executive Director of the annual Christian arts festival, Festival One. Graham is the President of Laidlaw College Inc and Chairperson of the Laidlaw College Foundation. He is the co-author, creative director and presenter of ‘The Long Story Short’ evangelism video series. He has been involved in the governance of the Wilberforce Foundation since 2007.
Jessica Palmer, Chairperson
Jessica’s professional background is as a lawyer and law professor specialising in trusts and commercial law. She has degrees from Auckland and Cambridge. She is currently the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Humanities at the University of Otago, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka and is a member of the University’s executive leadership team. Jessica is a chartered Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. She also serves as the Deputy Chairperson of the Laidlaw College Board, as well as being a member of the Board of Presbyterian Support Otago. She has been involved in the governance of the Wilberforce Foundation since 2019.
Dr Lyndon Drake
Dr Lyndon Drake (Ngāti Kuri, Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Ngāi Tahu) until recently served as the Māori Anglican Archdeacon of Tāmaki Makaurau. Lyndon has doctorates in Theology (Oxford), artificial intelligence (York), and degrees in science, commerce (Auckland) and theology (Oxford), along with peer-reviewed publications in science and theology. Lyndon has written *Capital Markets for the Common Good: A Christian Perspective* (2017). Until 2010, Lyndon was a Vice President at Barclays Capital, trading interest-rate products. Since then, he has served in church ministry, as well as teaching theology and holding other leadership roles, including chair of Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri Trust.
Marc Fountain
Marc is Chief Rainmaker of Rainmaker Consulting, an Auckland based business consultancy. He has 20 years of governance experience across multiple ‘for purpose’ organisations, and has been privileged to serve the Wilberforce Foundation in several capacities since 2009 – initially as a Giving Committee member during its early years, as a board member from 2019 and as Chair 2021-2023.
Our team
Chris Clarke
CEO
Chris oversees and manages all aspects of the work of the Wilberforce Foundation. He also functions as a key support to the leaders and organizations who partner with the Wilberforce Foundation.
Simon Cayley
Advisor
Simon contributes to a range of areas across the Wilberforce Foundation including managing our finances, overseeing consultancy support for organisations, and measuring impact.
Melanie Grace
Operations Manager
Melanie’s role is to ensure the smooth functioning of all aspects of the Wilberforce Foundation - managing events, responding to enquiries, releasing resources, and coordinating our team’s work.
Jade Hohaia
Advisor - Māori
Jade (Raukawa, Ngā Puhi, Ngāi Tahu) is our Māori Strategic Partnership Lead, managing the Te Rongopai portfolio.
Aimee Mai
Advisor
Aimee’s key focus is to encourage organisations to deepen their connections with local churches and to support them to find creative ways of demonstrating their faith convictions.
James Beck
Advisor - Environmental
James has a particular responsibility to oversee the contribution the Wilberforce Foundation makes towards initiatives which seek to see the natural environment in New Zealand flourish.
Charlotte Cummings
Advisor
Charlotte’s work with the Wilberforce Foundation covers a range of areas, including a focus on supporting female leaders, connecting the philanthropic sector, and contributing to our national conversation around the prevention of abuse and harm within faith-based entities.