Helping Kiwis live out their deepest convictions

Where we're coming from

Why freedom of conscience and belief matters

Everyone has to ask and answer big questions about life, like what is a person, and what do we have in common? We all search for meaning and try to live in a way that’s faithful to what we believe, and we think it’s important that people have as much space to do that as possible. After all, if you can make people go against their deepest beliefs, there’s really no limit to what you can impose on them. Respecting conscience is one of the most important freedoms we have.

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Seeking common ground and solidarity

Ethos has a Christian starting point which motivates all that we do, but we’ll work with people of any faith or none. We believe that people of goodwill can work together, united by our common humanity. We aim to cultivate diverse and respectful relationships across religious, political, ethnic, and ideological lines. We are independent and non-partisan.

Our staff

Alex Penk

Chief Executive Officer

Alex has a broad range of experience in law, government relations, communications, strategy, and governance.

After working in litigation at one of New Zealand’s largest law firms, he spent fourteen years at a public policy think tank, half of them as CEO, before working as a strategy consultant for a diverse client base across the commercial and for-purpose sectors. He has served on several non-profit boards.

Alex has undergraduate degrees in law and science from the University of Auckland, a Master of Law from Cambridge University, and in 2016 he was a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University’s McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life.

Gael Goulter

Senior Associate

Gael has degrees in law and politics and she is currently undertaking a masters in health law and bioethics through the University of Otago.

Our board

Richard McLeod

Chair

Richard is a partner in an immigration law practice where he regularly works on complex asylum, human rights and refugee cases. He has worked with Amnesty International in London and as an advocate in Hong Kong where he represented Vietnamese refugees in legal battles against the government. He has appeared in the media as an immigration expert and is a regular contributor to Law Society seminars and continuing legal education. Richard has a masters in law from Victoria University.

Gael Goulter

Trustee

Gael has worked predominantly as a family lawyer with a particular interest in issues relating to the care of children. She was appointed to the panel of lawyers qualified to represent the child in court proceedings. Gael has served in advisory and governance roles in contexts as diverse as parenting, policy, and education. Gael has degrees in law and politics and she is currently undertaking a masters in health law and bioethics through the University of Otago.

Ronji Tanielu

Trustee

Ronji has a colourful, broad range of experiences in youth and community development, gang intervention programmes, starting small businesses, and serving as a Christian missionary in numerous countries. Ronji worked as the Principal Policy Advisor for the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit of The Salvation Army for over 11 years. He is passionate about good, godly governance, serving on various government, corporate advisory, and NGO Boards. He has degrees in law and politics from the University of Auckland.

Gloria Kim

Trustee

Gloria was a solicitor in the litigation department of a major New Zealand law firm before retraining as a high school teacher. After earning a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary Field-Based) with Distinction from Auckland University, she went on to teach at two different Auckland secondary schools. She is currently a full-time parent. In addition to her teaching qualifications, Gloria has undergraduate degrees in arts and law (with honours) from the University of Auckland and a Graduate Diploma in Theology from Laidlaw College.

Ethos is a registered charitable trust (CC61832)