Meet our story tellers
Jacky James – Managing Director
Jacky is the founder of The Shine Collective. She’s a senior communications practitioner with more than 20 years’ experience working for many of Aotearoa’s top organisations, both in an in-house and consultancy capacity. Her impressive resumé includes working with government agencies, as well as private and publicly listed organisations.
She has a broad view of the communications landscape with extensive experience in strategic planning, community engagement, internal communication, media liaison and issues management, as well as events management.
After internal roles within the NZ Police and Scion (a New Zealand Crown Research Institute), coupled with wide consultancy experience in the dairy, education and sports sectors, Jacky established Shine PR (re-branded to The Shine Collective in 2018) in Rotorua in 2012. She had a determination to grow a business that put people firmly at its core, creating a vibrant and healthy place to work and where clients are celebrated.
Under her leadership, Shine has gone from strength to strength, now employing eight staff and receiving awards at the 2016 and 2017 PRINZ Awards.
Passionate about the Bay of Plenty, Jacky has resided in Rotorua since 2005 and enjoys making the most of the forest trails and lakes, spending time with her family, yoga and weaving some magic in the kitchen.
Meg Jones – Communications Director
Meg has spent more than 20 years honing her skills as a communications and marketing practitioner with senior roles in tertiary education, health informatics and B2B.
Her most recent role was as head of marketing and communications at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology and she is passionate about the provision of education being a right for every New Zealander.
Her particular expertise lies in change management, strategic communications, brand positioning, reputation management and risk assessment. She is a bit of a data geek, loves a good spreadsheet and is well known for her ‘creative unicorn’ ways of delivering integrated campaigns.
Meg has a client portfolio embracing corporates, facilities management, iwi trusts, tourism and SMEs and works across New Zealand and Australia as well as locally.
As well as holding ‘ancient’ accounting qualifications, she has a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Dist.) and a Bachelor of Business Studies with a double major in marketing and communications.
A self-confessed workaholic, Meg also freely gives her time as a business mentor and coach, as well as being a board member / trustee on several boards locally and nationally. She also likes to head out to ‘regroup’ in nature, going tramping and taking too many photographs.
Shae Skellern – Senior Communications Consultant
Senior consultant Shae started her communications journey via an initial career as a journalist, cutting her teeth in the fast-paced world of radio, working for Radio Live and MediaWorks. She then worked overseas in marketing roles and enjoyed a year’s stint teaching English in Japan.
Returning home, Shae gained a wealth of corporate communications experience, working at the Ministry of Fisheries, the Ministry of Education, the Financial Markets Authority and BNZ.
Shae has a talent for turning complex content into simple, palatable pieces of information that can effectively be used in multiple communications channels. She thrives on achieving tangible results for clients.
In her spare time (what spare time says the busy mother of two) Shae likes to get out and enjoy the beautiful beaches and bush in Tauranga, and loves to travel – but is content to explore her backyard for now. Shae is based in our Tauranga office.
Julie McGlashen – Communications Consultant
Julie began her career in communications with Tourism New Zealand as a public relations assistant – cutting her teeth on the 100% Pure New Zealand marketing campaign, helping to showcase New Zealand as the ultimate destination.
With a passion for stakeholder relationships, Julie has a wealth of knowledge in tourism and trade. Her areas of expertise have broadened to include digital communication, internal and external communication, strategic communication, media relations and event management.
Her client portfolio includes tourism, not-for-profit, corporate and government.
Originally from a background in interior design, Julie completed her Bachelor of Communications (BCS) at the University of Waikato, majoring in public relations and management communications.
Julie is back working part-time with our team after becoming a mum last year. As well as looking after gorgeous baby Henry she still manages to spend her time enjoying the abundance of lakes and trails Rotorua has to offer, and spending quality time with extended family, friends and a good novel.
Stacey Main – Communications Consultant
Stacey has cemented herself as a creative go-getter, building on her savvy administrative skills and inquisitive nature. She’s a voracious learner and loves all things digital – building up a portfolio of social media, website and e-newsletter skills.
