Deputy Board Chair - 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 - Sophia Thompson

I see being on the CNC Board as an awesome opportunity to give back to the Christchurch Netball Community by offering my financial expertise, passion and playing experience to better the future of netball.
 I am a Chartered Accountant having worked in the professional practice space as an auditor, and more recently in the property industry as a finance manager and now financial controller. I have worked with many different organisations, including but not limited to, not for profit and incorporated societies, where primarily providing detailed review of financial information, processes and risk as well as offering feedback for best practice. Financial management, relationship building and people management has been a crucial part of my latter work and I have always appreciated working as part of a team, as I know the value that different ideas and perspectives from people with different backgrounds bring. I believe my experience, paired with my netball background can help navigate the CNC Board to deliver their strategy, key initiatives and outcomes. ​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​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.

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Board Member - Chelsea Kennedy

Elected to the Christchurch Netball Centre Board in 2024, Chelsea is a passionate member of the Christchurch Netball community and is looking forward to building her governance experience and continuing to support the growth of netball across Ōtautahi and beyond. 

Chelsea served on the Game Development Committee for the past five years, assisting in providing great development opportunities for players, coaches, umpires and managers in our region. Chelsea is still connected to grass roots netball as a player, coach, talent spotter, representative selector and supporter. 

She brings legal and financial acumen through her experience in corporate accounting and involvement in investigating complex financial crime within New Zealand. Chelsea is both a Chartered Accountant and an enrolled Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.​​​​​​​

Jenny Hickson was elected to the Christchurch Netball Centre Board in 2024. She has been involved in the local netball community since 2016 when her daughters started playing and she joined their club’s committee.

Jenny is a Chartered Accountant and has experience in a range of financial and commercial roles in industry and public practice.  She is excited to be part of the Board and hopes that her skills and experience can contribute to ensuring that CNC continues to meet the evolving needs of the netball whānau and the wider community.