Christian Erick

Bachelor of Applied Management (Project Management) (Distinction) 2016

Subcontractor Compliance Coordinator, Fulton Hogan, Auckland

Community Volunteer

Christian Erick achieved a Bachelor of Applied Management in Project Management with Distinction through Capable NZ in 2016.  He is currently a Subcontractor Compliance Coordinator with Fulton Hogan in Auckland, but perhaps more important than his job is his huge community heart.

Christian’s family is from Niue and he lives in South Auckland.  The hardships that his communities face are what drive him to do his best.

“I strive to be a great role model for others and for the people of Niue through education, achievements and my work in the community”.

With his partner, Christian formed the Erick Holmes Foundation Trust.  It was an organisation that helped at-risk teens transition into the workforce.  They enjoyed more than a 90% success rate, but a change in government funding in 2010 saw the Trust close its doors.

Christian’s the Head Coach of Auckland GKR Karate team and he volunteers to teach self-defence and competition students locally.

His interests include scuba diving, snowboarding, squash, cooking, reading and the sciences.

Christian’s facilitator at Capable, Raewyn Paviour, starts her description of him as a ‘family man’.

“He is a humble, high achieving, community spirited man who worked tirelessly through the programme requirements while working full time in a very demanding job and supporting and volunteering in his community of Tamaki” she says.

Juliet Arnott

Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Distinction) 1995

Director, Rekindle

Juliet Arnott is an artist and an occupational therapist, so it makes sense that she combined the two!

Juliet finds creative solutions to unmet social and environmental needs.  She uses her creativity and craftsmanship to help community groups, schools, health groups, artists and designers.

Her social enterprise company, Rekindle, is all about diverting reusable resources from waste.  It originally focussed on using waste timber from residential demolition in Christchurch - turning it into furniture, interiors, sculpture and jewellery.

One of Juliet’s more famous projects was Whole House Reuse, where her team deconstructed and transformed an entire earthquake damaged house into beautiful and purposeful artefacts.  More than 250 people from around New Zealand and the world were involved, creating everything from a delicately carved taonga puoro to a finely crafted backyard studio.

Juliet has received many awards for her efforts, including:

• Winston Churchill Fellowship 2014
• Yealands “Raise a Glass to Success” Finalist 2014
• AMP “Do Your Thing” Scholarship 2013
• WWF Audience Choice Climate Solutions Awards 2012
• Rebuild and Reuse Award at SHAC Awards 2012
• Joan Walden Award for practice in Occupational Therapy (Otago Polytechnic) 1995

Megan Gibbons, Head of College, Te Ohu Ora, says Juliet’s values align perfectly with those of Otago Polytechnic.

“Her social entrepreneurship has seen her succeed in reducing the waste and ultimate landfill space needed following the Christchurch earthquakes.  Her ability as an Occupational Therapist, to think about the person in the middle of their environment, has seen her connect with those who were most vulnerable” she says.

Phillip Balmer

Diploma in Comprehensive Nursing 1986

Director Hospital Services, Counties Manukau District Health Board

Phillip Balmer was a graduate of the School of Nursing in 1986 as an inaugural student in the Diploma in Comprehensive Nursing.

Phillip’s current role as Director Hospital Services at the Counties Manukau District Health Board, places him in the Executive Leadership Team which is the primary decision making body for the Health Board. The team is responsible for the design and development of the strategic direction of the health system as well as ensuring that the organisation delivers on its objectives and key performance requirements.

Counties Manukau DHB employs more than 7000 staff and operates within a budget of 1.5 billion dollars. Phillip’s role includes responsibility for 6000 staff and a budget of 750 million.

Phillip has worked in healthcare in six different countries over the course of his career. Some of his positions and qualifications include:

• 1997-1999 Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Management (Massey University)
• 1989 Bachelor of Science in Physiology (Victoria University)
• 2007-2008 Chief Operating Officer Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital
• 2009-2013 Chief Operating Officer Bay of Plenty District Health Board

Phillip has had more than 33 years of experience in the health sector with 20 years at Senior Management or executive level. He has spent 15 years involved with commissioning and redesigning healthcare facilities.