Working across the full Shine portfolio, Stacey brings a fresh, creative perspective and supports the team in the pitching and delivery of a wide range of campaigns. She has a flair for creative writing, a ‘nose’ for news and her exceptional organisation skills have helped Shine deliver many smoothly run events, projects, meetings and forums, both internally and externally.
Stacey likes nothing better than to deep dive into an issue and help find a solution; you’ll often find her buried deep in research and analysis for our varied client base.
Outside of work, Stacey enjoys getting stuck into a good non-fiction book or a Louis Theroux documentary, letting some steam out on the boxing bag or entertaining family and friends.
Stephanie Bennett – Communications Consultant
A communications consultant based in Rotorua, Stephanie got her first taste of public relations working as a communications advisor for Manukau Institute of Technology in 2013 after graduating with a Bachelor of Communications at Auckland University of Technology. Stephanie’s passion for helping the community was an ideal fit for the grassroots work she did highlighting the successes of students and staff.
Six months later Stephanie moved to Rotorua to take up a reporter role in the busy Rotorua Daily Post newsroom.
There, she spent the next seven years learning everything she could about the media industry, rising through the ranks to become a leader in the editorial department.
Stephanie has a keen eye for detail, love of writing and “nose” for news. She thrives in a varied and busy workplace and can turn her head to any topic or task, absorbing all the information she can to find the best outcomes for all.
Outside of work you can find Stephanie buried in a good book or exploring our beautiful backyard with her husband, son and their German shepherd.
Jacqui Smith – Communications Consultant
Jacqui and her family have recently moved back to the land of the long white cloud following nine years living and working abroad in Singapore and New York.
Jacqui is a skilled story teller with a content marketing and public relations background bringing valuable agency experience to The Shine Collective, as well as time spent at Tourism New Zealand and as a journalist.
Jacqui likes to keep active in the outdoors and read whenever she gets time in between keeping her two wee children occupied.
Tegan Church – Communications Co-Ordinator
Our Rotorua-based communications co-ordinator, Tegan, loves all forms of social media and creative storytelling, bringing a youthful voice to our Shine team.
Tegan completed a Bachelor of Communications at Auckland University of Technology majoring in public relations. After finishing her degree in 2017, it was a no brainer for Tegan to move back to her hometown of Rotorua. She’s since worked in the fast-paced world of events, starting her career as a media intern at Crankworx Rotorua and most recently, the social media and public relations whiz behind a number of sport events in the North Island.
Befitting her love for our rohe, Tegan spends her weekends out exploring its forests and lakes, whether it’s mountain biking or hiking, and also enjoys popping over the hill to the Mount to enjoy the beaches with friends and family.
Ally Armstrong – Office Manager
Ally joined our Shine team at the end of February as our office manager bringing with her a wealth of knowledge in accounting, office and project management.
Originally from Gisborne, Ally and her family were tempted to Rotorua a decade ago and haven’t looked back after relishing in all that our region has to offer. Ally has a varied working portfolio which includes working for a PR firm, a timber processing plant, local council and a logging company. Her diverse background and excellent communication skills makes her the perfect person for the fast-paced, ever evolving role here at Shine.
Ally will be managing the offices including the day to day upkeep, payroll and supporting the Directors as well as looking after the financial side of things. Her particular passion is reviewing administration processes to improve efficiency and accuracy.
In keeping with the all the good stuff Rotorua has to offer, Ally also enjoys keeping active on the forest trails, being a taxi to her three children and getting lost in a good read!
Niki Ash – Design Guru
Niki is the creative genius behind many of our client projects and joined the Shine team in early 2020.
With a career spanning agency, corporate and public sector, Niki brings energy and passion to all of her concept and design work. Her skill set spans all things graphics and she’s fast proved herself to be an integral part of the Shine team, adding flair to all of our key projects.
Setting the work-from-home trend long before COVID, Niki works remotely from her home in in one of Aotearoa’s best kept secrets, Mahia. She loves the more laidback lifestyle she and her partner (and collection of fur-babies) have in Mahia and is the poster-girl for work-life balance.
