Meet the Facilitation Team

Facilitation Team

The team appointed by the Ministry of Education to facilitate the Education Kaikōura process are working for The Lawless Edge, a Nelson based company.

The purpose of The Lawless Edge is to help people work together more effectively to benefit people, organisations and the wider environment. Whaka ora mai tatou me te Ao - healing ourselves and the world.

Peter Lawless is Director of The Lawless Edge Ltd, a Director of Tuatara Maori Ltd, and a partner and accredited provide of facilitation training for Zenergy Global Ltd. Peter has over 20 years of experience in the environmental and conservation management public sector of New Zealand. He left the Department of Conservation to set up The Lawless Edge when he returned to Nelson. In the Department he held the roles of General Manager Conservation Policy, Regional General Manager, Northern, Area Manager Golden Bay, Manager of Internal Audit, Protection Manager Nelson Marlborough, Principal Conservation Officer Coastal and Marine. Peter also worked in a range of roles for the Ministry the Environment, State Coal Mines, the Commission for the Environment, the Department of Lands and Survey, and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Peter has a first class honours degree in ecology and is a trained group facilitator. His management experience includes managing units of up to 500 people, budgets in excess of $50M and leading organisation wide reviews and re-organisation.

Peter's vision for Education Kaikōura is a whole of community conversation resulting in an educational future that sustains the life choices of every person in Kaikōura.

Barbara Graves has a strong educational background, teaching firstly outdoor education and then primary teaching. She taught in a variety of urban and rural schools and was a school principal for seven years. Following studies in Health and Social Care and Health Promotion, Barbara took up a position in public health on moving to New Zealand from the United Kingdom.

Through her Healthy Communities role, Barbara worked with government agencies and community groups, with a focus on collaboration and cross sector working. She led many public health submissions, developed a series of workshops looking at Health and Urban Design, and was involved in an intersectoral project looking at improving child health through improved nutrition and physical activity.

She has presented at national and international conferences, to the Health Select Committee and to DHB committees on a range of topics.

Barbara has advanced level Health Impact Assessment training and has provided case studies to a national training programme and to a national local government conference. She also led the Social Impact Assessment of Nelson City Council's draft gambling policy.

Barbara is working towards a Diploma in Facilitation, having completed stages 1 & 2. Barbara's vision for the process is that the community of Kaikōura will create a sustainable, educational future that meets the needs of the whole population.

Gina Solomon spent 10 years working in Wellington for various Government departments including Education, Housing, Health, Temp Agencies and the BNZ providing services within the administration and personal assistant areas before returning home to Kaikōura. She spent seven years as Executive Assistant and Board of Trustees Minute Secretary at Kaikōura High School with responsibilities for all support staff and administration. On departing Kaikōura High School, she worked as an Office Administrator for Te Runanga o Kaikōura and was a lead participant in Te Kete o Aoraki (Ministry of Education and Ngai Tahu Education Contract) for her Runanga.  Her role included liaison with the wider community and the local schools.  She has a high level of cultural awareness and experience of working with people from a range of cultural and social backgrounds. Active participant on Kaikōura High School (KHS) Commissioner's Advisory group and met on a weekly basis with Commissioner. Gina has been involved in the organisation of large events, staff and financial management.  On leaving the Runanga, Gina also vacated the position of Secretary, which she held for 12 years. She is a Runanga member on Te Korowai o Te Tai o Marokura involved in the preparation of an integrated management strategy for the Kaikōura coastline. She is a member of Nelson/Marlborough Conservation Board. Her involvement in conservation and education projects are at both strategic and implementation levels.

Gina's vision for the process is that she wants her whole community, pepe to kaumatua, to have available to it, excellent educational opportunities, thus creating a happy, caring environment for future generations.

Professor Ted Glynn is Foundation Professor of Teacher Education at the University of Waikato and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He has a wide background in applied behaviour analysis, inclusive education, and Maori and bilingual education. Ted has extensive experience of education in New Zealand, including several Ministry appointments, as well as first hand experience of education in other countries.

Recent appointments include

• 1997 - 2005 Resource Teachers (Learning and Behaviour) Programme
• National Management Team
• National Teaching Team
• Director, University of Waikato RTLB Programme
• 1998 - 2000 Ministry of Education - Literacy Task Force Experts Advisory Group
• 1999 Ministry of Education - Policy Advisory Group on Maori Medium literacy strategies
• 1995 - 1999 Ministry of Education - National Advisory Committee on Special Education

As one of New Zealand's leading education researchers, Professor Ted Glynn will support the project in an advisory capacity and by making presentations to teachers and the wider community.