Jodi Brown

Bachelor of Applied Management (Sport Management) 2015

Semi Professional Netball Player & Television Presenter

When Jodi Brown was 14 years old, she trialled for the Whanganui rep netball teams … she made it … into the U15, U17 and U19 grades!  It’s no surprise that Jodi continued on to become one of New Zealand’s most accomplished and best-known netball players. 

In domestic competition, Jodi has played for the length of the country.  Her teams include the Capital Shakers, Canterbury Flames, Auckland Diamonds, Otago Rebels (captain), Canterbury Tactix, Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, Southern Steel (captain) and Central Pulse.

For twenty years, Jodi has been an integral player for New Zealand’s top netball teams– starting as a 16 year-old in 1997, when she made the NZ “Talent 2000” programme for the World Youth Champs.  A year later, she made the NZ A and NZ U21 teams.  She was captain of the U21s in 2000.  Then in 2002, Jodi was named in the Silver Ferns.  She stayed with the national team for the next 13 years, taking time out for injury and pregnancy.

Jodi has many achievements to her name, perhaps her best three are her young children.  She has managed to balance motherhood with a sporting career for the past eight years.

Jodi’s awards and positions of responsibility include:

• 1998 & 1999 NZ Secondary School Netball Player of the Year
• 2000-2014 Prime Minister’s Scholarship
• 2008-2013 Board Member, New Zealand Netball Players Association
• 2011-2013 Board Member, Dunedin Netball Centre
• 2015 NZ Order of Merit for her services to netball

Jodi has just started hosting her own Netball show on Sky TV called ‘Netball Zone’.

Kushana Bush

Bachelor of Fine Arts 2004

Artist

Kushana Bush graduated from the Dunedin School of art in 2004 and was promptly appointed as a lecturer.  She left to focus on painting and in 2009, she worked in South Korea at the National Art Studio, Changdong, Seoul.  That same year, she won the Art and Australia contemporary Art award and featured in Art and Australia emerging artist awards.  Two years later, she won the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship – one of the youngest to receive that accolade.

In 2013, Kushana was awarded the Arts Foundation New Zealand New Generation Award.  In 2014, Kushana exhibited at the Edinburgh Arts Festival.  Her exhibition ‘The Burning Hours’, was shown at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery 2016/2017, and will be presented in 2017 at the Christchurch Art Gallery between June and October.  She will be exhibiting in the National Gallery of Victoria’s 2017-2018 Triennial in Melbourne. 

Kushana’s work is held in collections throughout New Zealand, The Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.

Kushana’s paintings are delicately constructed and complex.  She makes explicit reference to early painting styles, like medieval miniatures.  Her works reflect the relations between cultures, histories of war and patterns of human behaviour. 

Dunedin School of Art Lecturer in Painting, Michael Greaves, says Kushana embodies the best of Otago Polytechnic’s graduates.

“She is continually reflective, motivated and focused, her career is one that exhibits the best qualities of our many prestigious art alumni” he says.

Otago Polytechnic Emeritus Member, Bridie Lonie, says Kushana is a truly successful graduate of the Dunedin School of Art.

“She is recognised as a significant artist, and has been from a surprisingly young age.  She’s unassuming and extremely focussed.  We are proud to own her as a graduate”.

Norma Campbell

Master of Midwifery 2004

Director of Midwifery, Canterbury and West Coast District Health Boards

Norma Campbell was the first graduate from Otago Polytechnic’s Master of Midwifery programme in 2004. Her thesis was titled Employed midwives maintaining competence, which has set the ground work for a stellar career.

Norma has had a phenomenal influence on midwifery in New Zealand.  In 2009, she was awarded membership of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contribution to women’s health, particularly midwifery.

Norma’s commitment to women’s health over the years includes her position as a midwifery advisor at the NZ College of Midwives, chairperson of New Zealand’s National Breastfeeding Committee and member of a number of Ministry advisory committees and multidisciplinary groups. Norma is on the NZ Multidisciplinary Guidelines Group which advised health practitioners across the spectrum of maternity care on evidence based practice.

