community – Creative Welly – Courageous conversations with bold humans.

Creative Welly Episode #45 | Michelle Farrell & Dave Greenberg

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Michelle Farrell, Senior Learning & Development Consultant

Michelle is super-passionate about creating connections and communities within organisations. She takes a human-centred approach to everything she does, which has helped her build thriving communities.

She’s keen on connecting people with technology and loves finding ways to make their work lives more manageable.

Her roles range from Knowledge Management Collaboration Specialist to her current Senior Learning and Development Consultant position.

Dave Greenberg, Keynote Speaker / Trainer / Consultant

Dave moved to Wellington, from the USA, for a one-year IT contract in 1990 and never left.

He served as a rescue crewman on the Westpac Rescue Helicopter for 25 years, taking part in nearly 4000 missions. In 2017 Penguin Random House published his memoir, Emergency Response: Life, Death and Helicopters.

Dave was part of the Ministry of Health’s Covid Response Team, helping coordinate NZ’s health response to the pandemic for over two years.

Today he is an emergency management speaker/consultant/trainer. He regularly travels between NZ, Australia and the USA, but Wellington is, and always will be, his home.

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Creative Welly Episode #39 | Kristen Lunman & Tim Pointer

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Kristen Lunman, Serial Entrepneur

As a Canadian-Kiwi, I’m comfortable feeling like a newbie and being the most curious at the table. For as long as I remember, I wanted to challenge the status quo, leading me to circles of like-minded entrepreneurs. Those that seek to deliver a vision of a different world.

My superpowers tend to lean in the area of growth and leadership. Until last year, it was at Hatch and more recently a new venture called Powrsuit. When I look at the stats of women in positions of influence in business, it’s dire. 8% of big companies have women at the helm, and we have less than 30% board representation. Powrsuit exists to amplify the impact of women leaders to shape the future of work. When I do have spare time, it’s spent with my teens or on a surfboard in freezing cold Lyall Bay.

Tim Pointer, Founder at RescueMetrics.com & CEO at Reason

Tim has 15+ years in the digital advertising industry and is the Co-founder of one of NZ’s largest digital advertising agencies Reason with over 50 staff across the region. He’s most recently the Founder of RescueMetrics.com, a technology solution that saves a lot of marketing spend by fixing tracking and conversion issues.

His businesses have been some of Asia Pacific’s fastest growing digital companies, having been recognised in the Deloitte Fast50 and Asia Fast500 Growth.

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Creative Welly Episode #36 | Laurinda Thomas & Guy Marriage

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Laurinda Thomas, Advocate for libraries, digital equity, and public spaces.

Curious librarian, local government person, optimist. I like kicking the tyres on stuff. I was once called the consummate public servant and I’m still not quite sure how to take that comment.

My career keeps on coming back to libraries. They’re so amazing! Who would dream up a library these days? I love their potential, the people they can help. They are such satisfying places to make things happen.

I like to make things happen. Finding the best opportunities out of a crisis. Getting in the thin end of the wedge. Figuring stuff out. My career has been about turning problems into good stuff: in libraries, IT, archives, information management.

In the weekends I watch the kids swim and the broccoli grow. Sometimes it rains, and we watch Disney movies.

Guy Marriage, Architect

Guy Marriage is an Architect. Teaching construction at Victoria University in Wellington, and practising architecture at First Light Studio, he is an architecturaholic and a bookaholic too. He not only reads lots of books, but writes them as well – Tall, Medium, MAD. And get this: he raves about buildings, and space, and knows a thing or two about libraries as well.

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Creative Welly Episode #35 | Freda Wells & Dan Neely

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Freda Wells, Curator / Communications Advisor / Yoga teacher / mum

My curiousity about people, behaviour and the invisible forces between things, and my tendency to daydream, doodle, and sympathise with the underdog, have carved a winding life path around many countries, conversations and adventures.

In Europe, seeing our ecological trajectory, I added environmental science to my mishmash of uni papers, including psychology, neuropsyc, french, philosophy, graphic design, and music.

