We are a values-led business with significant expertise in supporting better decisions through policy development, critical analysis, and capability development support.

We have worked extensively across central government and the community sector and are adept at producing rigorous analysis, persuasive advice, and building other’s capability to do the same. Our business model ensures you get the right person for the job.

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.

Kathrine Biggs

Head of Policy and Engagement

BA, BA (Hons) 1^st Class (Classical Studies)

Kathrine has 20 years’ diverse experience in the public sector. She has undertaken corporate, funding, relationship and operational roles at third tier level. She is a problem solver who brings together strategy and policy with implementation and operation, and understands that organisations have contracts, but people have relationships.

Kathrine has worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Tertiary Education Commission and the Department of Corrections, and also in the private and not-for-profit sectors. She has extensive experience working with local government, Crown Research Institutes, NGOs and the defence forces. Experienced in humanitarian and emergency responses, she enjoys using her skills in a crisis.

Kathrine’s love of performing arts led her to use her skills to develop the circus sector in New Zealand for many years. She enjoys any situation that involves languages, maps, geography, history and politics.

Sarah Morris

Principal Policy Consultant

MC-SCL (Social Change Leadership) (1st Class Hons), BC (Communications)

Sarah is a skilled communicator and big picture thinker who brings an intersectional lens to her work. She has deep links to the NGO and community sector, and a comprehensive knowledge of rights frameworks and social change leadership.

Sarah has managed teams and programmes in roles across the community, government and international development sectors, including at Oxfam Australia, UNICEF Aotearoa and Mana Mokopuna, the Children and Young People’s Commission. Sarah is a trained journalist, drawn to social justice through storytelling. She is also an independent contractor with a special interest in community-led change, and how people and organisations can contribute to fulfilling the vision of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Sarah loves getting out into nature, going to see live music, and spending time with her whānau, especially her husband, two daughters, and dog Milo.

Dr Sarah Kerkin

Principal Policy Consultant

PhD (public policy), BA

Sarah is a systems thinker and creative problem solver, deeply experienced in regulatory and policy quality, constitutional policy, and organisational strategy. She is an optimist and brings a pragmatic and collaborative approach to her work.

Sarah has 25 years’ experience in central government, including roles with the Ministries of Justice, Consumer Affairs and Health. Nine years served on the Legislation Design and Advisory Committee honed Sarah’s focus on policy and regulatory quality and her strong desire to collaborate with people to find pragmatic solutions that would meet multiple objectives. Sarah’s strong belief that there had to be a better way of doing policy led to a doctorate focusing on applying systems thinking methods to constitutional policy problems, using the Canterbury earthquake recovery legislation as a case study.

Outside work, Sarah can usually be found embroidering accompanied by her lap cat, Abbie. She also loves discussing rocks, dinosaurs, and politics with her nearly-adult children.

Phillipa Guthrey

Principal Policy Consultant

MA Education, BA Education

Phillipa brings nearly a decade of leadership experience in regulatory policy to Frank. Her career spans multiple government agencies, where she has held both regulatory and operational policy roles, building a reputation as a versatile problem-solver who thrives across diverse policy environments. Most recently, she has led amendment of Regulations and development of a Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill.

Phillipa’s international experience includes representing New Zealand at several UN environmental meetings, while domestically she has participated in complex cross-agency initiatives. Her approach centres on understanding human motivation and developing policy solutions that will make New Zealand a better place for everyone. Phillipa has an MA in Education from the University of Auckland, where she explored concepts of gender identity online.

Outside the office, Phillipa can be found trail running through Wellington’s hills or volunteering with greyhound adoption organisations, helping retired racing dogs find their perfect retirement home. Phillipa and her husband live with three greyhounds and two Burmese cats.

Joanne Dow

Lead Facilitator

MIR (International Relations), BA

Joanne is a dynamic and engaging facilitator who brings warmth and personality to teaching and facilitating discussions. With her natural sensitivity and vibrant energy, she is skilled at creating collaborative group learning environments.

Joanne spent 16 years working in the public sector prior to joining FrankGroup, at the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand Police, and in Crown Research Institutes. Much of Joanne’s policy work had a focus on interagency collaboration and stakeholder engagement. With years of experience as a diplomat, she has a strong grounding in relationship management and interpersonal communication and enjoys teaching people from diverse career backgrounds.

Joanne sings in a community choir and loves to dance – most often with her two children and dog in the living room. She sea swims all year round.

Heather Lucas

Client Services Manager

BA Hons (1st Class)

Heather brings a genuine warmth to client engagement, responding to clients’ needs with both efficiency and care. Her solutions-oriented approach ensures every interaction feels personal and thoughtfully managed, creating seamless experiences that deliver true value.

With extensive experience spanning financial services, IT consulting, media, and manufacturing, Heather brings a holistic approach to business development, and operational management. Her international experience across London, New York, Hong Kong, and Thailand enriches her strategic perspective. Her track record ranges from successfully implementing global business systems for small business to managing corporate regional sales teams.

A passionate community contributor, Heather finds connection and fulfilment in mentoring and volunteering. When not making a difference in business and the community, she cherishes time with whānau, sailing and walking with her dog.