More recently, Norma was seconded to the role of Executive Director of the Midwifery and Maternity Provider Organisation (MMPO) and she has just been appointed Director of Midwifery for Canterbury and West Coast District Health Boards.

Associate Professor Judith McAra-Cooper, Director of Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health Research, says there is little that has happened in the Maternity sector in the last twenty years that Norma has not been part of.

“Norma is one of the few people in New Zealand maternity sector who can bring all the threads together from policy to the day-to-day working life of a midwife. When you speak with midwives around New Zealand, Norma is spoken of with awe, admiration, affection and respect for the amazing way she guides midwives and midwifery in New Zealand.”

All this, and she still works as a midwife at a primary birthing unit in Christchurch!

Helen Darling

Diploma of Nursing 1986

Executive Director of Asia Pacific Centre for Food Integrity

Dr Helen Darling was a graduate of the School of Nursing in 1986 as an inaugural student in the Diploma in Comprehensive Nursing.  She came back as a lecturer in 1998-1999.

Helen continued her studies and graduated with a PhD in Public Health from the Dunedin School of Medicine at the University of Otago.  She has founded two companies and continues working in the area of commercialisation of food integrity services.  She’s particularly interested in how technology can enhance global food supply chains.  Helen also has more than 20 years’ of experience in governance.

Helen is currently the Executive Director of Asia Pacific Centre for Food Integrity (APCFI).  This group was established to connect producers, science and technology providers and importers.  Their aim is to facilitate safe food exports and capitalise on available food safety expertise.

Helen’s PhD in Public Health provides an ideal platform for assessing food supply chains and applying a robust approach to the application of science solutions.  She was founder and CEO of Oritain Global Ltd (2007-2013) – a company that leads the globe in scientifically proving the origin of food.

Helen’s interest in governance sees her as an Advisory Board Member at Export NZ and a Director with the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Ltd.  She was the Otago Daily Times Business Person of the Year in 2013 and a finalist in the Women of Influence Awards in 2014.

Linda Kinniburgh, Principal Lecturer, School of Nursing, says Helen is an amazing woman who started her career as a nurse and made the decision to continue her education.

“Helen uses skills she learnt through her nursing career, including disciplined thinking, good time management and observational skills as valuable to her business interests. She has chosen to remain in Dunedin although she spends time in the USA and China as part of her everyday reality.

The School of Nursing is incredibly proud of her achievements.”

Kathryn McCully

Bachelor of Fine Arts 2002

Master of Fine Arts 2005

Programme Manager Visual Art, Film & Animation at Southern Institute of Technology

Kathryn McCully graduated with her Master of Fine Arts from the Dunedin School of Art in 2005.  Even while studying, she envisaged her own studio work as part of the wider arts community and she established the Introspect Community Art Space – a lively platform for many local artists.

Kathryn went on to manage the Ashburton Public Art Gallery, and lobbied hard for a new, re-located venue.  While in that role, she brought innovative national and international exhibitions to the public, drawing great success and support.

Kathryn is currently the Programme Manager for the Visual Arts Programmes at the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT). 

Kathryn actively extends her own education, delivering papers at international conferences, engaging with the wider and dynamic global aspect of thought and practice.  This international experience is two-way, allowing her to bring vision and ideas back to SIT and the community.

Kathryn has a long list of accolades to her name.  These include:

• 2001-2003 Development/management Committee Satellite Gallery, Dunedin
• 2002-2005 Established and directed Introspect Gallery, Dunedin
• 2013-2016 Board Member Southland Art Society, Invercargill
• 2013-current Chairperson Southern Filmmakers Trust.
• Advisor for the Murihiku Arts Incubator
• 2015 Winner ILT Art Award

Hope Wilson, Curatorial Assistant at Christchurch’s The Physics Room Contemporary Art Space, says Kathryn has made a real difference to the art community in Southland.

“Kathryn’s ongoing level of commitment to on-the-ground initiatives and her successes in her many roles as a mentor, teacher, volunteer, writer and activist have made a contribution to Invercargill and Southland’s art scene that cannot be underscored enough”.

