Vanisa Dhiru is an executive leader in the not-for-profit sector in New Zealand. In 2017, she was appointed the national president of the

National Council of Women of New Zealand , logo = National Council of Women of New Zealand logo.png , logo_size = 100px , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , image = , image_size = , alt = , capt ...

Early life

Dhiru was born and raised in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, to Indian parents; her father was born in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India, and her mother was born in New Zealand. Her parents owned and ran two convenience stores in the town. She was inspired by her parents to volunteer for school and community activities from a young age. In 1999, Dhiru moved to Wellington to attend

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

Career

After graduating, Dhiru worked for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. Dhiru was the youngest president of the YWCA of Wellington and Hutt Valley and represented New Zealand twice at World

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

young women's forums. She has served on the board of a number of charities such as Inspiring Stories Trust, Dress for Success Wellington and Trade Aid. In her work for Trade Aid, she travelled to India and Bangladesh to record stories of the Trade Aid partner groups which she then delivered to school, community and business groups to promote Fair Trade. In 2006, Dhiru entered the Miss India New Zealand beauty pageant as Miss Trade Aid, to promote the organisation and raise funds; she raised over $1,000 for the charity. She also worked on the Make Wellington Fair Trade campaign, which resulted, in 2009, in Wellington City Council committing to become a Fair Trade City. She has also been a member of the Wellington Ethnic Women's Group and the Wellington Indian Association. In 2011, Dhiru was appointed chief executive of Volunteering New Zealand. In 2013, she became a global fellow of the International Young Leaders Network of the BMW Foundation, the only New Zealander in the network. In 2015, Dhiru was appointed executive director of 2020 Communications Trust, an organisation focused on supporting digital literacy for all New Zealanders. Dhiru also sits on the Victoria University of Wellington Business School Advisory Board and on advisory groups for the Ministry of Social Development and the

Ministry for Women The Ministry for Women (Māori: ''Manatū Wāhine'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on policies and issues affecting women. It was formerly called the Ministry for Women's Affairs (MWA), bu ...

. Dhiru was the vice-president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand from 2015 to 2017, when she was appointed president.

Recognition

In 2010, Dhiru was a finalist in the Kiwibank Young New Zealander of the Year Awards. In the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

, Dhiru was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to community and gender rights.

References

External links

Profile
on nzhistory.co.nz {{DEFAULTSORT:Dhiru, Vanisa Living people People from Palmerston North New Zealand people of Indian descent Victoria University of Wellington alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand justices of the peace