David Hanna

David has worked across a spectrum of charitable and community-led development projects at both government and grass-roots levels. He is the national manager of Inspiring Communities and director of Wesley Community Action, an organisation that pioneers social justice to create caring communities. 

David’s core motivation is activism for a better world. This has led him through a range of experiences where he has developed skill-sets in the areas of positive youth development, public policy process, management, systems thinking, leadership, and community-led development.

His energy and interest is sparked by the way in which groups, organisations and communities can organise themselves to contribute positive change in people’s lives. He is committed to inclusive perspectives and incorporating knowledge of biculturalism and the Treaty of Waitangi as well as grounding his work in an authentic spirituality. 

David is a change-maker who has led projects including In Our Hands - NZ Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy and Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa, and has championed community-led development in local communities across NZ, including working with gangs to help steer them towards a positive direction and participate in leadership development programmes. 

He is committed to ongoing learning and is a student at the post-tertiary Quaternity Institute where he is studying the philosophy of Shakespeare - which he describes as something that is only just beginning to be properly recognised and is the deepest learning he has ever been exposed to.