Seilala Mapusua

Bachelor of Applied Management (Sport Management) 2016

Coaching Development Officer, Otago Rugby Football Union

Seilala Mapusua gained a Bachelor of Applied Management (Sport Management) through Capable NZ in 2016.

Seilala is a well-known name in International rugby.  He started his provincial play in 2000 – joining the Otago team.  His strong performance with them saw him step up to the Highlanders for the 2002 Super 12 season.  He continued to play for both teams until 2006.

By the time he left New Zealand, Seilala had played more than 50 games for the Highlanders.

In 2006, Seilala debuted for Manu Samoa.  In his time with the team, he’s played in two Rugby World Cups.  He’s also played with the Pacific Islanders team, and enjoyed tours of Australasia, the British Isles and Europe. 

Seilala has held coaching clinics for children and youth around Samoa, especially in the villages where children cannot afford the travel into town.

Seilala joined the London Irish in 2006 for the Guinness Premiership and was named the team’s top newcomer.  In 2009, he was voted the Players’ Player of the Year and the BBC London Rugby Player of the Year.

While in London, Seilala volunteered his time to help children.  He helped organise and coach the London Irish Mini Festival, did charity work with special needs children, and was the Backs coach for Weybridge Rugby’s U16 team.

By the time Seilala left London in 2011, he had played 125 games with the side including 91 Premiership matches and 23 Heineken Cup contests.

Seilala then moved to Japan and signed with the Kubota Spears.

Seilala is a founding member of the Pacific Island Rugby Players Association.  The group’s aim is to strategically plan for the future of its players.

Seilala is currently the Coaching Development Officer for the Otago Rugby Football Union.  He is constantly working with children, adults, professionals and coaches.

Tevita Hale Nai Tu’uhoko (Hale T-Pole)

Bachelor of Applied Management (Sport Management) (Merit) 2016

Professional Rugby Player

Athlete Representative Manager, Carinat Sports Marketing

Tevita Hale Nai Tu’uhoko, otherwise known as Hale T-Pole, started playing rugby, barefoot and with a stick, in his birth country, Tonga. He went on to play for and with the world’s top teams in front of sell-out crowds in famous stadiums.

Hale was an impressive talent from a young age.  He was selected to national secondary school sides in New Zealand as well as the NZ U21 side. He made his provincial rugby debut with Otago in 1999, then transferred to Southland in 2000 where he quickly became a core member of the squad.

After several strong seasons for the Stags, Hale made his debut for the Highlanders in 2004.

In 2006 he joined the Pacific Islanders team, and then the Tongan national team a year later, when he played in the Rugby World Cup.

In 2007, Hale headed to Europe and signed with the Ospreys for the Celtic League. The following year saw him in Japan, playing for the Suntory Sungoliaths then the Ricoh Black Rams.

Hale returned to New Zealand in 2012 to front up for Northland, before heading back to the Southland Stags in 2013.

Hale says his cultural background, upbringing and the opportunities he has had to travel have taught him how to treat others, relate to a wide range of people and rise above difficult or challenging situations.

From a young age, Hale’s family got used to him bringing, in his words, “random kids to live at home”. If Hale came across someone struggling to find a home, he’d bring them back to his. This caring nature was evident when he started working with at-risk youths at BASE – Employment Training Programme; and when he coached children’s rugby in Hong Kong; or teenagers in Northland.

Hale has coached all ages and all grades. He’s currently coaching the Harbour Hawks Premier Team in Dunedin.

Hale co-founded the Pacific Island Players’ Association (PIPA) along with Fijian Rugby Captain Deacon Manu and Samoan rugby legend Seilala Mapusua. They help players with contract negotiations and are the consolidated voice behind Pacific Island teams on the world rugby stage.

He is now the Athlete Representative Manager at the Hong-Kong based company, Carinat Sports Marketing. He is the bridge between the corporate office and the players on the field.  One of his roles is to spearhead top level professional sports events to help grow and market rugby throughout Asia.

Hale coaches the Asia Pacific Dragons and has a key role making connections between players, clubs, coaches and corporate events … and he does all of this from Dunedin!

