bp Leaders For Life Profiles

PROFILES

"We are incredibly proud of all of our bp Leaders for Life graduates. Their 

immense dedication, passion and innovative ideas shown throughout the 

programme continues to astound us. Each candidate demonstrates unique skills, 

and develops tools that help make a huge impact in their communities around 

the country. These leaders shape the future of the Surf Life Saving movement. 

They are leaders for life." 

- Paul Dalton

Owen West 

bp Leaders for Life 2015 

helps you learn 

"...it 

about yourself 

more 

sets you up well 

and 

a great career in 

for 

you do 

whatever 

of Surf Life 

outside 

Saving." 

My name is Owen West and I’m the Club Chair at Oreti Surf Life Saving Club. I’m also an Advanced 

Lifeguard, Patrol Captain and occasionally help out with IRB instructing at my club. 

Outside of Surf Lifesaving, I lead a small team of scientists at Environment Southland (Southland 

Regional Council). I spend most of my time working on air quality, but my team is responsible for 

the science around water resources, environmental chemistry and land use. I am also on the NZ 

Branch Committee for the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand. 

I’m definitely still using the knowledge and skills picked up on the bp Leaders for Life programme. 

In particular, I learned more about SLSNZ as an organisation and made so many connections across 

the country. One of the key lessons for me was the importance of being self-aware as a leader; 

knowing what your values are and what “leadership brand” you’re presenting. This has stuck with 

me through all of my subsequent leadership roles. 

Through the programme, I developed a better appreciation for effective delegation. bp Leaders for 

Life also made me think about my own values as a leader and what I wanted to represent. 

I’ve attended a handful of leadership courses over the years and bp Leaders for Life remains at the 

top. The programme leaves you feeling inspired and motivated to do great things for your club, 

region and the national brand. Not only that, but it helps you learn more about yourself and sets 

you up well for a great career in whatever you do outside of Surf Life Saving.

Shane Edwards 

was also great 

"It 

other like- 

meeting 

people and 

minded 

connections with 

making 

of clubs all 

members 

the country." 

across 


My name is Shane Edwards and I've been a member at Sunset Beach SLSC since I was 13 years' old. 

I'm Club Captain, an IRB Coach and a member of the club's rebuild committee. In my day job, I'm 

an electrician project manager. 

For me, the best thing about bp Leaders for Life was understanding how people learn and 

developing my ability to communicate with different personality types. I prefer to lead by example 

because that's how I learn. 

It was also great meeting other like-minded people and making connections with members of clubs 

all across the country. It really got me out of my comfort zone. For my group's project, we worked 

on electric timing gates for IRB racing - we wanted something that we could action in real life. 

They ended up being too easily damaged, but they were successful for a while and it was neat to 

see something we'd developed being trialed in the "real world". 

I'm not one for public speaking and I found the presentation aspect of bp Leaders for Life 

challenging, but it was good for me too. This programme is really set up for everyone - though I 

think you'd get the most out of it if you've had a little bit of leadership experience already. Even 

something like a committee position would be good, because it will give you something to refer 

back to when you're talking about your leadership style. 

I try to recommend bp Leaders for Life to people at our club as much as possible. It's a big time 

commitment, but the benefits for your personal development are well worth it.

Joanne Parry 


caliber of the 

"The 

mentors 

facilitators, 

guest speakers 

and 

the bp Leaders 

in 

Life programme 

for 

outstanding." 

is 

My name is Joanne Parry and I’m a member at Mt Maunganui Lifeguard Service. I patrol as a Surf 

Lifeguard on weekends, and we’ve recently acquired a squad of IRB racing athletes who my 

teammate Julia (also a bp Leaders for Life alumni) and I are hoping to develop into competition 

squad! In my "other life," I'm in my final year of Dentistry at the University of Otago. 

The caliber of the facilitators, mentors and guest speakers in the bp Leaders for Life programme is 

outstanding. You learn from an exceptionally diverse and experienced range of leaders, who 

challenge you and encourage you to challenge yourself. 

The team management profiles we did were a game changer - they are terrifyingly accurate, and 

still to this day are a guide for me to navigate situations I have found myself in. 

If you have the willingness to be open to new ideas, learn from others and challenge yourself - this 

is the programme for you! Our group had people from all different backgrounds and each of us 

was involved in our organisation in very different ways - which made for an awesome opportunity 

to mix with people you otherwise wouldn’t get to - and to hear different ideas and perspectives. 

If you are looking to get more out of Surf lifesaving and are open to challenging yourself to learn 

more about how you work as an individual and as part of a team, then I would recommend bp 

Leaders for Life to you.

J’Adoube Elkington 


"The whole 

programme was 

awesome. There's 

a huge pool of 

knowledge you can 

take from as part of bp 

Leaders for Life." 

My name is J’Adoube Elkington (ko Ngati Toa, Ngati Koata ōku iwi). I’m a Surf Lifeguard based out of 

Titahi Bay Surf Life Saving Club, with a secondary membership at Mangawhai Heads Volunteer 

Lifeguard Service. I’ve just finished a busy season patrolling at Piha and am also involved as a Beach 

Education Instructor here in Auckland. In my “other life,” I’m finishing off a Masters of Architecture 

and my dream job is to design Surf Life Saving Clubs. 

My favourite thing about the bp Leaders for Life programme was the line-up of speakers who came 

and talked to us about their leadership journeys. The whole programme was awesome and I really 

liked meeting leaders within Surf Life Saving as well, from a wide range of clubs and regions. 

Being around other leaders and gauging their styles helped me develop my own. Everyone has a 

different character and leadership style, but I’ve learned that I prefer to work collaboratively and to 

be as hands-on as I can. 

I think many different types of people would benefit from the bp Leaders for Life programme – 

especially people who are eager to develop themselves professionally. However, my one piece of 

advice would be to not go in too early; wait until you’ve had a leadership role (even a minor one) so 

because this way you’ll have a bit of a foundation to work from over the course of the programme. 

There’s so much to learn and there’s a huge pool of knowledge and experience you can take from as 

part of bp Leaders for Life.

Victoria Mulrennan 


"Through bp Leaders 

for Life, I learnt how to 

have more confidence in 

myself, my abilities and 

my ability to lead." 

My name is Victoria Mulrennan and I’m a Surf Lifeguard, Director of Lifesaving, VPC, SAR Squad 

member and Peer Supporter at United North Piha Lifeguard Service. I’m also a volunteer Ambulance 

Officer/Event First Responder for St John, and a Conference Administrator at The Conference 

Company in Auckland. 

We did a lot of work in bp Leaders for Life around identifying our leadership styles and how we can 

use this information to adapt the way we work in various settings. This has been really useful in 

helping me work within different team settings, whether within Surf Life Saving, in my role as a 

volunteer Ambulance Officer, or at work. 

One of the best parts of the programme was getting to see Surf Life Saving from a much wider view. I 

find that sometimes in surf, we can become quite insular, looking at the way our own clubs or 

regions operate. It was great getting to spend time at other clubs in other regions, hearing from staff 

and members and gaining a different perspective. 

Through bp Leaders for Life, I learnt how to have more confidence in myself, my abilities and my 

ability to lead. Being a young female in a leadership position can sometimes feel intimidating, but bp 

Leaders for Life taught us lots of skills and tools to use in various situations. The facilitators and 

mentors were super supportive and great at pushing us to believe in our abilities. I’m really grateful 

for the reassurance and confidence boost they gave me.

bp Leaders For Life Profiles

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