My work ‘portfolio’ includes comms & engagement advisor for the Wellington Regional Leadership Committee, teaching yoga, and curating The Kiwi Diary – a diary designed to share art and ideas that are good for people and planet.

I see many global woes as social in nature, that we need to “bring heart back”. We need to better understand how our inner world constructs our outer world, and the importance of psychological safety, I’m excited about co-curating experiences to cultivate these!

Dan Neely, Manager Community Resilience | Wellington CDEM Group Recovery

Dan Neely is the Manager of Community Resilience and Group Recovery Manager at the Wellington Emergency Management Office (WREMO). Dan is a community development practitioner – who happens to work in the Emergency Management.

He started in this field more than 20 years starting as a Peace Corps Volunteer working in the recovery of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras and later with the International Organisation for Migration in Sri Lanka after the Boxing Day Tsunami.

He leads a team of passionate and innovative people who make a real difference to peoples’ lives. Their work has been adopted by cities across Aotearoa, Australia, USA and Canada.

Originally from Arizona, he also knows a good taco when he sees one.

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Creative Welly Episode #32 | Michelle Kitney & Rob Cousins

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Michelle Kitney, Chief Executive at Volunteering New Zealand

Michelle Kitney lead’s Volunteering New Zealand. Originally from Taranaki, she lives in Te whanganui a tara with her three boys and husband.

Volunteering New Zealand is the national umbrella organisation for volunteers and volunteering. It’s purpose is to empower volunteers to enrich Aotearoa New Zealand.

Michelle has a background in communications, marketing, social enterprise and not for profit experience. She has also worked in the public sector in New Zealand and the UK. She says she volunteered her way into her current job. Gaining relevant experience through a variety of volunteering roles.

She cooks and plays Floorball in her spare time.

Rob Cousins, Innovation Manager

Being honest, I’m a jack of all trades and master of none, who often seems to land on my feet, and somehow finds a way to make a difference with the people I meet. After a mediocre degree in Psychology, I worked in insurance and risk management in the UK, whilst pursuing hobbies that were both uninsurable and risky in many other parts of the world. Instead of a career, I’ve followed opportunities as they’ve arisen, and as I’ve pursued various different interests.

All of this has taught me that they key to most challenges is people, their experience, being curious and caring. Right now I am bringing this to how health and safety is understood, and how we might regulate that, from WorkSafeNZ. Shifting away from paperwork, compliance and rules. Moving towards caring about people, creating improvement, and giving people power over the things that affect them.

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Creative Welly Episode #31 | Victoria Crockford & James McCulloch

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Victoria Crockford, Chief Executive Officer, Community Housing Aotearoa Ngā Wharerau o Aotearoa

Vic is the Chief Executive at Community Housing Aotearoa-Ngā Wharerau o Aotearoa (CHA), a peak body for Aotearoa’s community housing sector. With 90 members providing homes for over 18,000 households, CHA is working everyday towards a future where all New Zealanders are well-housed. With a builder husband and parents in the trades, Vic lives and breathes housing, and views it as the core around which all our lives revolve. Before joining CHA, Vic worked in the energy sector in communications and government relations, as well as in general community rabble rousing and the television sector in Tāhuna / Queenstown. She loves places where cultures collide and has lived in France, Italy, Ghana and the United Kingdom.

The work part adds colour, but the heart of Vic’s life is her family. She is a Mum to Eloise (7) and Cormac (5) and really digs her awesome husband, Rich.

James McCulloch, Chief Executive,
English Language Partners

I am currently Chief Executive of English Language Partners. ELP is the largest New Zealand education NGO working with former refugees and migrants, and helps over 7,000 people a year to settle and thrive in Aotearoa New Zealand.

I was approached to join ELP in mid-2020, as the world of work and learning rapidly shifted, to guide the team on a journey of rapid transformation and digital growth following my experiences scaling the learning company Inspire Group in NZ and overseas.

Prior to this, I led several NGO organisations in the UK and New Zealand and was formerly the Community Director at the City of London.

So, my roles have been diverse in location, but with one common theme, my why:

Life changing impact for individuals, teams and communities.

