Emily Mason
Co-Founder and Managing Director
BA, MPP
Emily is a social investment pioneer, skilled at seeing connections between unrelated ideas. She brings a vibrant personality, perennial optimism, and highly analytical approach to her teaching, facilitating, and consulting.
Emily is an experienced public service leader who is passionate about understanding what works for whom and at what cost. Prior to founding FrankAdvice, she worked in senior strategic and operational roles across central government (including with the Social Wellbeing Agency, the Ministry of Education, and ACC). Emily has been a Teaching Fellow at Victoria University’s School of Business and Government and regularly teaches at Wellington Uni-Professional. She is a co-founder of Impact Lab.
Emily’s pride and joy are her two accomplished teenage sons and sweet dog, Einstein. She’s a keen runner, Dad-joke maker, and bakes tasty gluten-free treats for the office.
Nicole Howarth
Co-Founder and CEO
BCS
Nicole brings business savvy, specialising in driving strategic growth. An expansive international sales career is behind her energy, relentless obsession with the customer experience, and a desire to continuously push new frontiers.
Nicole has a background in communications and public relations, and extensive experience establishing market access and building strategic and/or commercial partnerships at senior level in 22 countries across Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Europe. She is skilled at new product development, having conceptualised, developed, and commercialised media, and educational products for local and international markets. On returning to New Zealand, she co-founded FrankCapability, and works behind the scenes setting the strategy and direction of the business.
Nicole lives for adventure, stellar company, and above all, her dog, Sika. She speaks fluent Spanish, is a dedicated mountain biker, and lives half on land and half on a converted fishing boat.
Dr. Anna McMartin
Head of Learner Capability
Anna is a skilled policy thinker, writer and researcher who communicates complex ideas clearly, and with care and respect for those she works with. She excels at helping people from diverse career backgrounds develop their advisory skills.
Anna has held a range of principal advisor and policy manager roles, leading complex projects including the future of ambulance services and palliative care, and worked as private secretary for the Minister of Health. Her doctorate looked at New Zealand social policy reform in the 1980s and 1990s. She has published on gender and sexuality in social policy and has also lectured in social policy at Victoria University of Wellington. She is the lead facilitator at FrankCapability.
Anna is committed to quality puns, sings in the office when she’s vibing (from 90s boyband hits to showtunes), and loves a deep dive into a juicy policy issue.
