The finalists have been announced for the Young New Zealander of the Year Awards and I am very excited and proud to say that Vanisa Dhiru is one of the three finalists.

Vanisa Dhiru is a remarkable young woman who has a huge community spirit and is extremely generous with her time and talents.  Vanisa is a role model who inspires, empowers and leads.  She has accomplished more in the past ten years than most people would in a life time.  Vanisa is dedicated to seeing the causes she supports succeed and commits a great deal of her time to Trade Aid, the YWCA and Dress for Success.  It has been a privilege to work alongside her on different projects since we first met at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in 2004.

Vanisa is a visionary, a strategic thinker, a creative, a people person.  She is someone who can work operationally just as well as at Board level.  She is not afraid to role her sleeves up and get stuck in to what ever needs doing – including hours of filing, writing process manuals, facilitating strategic planning sessions, managing change programmes or designing brand campaigns.

Vanisa is versatile, resilient, driven and yet down to earth with a sense of humour. 

I commented to my YWCA mentee recently that I would relish the opportunity to work with Vanisa when she becomes the youngest New Zealand Prime Minister or when she is invited to sit on a council for the United Nations.  She will most definitely be recognised on a global stage in a leadership role that will allow her to fulfill her own goals.

Vanisa deserves to be a finalist in the Young New Zealander of the Year Awards and I look forward to seeing her take out the top prize.

The official media release from the New Zealander of the Year Awards 2010 website: http://www.nzawards.org.nz/YoungNewZealanderoftheYear/tabid/27941/Default.aspx 

Vanisa Dhiru, is recognised as a leader and role model, and for her extensive voluntary and community work. In April, she becomes the youngest President in the recordered history of the YWCA of Wellington and Hutt Valley.

In 2010 Vanisa will complete her training to become a Justice of the Peace (JP), to make her one of Australasia's youngest female JP. She is also:

- on the Board of Dress for Success Wellington

- on the Trust of Wellington Trade Aid

- a member of the Wellington branch of the National Council of Women, the Wellington Ethnic Women's Group and the Wellington Indian Association.