Grant Verhoeven

Bachelor of Social Services Career Practice 2015

Career Development Consultant at Massey University

Grant Verhoeven graduated with his Bachelor of Social Services Career Practice in 2015, through Capable NZ at Otago Polytechnic.

Grant has significant involvement in the career development profession.  He is on the executive committee for Career Development Association of New Zealand (CDANZ), the professional development committee of the National Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, Australasia (NAGCAS), and he presents at national conferences, conducts research and encourages upcoming career practitioners.

In his role of Career Development Consultant at Massey University, Grant manages the career and employability service on the Wellington campus.  Within this, he enhances student digital career literacy, an important new field in career management.  For this work, he was awarded the Rising Star Award at the National Association of Graduate Career Advisory Services.

Grant is an active member of the community, serving as a mentor on the ‘Inspiring Stories Trust Live the Dream’ programme which develops young New Zealand entrepreneurs.  He is also a trustee on the Wellington Life Education Trust.

Before becoming a career professional, Grant ran an award-winning sales business as a young entrepreneur and he’s a past president of the International Coach Federation NZ Central Branch.

Grant says he has a passion for discovering the potential of aspiring New Zealanders.

“I believe everyone brings a set of unique strengths and talents to everything they do and my role is helping to understand and unlock these”.

Jane Wilson

Diploma of Nursing 1986

Bachelor of Nursing 1994

Implementation Manager, Commissioner’s Office, SDHB

Jane Wilson was a graduate of the School of Nursing in 1986 as an inaugural student in the Diploma of Nursing.  She went on to complete her Bachelor of Nursing at Otago Polytechnic in 1994.

Jane has an illustrious career in nursing, and a dedication to education as her career has progressed.  After completing her diploma’s graduate year at Dunedin Hospital, Jane went to London and worked as a Sick Children’s Nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital and St Mary’s Hospital.

Jane returned to Dunedin in 1991 where she worked in Paediatrics, specialising in children’s oncology.  She was then appointed to Clinical Nurse Specialist and Educator roles.

For the next 12 years, Jane was a Charge Nurse Manager and a Service Leader, before being appointed as Nurse Director in 2010.  In this role, she managed and led teams of nurses in specialty areas such as Older Person’s health, Rehabilitation Services, Women’s and Children’s Public Health and Support.

In 2014, Jane was appointed to the Acting Director of Nursing, leading the directorship for nursing services, and in 2015, she was appointed as Implementation Manager in the Commissioner’s office.

Jane is recognised for her leadership in nursing at a clinical level, and leading and directing nursing services.  She is highly respected and regarded in the Southern District Health Board, particularly for her communication style, her attention to detail and her willingness to work in collaborative roles.

Lisa Tamati

Bachelor of Applied Management (Sport Management) (Distinction) 2017

Professional endurance athlete, adventurer, author, producer, speaker

She’s overcome a broken back to run some of the toughest endurance events on Earth.  She’s published two best-selling books, and she’s an ambassador for Asthma NZ because she also has severe asthma. 

Lisa Tamati is the first woman to finish the Badwater Ultramarathon – 217km of non-stop running through Death Valley in the United States.  She ran the length of New Zealand for charity, canoed the Canadian Yukon, illegally walked the Libyan Desert (carrying all her water and food requirements) and she has run more than 140 ultra-marathons … that’s 70,000km … or the equivalent of three times around the equator!

She’s the consummate multi-tasker … yet Lisa Tamati felt like she needed more!  So she enrolled with Capable NZ at Otago Polytechnic to complete a Bachelor of Applied Management.

“For me, the Capable NZ programme was exactly what I needed – a formal qualification and the recognition of my knowledge, without having to start back at the beginning” she says.

Lisa Tamati is an entrepreneur.  After doing a goldsmith apprenticeship in Europe, she ran her own jewellery stores in Austria and New Zealand.   She is the owner/director of five companies in areas such as film production, PR management, events management and health and fitness coaching.

Lisa draws on her extreme adventures and her wide ranging business experience to build crucial lessons which she delivers in her keynote presentations and full seminar offerings.

“The skill-set I’ve learnt in my running is directly transferable to business.  I’ve had to market myself, show resilience, be incredibly organised and overcome barriers”.