18/08/2026
Dianne Smardon is our Kaiwhakatūtuki Mahi | Delivery Manager, and this month we've celebrated her nine-year work anniversary at Te Uru Amokura | Springboard Trust.
She's worked with over 25 cohorts, with principals from Northland right down to Southland. She manages the delivery of our Strategic Leadership for Principals Programme, working closely with principals, capacity partners and volunteer facilitators, and co-facilitates Strategic Measurement for Schools alongside that.
Along the way, she's supported volunteers and mentored several of our team into their own roles, including Jennifer Wright into SLPP, Hilary Tomkins in the Bay of Plenty, Mark Elliott in the Waikato, and Linda Geddes into Strategic Measurement for Schools.
One of the aspects Dianne brought to our organisation when she started in 2017 was the theory behind adult learning and experiential learning which was then incorporated into our programmes.
Before joining the Trust, Dianne spent three and a half years lecturing in the Republic of Nauru, teaching early childhood, primary and secondary as well as working with in-service teachers. Before that, she was an advisor with the University of Waikato for 18 impressive years.
One of the things that has stuck with Dianne is her time working with rural teaching principals during an entirely online SLPP programme.
She talks about principals joining a "principal connect" session at 8am, "so positive and so energetic," despite running everything in their small schools themselves, from checking swimming pools to sorting bus routes.
As Dianne said, what rural teaching principals manage in small schools is "massive and amazing," and she's not sure it gets recognised or appreciated much by the wider world.
When we asked her what's kept her with us for nine years, she didn't hesitate: "It's always the people. I love working with educators. I don't think I've ever come across a school leader that doesn't want to make a difference for their school, their community, and I just love that commitment."
Outside of her day-to-day work with us, Dianne is involved in academic research with colleagues in Australia, publishing on topics like accountability, peer coaching and leading assessment in schools.
She likes co-writing with others and presenting at conferences, and describes herself as a collaborator through and through: "even when I talk to people, I like to hear other people's ideas."
Her two adult kids live overseas, one in Canada and one in the UK, so travel is a regular part of life. Closer to home she's a keen tramper, taking on Round the Bridges in Hamilton every year, has a veggie garden, and comes from what she calls "a conservation family," with native trees and solar panels at home.
She also describes herself as an experimental cook, with mixed results, including a bright green minted pea soup her kids still talk about!
We're so lucky to have you, Dianne. Ngā mihi for everything you give to this mahi.
