TE KURA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Southern Regional Manager
Amy manages Te Kura's Southern Region, comprising more than 100 staff and around 3000 students. The Southern Region covers all of the South Island. Staff are mainly based in the Christchurch office, with additional staff in Nelson and Dunedin.
Job Titles:
- Central South Regional Manager
Anil manages Te Kura's Central South Region. The main office is in Wellington, with some staff also based in Taranaki, Whanganui and Palmerston North. There are more than 110 staff and around 3000 students. Central South covers the lower half of the North Island, from Taranaki to Manawatu-Whanganui and down to Wellington.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief Executive - Curriculum
Anne leads the Curriculum wāhanga. This wāhanga provides expertise and support in the design, development, delivery and quality assurance of curriculum, learning resources and assessment practices across the school.
Barbara has had a long career in education, mostly as a secondary school principal. She joined the Te Kura board in 2021.
Up until 2022, she was the principal of Te Kura Tuarua o Raahui Pookeka (Huntly College).
Barbara is very familiar with Waikato, where she has been principal at Ngāruwahia High School and Te Awamutu College.
She was also the foundation principal at Albany Senior High School in Auckland.
Job Titles:
- Te Aka Taumatua National Manager
Christine leads Te Aka Taumatua, our bilingual and immersion provision to fulltime, Young Adults and dual registered ākonga through te reo Māori.
Te Aka Taumatua is part of the Learning Delivery wāhanga, which was established in March 2020, and is an addition to our other regions.
Job Titles:
- Acting Regional Manager, Central North - Te Kāhui Hauāuru
Mele Wendt has over 23 years of governance experience and 17 years of leadership/management experience. Her roles have included being a high school teacher, the founding Pacific Islands Liaison Officer and manager of the student recruitment office at Victoria University of Wellington, and Executive Director of Fulbright New Zealand for ten years. In the last few years, Mele has been doing a mix of consultancy work and governance. She currently serves on the Te Kura board, Toi Mai Workforce Development Council, the Real Estate Authority, and Wellington Community Trust. Recent past chair roles included Massey University's Pacific Student Success Working Group, and the Pasifika Education Center in Auckland.
Mele is Samoan (Malie, Vaiala, Lefaga) and palagi (NZ/Britain), and lives in Wellington. In January 2019, Mele was awarded a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for her services to governance, the Pacific community, and women.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief Executive - Systems and Support
Michael leads the Systems and Support wāhanga, which provides the key service functions of Finance, the Information Resource Group, Human Resources and Student and Whānau Support.
Job Titles:
- Northern Regional Manager
Nicola manages Te Kura's Northern Region, comprising more than 100 staff and around 3000 students. All of this region's staff are based in-region. The Northern Region covers all of Auckland and Northland, from Cape Reinga to Port Waikato.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Board
Nicola (Ngāti Ruanui and Ngā Rauru) was appointed as chair of the Te Kura Board of Trustees in July 2022. She is currently the principal of Spotswood College in New Plymouth and was previously principal of Tamatea High School and Patea Area School.
Before taking up her role at Te Kura, Nicola was the chairperson of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. Nicola has worked in early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary teaching roles, as well as in prisons. She has a strong interest in authentic learning and describes herself as being passionate about disrupting the educational norm through transformative leadership and being Te Tiriti O Waitangi-led and future-focused.
In 2013, Nicola received a Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award for transformative work at Tamatea High School. In 2016 she was the recipient of the Taranaki Daily News Person of the Year for transformative work at Patea Area School, with the school receiving the National UNESCO award for Education - Global Citizenship 2018. Nicola is a member of the Advisory Board for N4L and the International Lego Foundation. She is also a NZ Honorary Advisor for Asia Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief Executive - Learning Delivery
Puti Gardiner ( Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui Ngāti Pūkenga) is the proud Mum of six children. She and her husband, Patrick, have lived and taught in various regions including Tauranga, Rotorua, Opononi and Doubtless Bay in the far north. Striving for equity in education has always been a priority and the driver for her involvement in teaching and learning.
Her experience as a teacher, a Principal, a PLD facilitator and a Leadership Advisor for beginning principals led to her joining the Ministry of Education, where her most recent role was as National Manager Curriculum Leadership.
As a second language learner of te reo Māori she is passionate about te reo me ōna tikanga and is an avid kapa haka fan and armchair judge.
Job Titles:
- Acting Regional Manager, Central North - Te Kāhui Rāwhiti
The central North Region comprises more than 90 kaimahi and about 3000 ākonga. The region spans districts in the middle of the North Island, from Thames-Coromandel, Waikato and Gisborne to Hastings and Ruapehu. Most of the region's staff are based in-region, either in the main office located in Hamilton, or in Hastings, Tauranga or Rotorua.
We are currently trialling a split in the region, with Kaye and Ray leading the separate areas, Te Kāhui Hauāuru and Te Kāhui Rāwhiti.
Regan provides strategic advice on a range of education and other issues, including policy development, risk management and legislative compliance. He is Te Kura's Privacy Officer.
He also manages the school's communications functions and responds to information requests and complaints. Regan keeps Te Kura's planning and reporting activities on track, ensuring that they contribute to enhanced school performance in teaching and learning, student engagement and ultimately student achievement. He also provides advice and support to the Board of Trustees.
Job Titles:
- Company Director
- Member of the Board
Ruma is an experienced company director with a long career in management, consultancy, and business. He has recently retired after over ten years as Chief Executive of the Building and Construction Industry Training Organization. Although most of his working life has been in commercial management Ruma has maintained an active involvement in education through governance roles and part-time teaching. He has held governance and teaching roles in both the tertiary and compulsory education sectors and has a particular interest in pedagogy in a digital and distance learning environment.
Ruma currently chairs the commercial arm of his Iwi post-settlement as well as serving on the boards of Education Services Ltd and The Central Energy Trust. He also represents Iwi interests on the Lead Group of the economic development initiative, Accelerate25.
Simon, who has more than 40 years in education, joined the board in 2021.
For 27 years, he was the principal of two Marlborough schools, Fairhall School and Renwick School. He also led the establishment of the first Kahui Ako in Aotearoa of 21 schools, six kindergartens and 12 ECEs.
Simon is currently working as a consultant on education-related work and is a director on two other boards.
He served on the Education Council Aotearoa New Zealand from 2015 to 2019.
Job Titles:
- Early Childhood Regional Manager
Wendy manages Te Kura's Overseas and Early Childhood services, comprising more than 30 staff and around 950 students. Based in Wellington, the Pounamu and Te Tai Toka teams support students located overseas, including full-time and dual enrolments from the Realm countries. The Raumati team supports early childhood learners and whānau throughout New Zealand.
Will (Ngā Puhi and Ngāti Maniapoto), who joined the board in 2022, is currently the Māori Manager of COMET - a non-profit education trust in Auckland. He is a former secondary teacher, teaching Te Reo Māori and Japanese. He is a member of the Auckland Council Henderson-Massey Local Board and in 2022 received a Fulbright Scholarship.