New Zealand has a long history of incredible women leaders, and Queenstown is no exception. With an ever-increasing resident population, and burgeoning tech and entrepreneurial communities, the next government needs to have a plan to empower local women to do what they do best.
Opportunity Party will be joined by three incredible women leaders who will share their experiences and perspective, and then put questions to Party leader Qiulae Wong and Queenstown-based candidate campaigning for the Party vote, Bianca Beebe.
Jane Guy: Jane is a women’s business coach and works with business owners and professionals across New Zealand and Australia on pricing, positioning, and communicating their value with confidence.
In 2017, she founded Queenstown Lakes Women, a networking community of women, which grew to more than 2,000 members.
She has 20+ years of experience in the family and sexual violence sector and is a 2025 finalist for Excellence in Professional Services & Business Solutions at the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce Business Awards and is a board member of Impact 100 Whakatipu. She loves Keanu Reeves, running, and is part of a 3-strong horror club.
Brooke Thompson, aka "Sparky Girl": Brooke is an electrician, teacher, adventurer, and unapologetic advocate for the next generation of tradies.
Brooke is a qualified and registered electrician who has worked across the electrical industry before moving into electrical education and workforce development. Today, she works with apprentices, electricians and the power supply industry, helping build the skills, confidence and capability our electrical workforce needs for the future.
Brooke knows what it is like to start at the bottom, work hard, learn a trade and build a life you can be proud of. That experience is at the heart of her advocacy for a better apprenticeship system — one that recognises apprentices as a valuable part of New Zealand’s workforce and properly supports the real costs of training.
She is passionate about making trades more accessible, inclusive and attractive to the next generation, particularly for young women who may not yet see themselves represented in electrical, construction and engineering careers.
From receiving the UN Women in Leadership Scholarship in 2025, to lecturing electrical apprentices, speaking at career events and supporting workforce development across the country. Building an online following throughout her apprenticeship, she now shares her knowledge with her 19.000 followers on Instagram under the handle @sparkygirlnz
Nat Galin: As Founder & CEO of Galt Industry, PhD engineer and NASA Fulbright Scholar Nat Galin is working on the development of software-defined industrial hardware. By replacing traditional mechanical constraints with real-time programmable control layers, her technology delivers quieter, high-density, and more efficient systems that continuously adapt to changing real-world conditions
