GET TO KNOW OUR CREW
A service-driven organisation will only ever be as good as the people in it, so we take great care in selecting the very best to join our work whānau, and they take great care in selecting us! Our team is the reason we can do what we do. They are compassionate individuals who have come together to carry out purpose-driven mahi.
"I see us as a company that helps whānau by offering them a hand up, and not a handout, which can be tricky when you love helping people because you just want to give, give, give! But the way we are approaching it is enabling whānau to take charge of their own journey."
Jessie
"When I started working I wasn't driven by specific work or a specific job that I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted to be able to have a positive influence on people's lives and be able to help people. Sustainability Options has provided me with the ability to do that."
Caleb
"SO is a group of people committed to something bigger than ourselves or the fulfilment of our own needs. I work here because we are all driven by the same goals - which are to help those who need help and to fight against inequity."
Jo
"I came to work for SO because I feel we are making a positive difference in people's lives. We are not the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff but rather in the prevention zone e.g. helping people avoid ill health and hospitalisation and helping people to be more sustainable with their energy use."
Rachel S.
"I wanted to work here as it is a company that is purpose driven. SO is not just compassionate to the whānau we work with, but also with each other."
Jacqui
"I perceive us as an organisation that is trying the utmost to support our community, we really do care about the whānau we work with and we try our best to support them in many ways."
Maya
"SO to me works on the basis of 'you don't know what you don't know' and so focuses on making 'what you don't know' accessible to know, in order for kiwis to live in more sustainable conditions."
Teri
Nik Gregg
Nik co-founded Sustainability Options with his brother Phil over a decade ago when they decided to showcase what 'business for good' could operate like, and how it may just be the recipe for sustainably conscious business development; A for-profit organisation that is driven by purpose. Nik's corporate management background, experience as a national HPA (Home Performance Advisor) trainer, and a number of complementary accreditations in the housing performance space have positioned him as an expert in this sector. He is the talker and the dreamer of the Sustainability Options whānau, passionately and enthusiastically sharing what's happening in the space, how things are going, and what needs to happen next. Nik's mahi is rooted in the intention to share the Sustainability Options kaupapa and mahi with everyone who needs to know about it.
Phil Gregg
Phil co-founded Sustainability Options alongside Nik in 2012. The passion for a new business venture with a sustainable lens came from having kids and reflecting on the world they are growing up in. Phil is an accredited Home Performance Advisor, has been trained in 'warrant of fitness' development, and a member of EMANZ. He has also had a crack at building a few sustainable homes! He has a talent for coming up with solutions and supplies that will enable the team to make sustainability improvements in the community. He is constantly engaging with other businesses to donate or repurpose seconds or damaged goods. Phil primary passion within Sustainability Options is providing environmental sustainability advice, helping home owners work out how to sustainably use their resources and money.
Jo Wills
Jo is a member of the lead team at Sustainability Options. She has been involved in sustainability for over 10 years, focussing on business, energy, transport, and housing. She has been an advocate for the relationship between social equity, environmental quality, and urban well-being for a longtime, being involved with Trade Aid, is trained in The Natural Step, and is in community groups and movements towards these outcomes. Alongside her dedicated mahi with Sustainability Options, Jo is the co-founder of the Home Performance Advisor (HPA) training programme. Jo splits her time between assessing the needs in homes, identifying repairs, and sharing home performance information with occupants - She loves showing wāhine how to use a power drill!
Lee Siegle
Lee is the fourth member of our Lead Team, overseeing our repairs and maintenance mahi. She has a background in public health and environmental sustainability, and a passion for helping others and fighting inequalities. She moved to Aotearoa from the States in 2017 and quickly noticed how cold our houses are. Lee joined Sustainability Options to help build our repairs and maintenance programme and move us towards our vision of 20 Degrees. Now as a member of the Lead Team, she supports other members of the team to deliver to our commitments, ensures whānau outcomes, and maximises our ability to achieve more.
Jacqui Morgan
Jacqui is our powerhouse when it comes to stock and logistics. She ensures we have a streamlined supply chain from wholesaler to whare! She orders everything from insulation to window latches to clothing. Jacqui coordinates the quotes and orders with our contractors so we can provide a wider range of repairs and maintenance support for a whare. If you are receiving support through our repairs and maintenance, chances are you will be in contact with Jacqui!
