Meet the team
Sophie Braggins
As General Manager of Business Operations, Sophie is committed to leveraging her expertise in people development, continuous business improvement, leadership, and team culture. With a career that has spanned industries, most recently as CEO of a progressive law firm, she is passionate about contributing to the future energy sector and nurturing an environment of collaboration and shared success at Ara Ake.
Will Edwards
Dr Will Edwards has extensive and diverse governance experience in the iwi and education sectors, as well as skills in research, analytics and data. His rural upbringing is complemented by broad academic training in public health, Māori development, Māori language and horticulture. Now living in South Taranaki, as a past Chair of Te Korowai o Ngāruahine, Will brings strategic Māori community and well-grounded perspective to the team, as well as proven leadership experience in the application of the Treaty of Waitangi to contemporary New Zealand.
Jonathan Young
Jonathan Young became part of the Ara Ake team in June 2021, bringing with him more than a decade of experience in energy and public leadership. As the former Member of Parliament for New Plymouth (2008–2020) and Energy and Resources Spokesperson, he built a deep understanding of New Zealand’s energy landscape and its international context. Jonathan is passionate about driving the transition to a low-emissions energy future through innovation, insight, and strong connections across the sector.
Michelle Polglase
Michelle is committed to accelerating the shift toward a more resilient energy system by aligning breakthrough technologies with strategic investment, ecosystem support and long-term system change. Her background in business ownership, leadership roles within high-growth global technology companies, and deep-tech commercialisation enables her to bring a depth of focus to sustainable value creation. A recreational pilot, she has a keen interest in advanced aviation and clean energy solutions at the intersection of technology and sustainability.
Briony Bennett
Briony is the flexibility and digitalisation lead within the projects team, bringing her in-depth knowledge of the flexibility, digitalisation and distributed energy resources space to Ara Ake. Briony started her career as an electricity trading systems analyst at the European Power Exchange after completing a Masters in energy economics and policy at Sciences Po in Paris, France. She went on to work as a renewable energy policy analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London, U.K. before returning home to Aotearoa to make her contribution to the energy transition here. She has worked across both government and business to drive for change and innovation in our energy sector.
Evelien Wallace
With over 15 years’ experience in subsurface, technical, and sustainability roles within New Zealand's energy corporations, and holding a Master of Science in Past Climate Change, Evelien brings deep technical knowledge of how the current energy system works, how it could work - and how we might transition. Thriving at the nexus of collaboration, data, and strategy, Evelien is driven to work with others to help Ara Ake achieve its strategic goals and to support Aotearoa’s transition in a way that ensures energy security and affordability for New Zealanders, while caring for our environment.
Lowri Swygart
Lowri is passionate about making lasting change in the built environment, with a background in carbon management for the built environment and Civil and Structural Engineering. Lowri has implemented decarbonisation strategies across New Zealand, Australia and the UK, setting transformative standards for carbon management in the built environment. Lowri has also collaborated with industry leading tool developers, revolutionising carbon management and driving innovation. Her expertise combines strategic leadership, technical know-how, and a passion for impactful climate action.
Daniel Gnoth
Daniel leads the research and insights function. He is responsible for advancing research initiatives to identify and accelerate pathways for New Zealand's transition to a clean energy future. His goal is to provide strategic insights and in-depth analysis of opportunities and challenges faced by innovators. He achieves this through collaborative efforts and primary research integrated with Ara Ake programmes. He is a member of the World Energy Council Future Energy Leaders (FEL-100 alumni) and has been a member of the Young Energy Professionals New Zealand (YEPN) steering committee and co-founder of the Taranaki YEPN.
‘Ana Vailahi-Schofield
‘Ana is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience across the education, energy, and manufacturing sectors. She provides strategic leadership of the organisation’s finance function and works closely with the Chief Executive and Board to ensure transparency and accountability in all financial matters. ‘Ana ensures strong financial governance and long-term sustainability. She is responsible for the organisation’s audit processes, day-to-day financial operations, statutory and management reporting, budget formulation and monitoring, cash flow management, and the development and implementation of financial policies, systems, and internal controls.
Rosie Condon
From organising events and shoot logistics in creative industries, to implementing and advising on communications in local government, Rosie brings her experience from a diverse professional background to her role. In her current capacity at Ara Ake, she contributes to organising and co-hosting events while also telling behind-the-scenes narratives of New Zealand’s renewable energy sector to a wider audience.
Sarah Millers
Sarah is an experienced professional with over 14 years in administrative management. As our Office Administrator, Sarah plays a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless functioning of our daily operations. Her responsibilities encompass essential support for both our team and stakeholders. In addition, she provides executive assistance to the Chief Executive. Sarah has experience and knowledge in the energy sector and is committed to a sustainable future.
