Our Leadership Team

Secretary for Education and Chief Executive: Karen Sewell

Karen joined the Ministry of Education on 1 November 2006. She has an extensive background in education including teaching in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, as chief executive and chief review officer of the Education Review Office and as the acting chief executive of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

She was an inspector of secondary schools for the previous Department of Education and was awarded a Nuffield Bursary to study at the University of London.

Karen is a graduate of Victoria University. She started her teaching career at Onslow College, Wellington, and taught in the United Kingdom before being appointed as Head of English at Auckland's Green Bay High School where she later became the principal.

Deputy Secretary Strategy and System Performance: Rob McIntosh

Rob joined the ministry in 1996 after 15 years working for The Treasury. He holds a MA (Hons) from the University of Canterbury and an MSc (Econ) from the London School of Economics.

Between 1988 and 1990 Rob served as an economic advisor to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Rob's team, the Strategy and System Performance grouping, is responsible for tertiary education policy, monitoring and reporting, international education including UNESCO, medium term strategy, strategy and performance, schools' data management and analysis research, the ministry's library, records, ministerials, and communications.

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Deputy Secretary People and Business Capability: Kristine Kilkelly

Kristine joined the Ministry of Education from Capital and Coast District Health where she was Director of Human Resources.

Kristine is from Invercargill and still identifies strongly with Southland. She attended Otago University and from there joined the Department of Trade and Industry as part of their graduate intake. She has worked for the Department of Internal Affairs and the Health Funding Authority, and held Trade Commissioner and Vice Consul roles in New Zealand and Australia.

She has made her career in the public sector, the last nine years of which have been in health and sees strong parallels between health and education. Both have increasingly expert consumers and a strong focus on being able to measure outcomes and reducing disparities.

Kristine's team, the People and Business Capability grouping, is responsible for human resources, finance, legal services, information systems, e-admin, tertiary information systems and sector liaison, and business solutions.

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Deputy Secretary Schooling: Anne Jackson

Originally from England, Anne Jackson joined the ministry in 2005 as senior manager for the tertiary education outcomes and strategy group. Before this she was general manager of the Centre for Social Research and Evaluation at the Ministry of Social Development.

She has been manager of strategic projects at the Education Review Office and an education advisor with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. She has served on two school boards and has an MA and BA (Hons) from the University of Cambridge.

Anne's team, the Schooling grouping, is responsible for effective teaching and learning in schools, learning policy frameworks, literacy, numeracy and assessment, Māori language education, e-learning, resourcing, industrial relations, education workforce policy, TeachNZ, and property.

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Deputy Secretary Early Childhood Education and Regional Education: Rawiri Brell

Rawiri, of Te Arawa (Ngāti Whakaue - Ngāti Rangitihi), trained as a teacher in Hamilton and is a graduate of the University of Waikato and Victoria University of Wellington.

He specialised in bilingual education as a principal and senior lecturer and became Head of Māori Studies at the Hamilton Teachers College in 1990.

He spent three years as a senior policy analyst in the Ministry of Education's education management and organisational policy section before an appointment as education manager in the Office of the Race Relations Conciliator.

In 1992 he was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship to study teacher education policy and multiculturalism in England, Scotland and Wales. Rawiri returned to the ministry in May 1994. In 2001 Rawiri participated in the Henley Management College's Executive Development Programme.

Rawiri's team, the Early Childhood and Regional Education grouping, is responsible for managing the early childhood strategic plan, Pasifka education, Whakaaro Mātauranga, national operations, schooling improvement, education management policy and Team-Up.  

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Deputy Secretary Group Māori: Apryll Parata

Apryll took up the role of Deputy Secretary Group Māori in late February 2007, bringing a wealth of experience in education to this position.

She has taught and held management positions in a number of secondary schools on the East Coast and in the Wairarapa.

Apryll has a BA in Māori studies from Waikato University and a Diploma of Secondary Teaching. As well as being a teacher she has been Principal of Ngata Memorial College in Ruatoria, a Private Secretary to a Minister of the Crown and has also been the Director Education Practice at Gardiner Parata Ltd since 1997.

Some of her work as a consultant has included working in the area of Maori medium education, and facilitating reviews of planning processes at Te Puni Kokiri.

Apryll has tribal affiliations with Ngati Porou and Ngai Tahu.

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Deputy Secretary Special Education: Nicholas Pole

Nicholas took up the role of Deputy Secretary Special Education in November 2007, bringing considerable expertise and experience to the position.

Prior to joining the Ministry of Education, Nicholas was Deputy Chief Executive, Social Services Policy, at the Ministry of Social Development where he had been since 2001. He has qualifications in education, social research and management, and more than 20 years experience working in education and central government.

Nicholas recently led the implementation of the government's strategic direction in regard to Families Young and Old, and, in particular, the establishment of a ministerial team and task force on family violence and the government's response to the issue of youth gangs in South Auckland.

Group Special Education is responsible for providing specialist education services, operational policy, enhancing professional practice, undertaking research and developing the special education workforce. It provides direct support annually to 30,000 children and young people, aged up to 21 years, with special education needs. Staff are based in 16 district offices, four regional offices and in the national office.