​​​​​​​Ngā Mema o Te Poari | Christchurch Netball Centre Board Members

The Board of the Christchurch Netball Centre (CNC) consists of six members, including the Chair. CNC board members are either appointed by the Board Appointments Panel or elected at the Annual General Meeting. All CNC board members serve on a rotational basis in accordance with the constitution. Board members accept these responsibilities and are expected to demonstrate the following attributes - read more.

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​​​​​​​Board Chair - Anna Galvan
Anna Galvan is known for her extensive career in netball as a player from 1996 until 2012. Anna is Silver Fern #124 and played in the team from 2000 – 2002, including the Manchester Commonwealth Games. Anna was part of the semi-professional era as a player for the Canterbury Flames, Southern Sting and Tactix teams and as a member of the Canterbury netball team for over 15 years, including time as Captain. Anna has held multiple coaching positions, including Junior and Secondary School teams, age-group Christchurch teams, the Tactix National Netball League team, as Apprentice Coach and the Defensive coach for the Tactix team. She has also coached at Netball New Zealand Development Camp and as part of the New Zealand U21 Programme.

Anna has held several governance roles since 2016, including the last three as Chair of the Christchurch Netball Centre Board. She is a member of the Institute of Directors, and is also on the Advisory Board at the University of Canterbury Students' Association, the Tactix Netball Team Steering Committee, and is a current director of Netsal Sports Centre.

Anna works as a General Manager at Te Hono  – a partnership between the leaders of Aotearoa New Zealand’s food and fibre sector companies, iwi and government agencies. Te Hono is leading the charge to transform the way the sector operates from being predominantly focused on export volume under a commodity-based trading model to a value-based model producing and exporting products of higher consumer value whilst acknowledging the precious nature of the resources make this possible.

​​​​​​​Board Member - Jeremy Curwin
Jeremy Curwin, chief executive of
Canterbury Cricket, brings a wealth of experience to the Christchurch Netball Centre Board in corporate management and marketing. He has an extensive track record supporting the sustainability of sporting organisations around the world with a strategic commercial approach. “

Jez's leadership has shone through in both routine operations and moments of adversity," says Anna Galvan, Chair of the CNC board. "His capabilities and expertise have been honed by navigating the hurdles of nurturing and advancing grassroots and high-performance cricket in the midst of a pandemic. Jez possesses a wonderful comprehension of sport's significance within a community marked by challenges.” 

A career sports administrator, Jeremy is a well-known advocate for making sport more accessible for everyone. Jeremy showed leadership across the sector in Aotearoa following the Christchurch terror attacks of 2019. Through his advocacy and leadership, a research project in 2020 explored the barriers to entry in sport for ethnic minorities in Ōtautahi. The key outcome of this research was the creation of a new shared role, funded by New Zealand Cricket, working in cricket and football to address these barriers. The new role attracted widespread praise and a nomination by Sport New Zealand for excellence in diversity and inclusion.

​​​​​​​Board Member - Emma Johns
Elected to the Board in 2021, Emma took an interest in the governance of Christchurch Netball Centre as a way of connecting with the Christchurch community, and combining her passion for sports and netball with her business, strategic and commercial capabilities.

​​​​By day, Emma is a Partner in Consulting at Deloitte in Christchurch where she works to solve business and digital problems for clients across the country. Her skills in strategy, programme and project delivery, market analysis and procurement, governance, reviews, business case & funding analysis, and business operating models are useful to our Board and current strategy.

Beyond her Deloitte role, Emma brings governance experience as the Deputy Chair on the Tennis Canterbury Board, Wilding Park Foundation Board member and is a member of the Institute of Directors. ​​​​​Emma continues to enjoy her netball as a current member of the St. Nicholas’ Premier A Netball team. Outside of her passion for netball, Emma is a keen runner and avid traveller with her family. 

Board Member - Warren Poh

Appointed to the Christchurch Netball Centre Board in 2020, Warren has 13 years- professional and governance experience in a variety of different roles and sectors, including Canterbury Rugby League, University Sport New Zealand and Canterbury Hockey Association.

His employment roles have incorporated business leadership, change management, strategic planning, business development and business opportunity creation. He currently works for a leading engineering global consultancy specialising in engineering, science and design.

Warren has played a little bit of netball in the past, but mostly enjoys watching his young daughter play and supporting his wife who coaches the team.

Board Member - Leonie Rae
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Co-opted to the Board in 2021, 
Leonie has extensive experience within a local council environment. She has experience in governance, leadership and management of projects and operations, financial and long-term strategic planning, employee engagement, leading the strategic direction and implementing change programmes.

Leonie also has significant experience in commercial building consents and approvals and has been a member of a number of professional associations. One of her career highlights is winning an ALGIM Leadership Award.

Board Member - Sophia Thomson

Appointed to the Christchurch Netball Centre Board in 2022, Sophia is well known to the CNC community as a player. Formerly she has played for the Tactix (and Pulse) but more recently for Kereru Netball Club, having also played for other clubs since high school.

While she is currently on maternity leave, Sophia, a Chartered Accountant and former auditor, is employed as National Finance Manager, managing cash flow, fund applications, loans and invoicing within a fast-growing construction business. She has a desire to make a difference by challenging the status quo and wants to give back to her netball community having also been a player representative for Netball Mainland within the NZ Netball Players Association.