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Elizabeth McNaughton

Founder of Disastrous

Elizabeth will tell you that her career has quite literally been a series of disasters, having worked on major disasters around the globe. She has led multi-million-dollar recovery programmes for New Zealand Red Cross and served as Executive Director at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, where she helped create the learning legacy from the Canterbury earthquakes. She has worked with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Asia-Pacific region. 


Elizabeth is a Winston Churchill fellowship recipient, a Leadership New Zealand alumna, and co-author of Leading in Disaster Recovery: A Companion through the Chaos. She is the founder of Disastrous - an education and training organisation supporting leaders and communities to prepare for and recover from disasters. She is also the Executive Director of the Hillary Institute of International Leadership and the Edmund HIllary Fellowship.


Elizabeth will lead the Young Achiever's Muster for Alumni and Award Partners on Monay 9 March, and will present to all attendees on Tuesday 10 March

Summit Presentation:

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© 2026 Zanda McDonald Award

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