Rachel Chapman
Rachel is a registered social worker, an unregistered Learning Disability nurse, and a Home Performance Advisor, making her a powerhouse within our home assessor team! She has worked in health and disability social work in both community and hospital settings. She has been working within the Healthy Homes Initiative for five years through Western Heights Health Centre before joining us a year ago at Sustainability Options. Rachel is really passionate about her Rotorua community, the wonderful services and opportunities for connection, and how she can bring these to our whānau.
Rachel Smith
Rachel is one of our superstar home assessors with a real attention to detail! She wants to ensure we are helping whānau as much as we possibly can and isn't averse to providing a thorough home assessment and report to guarantee that happens. Her education background makes her a natural at journeying with whānau to improve their understanding of how to make their whare warmer, drier, and healthier.
Waimarie Sylvester
Wai joined our mahi with a fountain of knowledge from both the social and health sectors which placed her well on our home assessors team. Her mahi centers around providing whānau with education and advocacy to provide them the tools to create a warmer, drier, healthier home. Her vast background means she is well-connected to the support available in the communities.
Shane Evans
Shane is a member of our outstanding assessor team, he visits whānau and journeys with them to help create a warmer, drier, healthier whare. Shane is an easygoing, compassionate guy which helps him to connect with whānau and services that we can tap into to provide a wrap-around of services.
Shirley Maxwell
Shirley joins us as a Home and Health Assessor eager to help the community. Coming from a background very different from this mahi, Shirley is constantly learning about housing, sustainability, and the vast landscape of 'normal' we encounter.
Ian Sybers
Ian is our go-to for repairs and maintenance mahi. You'll find Ian carrying out repairs around the whare to ensure it can hold in the heat, and keep out the damp - be this repairing, changing, painting... anything we can do to help, Ian will be doing it!
Jessie Pearson
Jessie is one of our top-tier hub coordinators! She works closely with Maya receiving all referrals and reaching out to whānau as the first of many contacts along our journey together. Jessie strengthens relationships with our referrers, so they have all the information they need to refer whānau that would benefit from our support. Within the team, Jessie breaks stereotypes wearing the Health and Safety hard hat whilst holding the jester's marotte!
Maya Bellass
Maya's cherry disposition makes her a great fit as the first voice referrers and whānau hear when getting in touch with us. Her and Jessie work together as hub coordinators processing incoming referrals and ensuring everyone who enquires about our mahi finds out what they need to know. Maya also focuses on increasing our self-referrals and engagement with the public by running our social media pages (check them out if you haven't yet!).
Gina Porter
Gina is our delightful scheduler. If you have received a call from us organising when an assessor will be coming to visit, it's likely Gina you spoke with! She is full of aroha and compassion making her an amazing fit for these important calls with whānau.
Caleb Gregg
Caleb is our data analyst. He creates a story of our mahi through numbers and data so we develop an understanding of our efforts and impact on a bigger scale. His ability to work with our whānau data means we can communicate the areas of need, and evaluate our progress towards our vision, and goals. Whether we need to look into one type of support or one common whānau grouping, Caleb is able to create a report that shows the impact of our mahi in that area.
Teri Dawson
Teri is our communications and marketing coordinator. She works on ensuring those who need to know about our mahi, have access to finding out, be that through websites (yes, including this one!), flyers, or partnerships. She is our in-house writer, sharing journeys from voices that aren't often heard, aiming to influence the narrative around housing in Aotearoa. Teri also supports Te Whatu Ora as the Strategic Communications Lead for the National Healthy Homes Initiative (HHI). Sustainability Options are the Bay of Plenty and Lakes providers for this initiative, and Teri supports the initiative to be communicated consistently across the motu.
CONTACT US
Phone:
07 544 1882
Mobile:
022 156 1027
022 497 2529
Email:
20degrees@so.org.nz
Address:
59 Seventh Avenue, Tauranga
F.R.O.G.
Forever Reliant On Good
We operate by being forever reliant on good - doing mahi for the good of others and for the good of our environment. Along the way, hoping we inspire others to incorporate the FROG into their organisation too.