TAONGA TUKU IHO - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Program Director of Asociación ANDES
Biography
Alejandro Argumedo is Program Director of Asociación ANDES, a Cusco, Peru-based indigenous peoples' organization that focuses its work on independent action-research and analysis and fostering new forms of knowledge creation, alliance-building and partnerships for promoting indigenous biocultural resilience.
Alejandro is founder of various international indigenous peoples' platforms cooperating within shared goals of protecting and nurturing biocultural heritage and creating capacity for biodiverse food systems and sustainable communities. Alejandro is agronomist by training and has served in various expert panels of the UN and other relevant bodies, and has been consultant for various international organizations.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive of Wakatū Incorporation
Kerensa Johnston was appointed as Chief Executive of Wakatū Incorporation in December 2016. This follows on from her role as Wakatū Incorporation's General Counsel with overall responsibility for legal and regulatory matters since 2012.
Kerensa is a lawyer with a background in commercial private practice and public law roles. She has worked in corporate law, environmental law and property law as well as the law relating to public law and constitutional issues, including the Treaty of Waitangi and international law.
She worked for the Court of Appeal in Wellington and Wellington law firm, Buddle Findlay, before moving to London where she was in-house counsel for Westminster City, the largest local authority in the United Kingdom. On her return to New Zealand, Kerensa joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland before establishing a private legal practice in the Bay of Plenty and Nelson.
Kerensa has held various voluntary and community-based roles, and has a strong interest in issues of social justice and equality.
Lynell is a specialist in all aspects of trade mark protection, management and enforcement with a specific interest in indigenous law and in advising Māori organisations on IP issues including protection of their cultural icons. She was the first Māori patent attorney, male or female in New Zealand.
Job Titles:
- Director for Wakatū Incorporation
Miriana is a director for Wakatū Incorporation (Wakatū). Kono NZ is their food and beverage business focussed on high quality products like Tohu Wines, seafood and pipfruit.