"I've come from the corporate world but was always at the customer end.
"I want to make a difference in the community and also for the environment. This is a very intentional change for me.
"The Ngā Manu kaupapa strongly resonated with me both with regards to the long-standing contribution to Aotearoa's conservation efforts, but also the role that Ngā Manu plays in our local Kāpiti community and the focus on connecting people with nature."
Seeing an appetite for change and many opportunities for Ngā Manu to grow, Anna is determined to help the place flourish into the future.
"As a human, I've always leaned towards sustainability so it felt natural coming here."
Opportunities include helping with the new visitor centre plans and moving from the unsuccessful Provincial Growth Fund proposal to something more economically viable that will enhance the visitor experience.
The reserve spans 14 hectares and has just nine staff, many part-time, and Anna said growing the volunteer network is key.
"At the moment we are focusing on building the team and reviewing our strategic plan and we need people to come and help us.
"Ngā Manu has always been about conserving and preserving native flora and fauna and connecting people with nature, but it's about how we take that to the next level.
"The visitor experience is a key element but we need to be true to our mission in a way that attracts people here to learn about conservation."
Volunteers help maintain the reserve, help rangers with captive breeding programmes along with helping out in the visitor centre and do everything from serving customers to weeding, gardening and cleaning.
Ngā Manu has partnered with DOC and others in many breed-for-release programmes, which seek to re-establish at-risk species of birds and reptiles in the wild.
Along with the kiwi, Ngā Manu has participated in breeding programmes for whio, pāteke, kāka, orange-fronted, red-crowned, yellow-crowned and Antipodes Island parakeet, tuatara and Whitaker's skinks and many others.
Conservation of New Zealand flora is also essential with the health of the lowland swamp forest remnant, which prompted the original trustees to take an interest in the site, still a priority.
Anna said, "We have that balance of having a great environment to walk around in, but also have the aviaries where we can guarantee you will see kea and other wildlife we have in there.
"We're working on making small changes to the everyday experience of visitors so that you don't just come and wander around the reserve yourself, but are able to engage with the rangers more often."
This includes increasing the eel feeding and talk from once a day to twice a day on weekends.
"We want to use the great resources we have, our rangers and are looking to develop short talks about other flora and fauna in the reserve where our rangers can connect with people on their everyday visit.
"We're not letting people just walk around on their own so much, we are trying to give more, connect more.
"Education has always been central to our kaupapa, so we're looking at how we can work more closely with schools to deliver programmes that work for them such as the vocational skills programme with Paraparaumu college we did this year.
Ngā Manu Trust chairwoman Pat Stuart said Anna was selected from a strong group of candidates, brings a wealth of business knowledge and leadership experience to the role and is well placed to lead Ngā Manu through the next phase of its development as a must-see visitor experience for Kāpiti locals and visitors to the district.
"The board was impressed by Anna's passion for the work of Ngā Manu and also the significance she placed on Peter McKenzie's vision to create a place for people to connect with nature."
