Vesna West, originally from Yugoslavia, came to New Zealand thirty years ago with her Kiwi husband whom she met while living in London.

Vesna owned a language school and interpreting/translation service in her home country. Upon coming to New Zealand Vesna continued working as an interpreter and translator while also managing the Hutt Valley branch of English Language Partners. After ten years in the not-for-profit sector Vesna worked in local and central government in a variety of roles. These included managing migrant settlement programmes and international relations at Hutt City Council, senior advisory roles at the Office of Ethnic Communities and the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development, and community engagement and funding administration at DIA (Department of Internal Affairs).

Having been on both sides of the grantmaking process, Vesna understands the challenges from both perspectives and enjoys helping community organisations navigate the system.