Eth became involved with AAPNZ in 1997 when she joined to attend the Christchurch International Conference. She was asked later that year along with Tricia Caughley, to be Co-Convener for the AAPNZ International Conference in 2000 a role they shared with Sandra Patton for the 4th International Secretarial Summit and the AAPNZ Wellington Group for the AAPNZ AGM.
Eth took roles at AAPNZ Group level as Education Officer, Minute Taker, Vice-President and Co-Group President. In mid-2000 she became the Minute Taker for the National Executive Committee and in 2001 took on the role of Central Regional Leader. She became National President of AAPNZ from 2002 to 2004 and was the champion of AAPNZ’s Certification process. One of Eth’s great pleasures was the launching of Certification in 2004 by the Hon Harry Duynhoven MP for New Plymouth, at the AGM/Conference held there and seeing the first three AAPNZ Members being awarded and presented with their Certification.
Eth has been a Director of AAPNZ Professional Development Ltd also holding the position of Chairman. She has over 30 years administrative experience in a wide variety of industry sectors both in New Zealand and overseas where she has worked for senior management in various roles.
Eth holds a Masters in Education where her research topic was “Administrative professionals in New Zealand; their professional development opportunities and career pathways”. This is perhaps the first academic research into this sector of the workforce in New Zealand. She has recently completed a research project funded by Ako Aotearoa with the now late Vivienne Kermode, a senior tutor from Waiariki Institute of Technology and a member of the AAPNZ Rotorua Group. They were looking at ways of filling knowledge gaps for administrative professionals wishing to complete a L5 Diploma in Business Administration while in the workforce.
Eth also holds a National Diploma of Business Administration (Level 5) which she gained through workplace assessment. She became an Associate of AAPNZ in 2003, gained Certification in 2006, and received her Fellow in 2008. Eth has attended all International Summits since 2000 including the United Kingdom, Australia, and Trinidad & Tobago and is current the Chairman of the World Administrators Summit Advisory Council. At the Gala Dinner of the recent 8th International Office Professionals Summit in Auckland, which was combined with the AAPNZ AGM in 2011, she was honoured to be presented with her AAPNZ Life membership.
In 2013 Eth and her husband undertook a 12 month volunteer contract with Volunteer Service Abroad from New Zealand to Apia, Samoa, returning to New Zealand in October 2014. This role was to support the Samoa Association of Manufacturers and Exporters to establish a physical office in Apia. This opportunity used Eth’s administrative skills to set up the administration systems and processes; she was also responsible for training a local person to manage the office on their departure.
More recently, Eth has been taking her passion for the profession to the world stage as one of the keynote speakers on the Executive Secretary LIVE circuit, for which she shares her research findings.
Eth was awarded with the Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to administrative professional development.