ABOUT

  • Richard
    O'Brien

    Patron

  • Angela
    O'Leary

    Patron

    Angela O'Leary is the Deputy Mayor of Hamilton and serves as the Hamilton Creative Ambassador. With over 18 years of dedicated service on the Hamilton City Council, Angela has been a strong advocate for the arts and creative industries. Passionate about the local theatre scene, she believes in fostering the incredible talent found within the community. Although she modestly doesn't consider herself 'talented,' Angela has a long personal connection with dance, having explored various styles since childhood. For the past 20 years, she has been a ballroom and Latin dancer, competing in recent years.

  • Paul
    Mitchell

    Chairperson

  • Leean
    Bedwell

    Treasurer

    Leean has over 25 years experience in Public Practice and joined Cleland Hancox Limited in April 2000. After obtaining her practicing certificate in 2005 Leean became a director of the firm. Leean provides accounting and business advisory services to a wide range of clients and specialises in the farming sector, horticulturalists and the health sector and has a wealth of experience in these areas. She has a special interest in accounting systems such as Xero, Figured, Rural Cash Manager and Banklink. Leean also holds the position of secretary for some large organisations, including Charitable and Maori Trusts.

    Leean has a keen interest in internal controls and governance and has provided audit and assurance services for a range of entities including large government funded initiatives. She is an approved mentor with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and has been a representative on the Local Leadership Team and Branch Committee.

    Leean is also the Chairperson on the Board of Trustees for True Colours Children’s Health Trust which is based in Waikato and Treasurer for Clarence Street Theatre Trust. She is a mother of two adult children and enjoys walking, gardening and spending time with her family in her spare time.

  • Rachel
    Balme

    Rachel is a founding member of the Clarence Street Theatre Trust. She brings many years of business experience to the Trust as a chartered accountant and director at Accountants NZ Limited, a growing accounting firm in based in the Waikato. She completed a Bachelor of Commerce from Canterbury University and has worked as an accountant in various corporates both here and overseas and more recently in public practice. She is also a director of Forgotten World Adventures Limited a growing Tourism business and lives on a farm near Hamilton.

    Rachel has been involved in theatre all her life both in performance and management. She has been treasurer for Hamilton Operatic Society from 2010 to 2014 and then became Chairman of the Board of Management for a year. During this time she was involved the handover of Clarence Street Theatre from Hamilton City Council to the Trust.

  • Sandra
    Braithwaite

    Sandra has been a trustee of Clarence Street Theatre Trust since 2017 and is passionate about providing an affordable performing arts venue for the Waikato community.

    Sandra is a commercial, property, trust and family law partner at Harkness Henry, Hamilton law firm.

    She previously practiced as a chartered accountant for eighteen years, specialising in tax consultancy, before joining Harkness Henry in 2004. She is also a trustee and Treasurer of True Colours Children’s Health Trust and of the Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival Foundation.

  • Jocelyn
    Kerr

  • Victoria
    Trenwith

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