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Creative Welly Episode #25 | Isabella Cawthorn & Richard Shirtcliffe

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Isabella Cawthorn, Editor, Talk Wellington

Isabella has been meddling, influencing and generally making good change in urban spaces for 20-odd years. Her chequered career includes co-founding Frocks On Bikes, doing community engagement on windfarm construction and street improvement projects, editing Talk Wellington, briefing local government candidates on elementary urbanism, helping establish NZ’s tactical urbanism programme, and facilitating rapprochement between local councils’ community development and infrastructure teams.

She’s a 1.5-generation Pākehā from Porirua. Find her on dancefloors, drinking coffee, and striking up conversations on trains.

Richard Shirtcliffe, Story-teller / WildClean Executive Janitor

I’m really just a story-teller, with a passion for building disruptive ‘triple bottom line’ brands.

My kids are my north star, and back in 2018 I watched as they paddled through a sea of waste plastic while learning to surf. Since then I’ve been on a mish to Un-muck Their World. To create businesses that trash the status quo; eliminate single-use plastic; and transform categories by delivering better products in a better way. WildClean.com – the world’s first plastic-negative cleaning co – is the latest.

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Creative Welly Episode #19 | Paula Eskett & Ari Sargent

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Paula Eskett, District Libraries Manager, Waimakariri District Council

Paula Eskett has worked in libraries since her parents told her she needed an afterschool job at 14.

Her belief and determination in the community building and strengthening power of libraries has been reinforced through her mahi in an array of library roles across Aotearoa.

She is most engaged when advocating for and designing services that promote equity of access to all that libraries can offer their communities; knowledge in all its different forms, the tools and technology to create and share new knowledge and spaces to grow understanding and social connections.

Paula currently leads Waimakariri Libraries, is a LIANZA past president, CORE Education eFellow and fellow of Creative Common’s Institute of Open Leadership

Ari Sargent, Managing Director, Octopus Energy NZ

Known for his ability to think deeply, he was once described by a colleague as a “Brainbox wearing sneakers and shorts”. This description exemplifies the intelligent disobedience he likes to apply problem solving and innovation.

A 30 year veteran of the energy industry makes him either a dinosaur or a guru. He describes his early career as being interesting and extremely rewarding – he set up Meridian Energy’s trading operation, negotiated the renewal of the Tiwai Point electricity contract and spearheaded the company’s renewable energy strategy. But he definitely felt like a square peg in a corporate round hole. No surprise he lept from that environment to create Powershop, one of New Zealand’s most loved consumer brands, and established the world’s first multinational energy franchise to take Powershop to the world.

These days he is heading up UK unicorn Octopus Energy’s entry into the NZ electricity market and wants to make accessing clean energy easy and affordable.

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Creative Welly Episode #16 | Natasha Zimmerman & Ben Preston

Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Natasha Zimmerman, Meaning Maker

Natasha is the founder and creative force behind Unchatter, an organisation focused on bringing meaningful connection to the world. She creates spaces where small talk is banned and an array of thoughtfully curated exercises get participants to dig deep.

Natasha’s fab accent will tell you from the US, where she was a healthcare executive before coming to NZ to pursue her PhD at the University of Canterbury. Her current research is centered on belonging and connection in organisations, and she loves finding the juicy intersection of science, humanism, and practical application.

When she’s not engaged in a deep conversation, you’ll find Natasha getting lost in a good book, looking at the moon, organizing things for fun, and baking ridiculous cakes. She’s an old soul, an introvert, and a poetry zealot. Natasha lives in Christchurch with her joy-givers: her partner Hassan and her baby boy Bodhi.

Ben Preston, Independent Creative Consultant + Project Director at MOTIF

As an engineering technologist and regenerative practitioner, Ben supports revitalisation of the life-giving patterning in social, environmental and economic systems in business and place-based design.

This involves placing living, ecological processes of environments and cultures at the core of project team operations, engaging new forms of collaboration, procurement and design that are inclusive and holistic, and re-integrating individuals and groups in the re-patterning processes of their surroundings.