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.

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Creative Welly Episode #3 | Raqi Syed & Gabe Davidson

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

Raqi Syed, Digital Artist

Raqi Syed is a writer and artist who has worked on a bunch of films. In 2017, The Los Angeles Times pegged Raqi for its list of 100 Industry professionals who can help fix Hollywood’s Diversity Problem.

Her writing focuses on film and gender, film technology, and the history and business of visual effects. Her VR experience, MINIMUM MASS, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and her essays have appeared in TechCrunch, Vice, Salon, Quartz, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. Raqi is a 2018 Sundance New Frontier Story Lab Fellow, and 2020 Ucross Fellow.

She holds an MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and an MA in Creating Writing from Victoria University of Wellington, and is a Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington.

Gabe Davidson, Cocoa Bean Hunter

Gabe is the co-founder of The Wellington Chocolate Factory and founder of The Original Cocoa Traders, Melbourne. 

A keen interest in ethical business he is an advocate for fairly traded cocoa and has gone to great lengths to source and promote interesting cocoa varieties, from the Peruvian Andes to PNG and the South Pacific. 

Gabe lives on the Kapiti Coast with partner Hayley and three little ones. 

When he’s not playing entrepreneur or dad, he loves playing live music with his band ‘Swagman’ and enjoys his role as a food rescue driver with Kaibosh.

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Creative Welly Episode #2 | Olie Body & Ged Finch

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

Olie Body, Social Entrepreneur & Executive Menstruator

Olie is an Edmund Hillary Fellow, Obama Foundation Leader, TEDx Speaker and an award winning storyteller and social entrepreneur. Through giving people the tools to manage menstruation sustainably, she’s at the forefront of a paradigm shift: shaping what it means to inhabit this earth consciously, and with a pair of ovaries.

Olie founded the social enterprise Wā Collective to connect people back with their bodies and to the earth, using humour, heart and inclusivity. Passionate about systems change, Olie believes that it’s through redrawing processes and ideologies that shape business, we can fasttrack having a net positive impact for people and planet. 

Ged Finch, X-frame

Ged is a PhD Candidate in the School of Architecture at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His research looks at methods to design building systems to facilitate material reuse and/or high-value recycling at end-of-life (a Circular Economy).

Ged’s activities are centered on a series of design-build projects and has led him to develop New Zealand’s first Circular Economy construction systems, X Frame. Ged grew up in Omakau, a small rural Central Otago town and moved to Wellington in 2013 to begin his studies in architecture.

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Creative Welly Episode #1 | Jessica Manins / Sarb Johal

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

Jessica Manins, Co-Founder & CEO, Beyond

I’m a creative technology producer making VR experiences that make you smile. For the past 2 years I’ve moved my full attention into social VR gaming at my company Beyond. Our first VR LBE game Oddball is out now at Two Bit Circus in LA and our HQ here in beautiful Wellington, NZ. We measure success by the number of times people laugh out loud during a game. So far it’s been a big success.

Dr Sarb Johal, Clinical Psychologist and Youtube Creator

Sarb is of Indian descent, born and raised in London, and has made his home New Zealand for the last 15 years. With 30 years experience as a Psychologist, he is often asked to contribute to a very wide range of work, from media commentator to personal and organisational coach, mentor and advisor. He also creates videos on Youtube and other platforms on psychology and mobile video and technology.

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