Hear From Respected & Inspiring Speakers

‘Better Together’

  • Mental Wellbeing Educator

    Cat has been speaking for 20+ years about well-being in schools and workplaces and how taking care of your mental wellbeing is an excellent tool from our youngest members of communities, right through to our most experienced! 

    Cat has spoken to over 10,000 children to convey the crucial message that taking care of our mental health and well-being by understanding feelings will set us up for life.  

    In more recent years, Cat has devoted her most of her time to helping as many children as she can understand and improve their  mental health and wellbeing. She communicates complex concepts through engaging story telling and visuals, with memorable messages and practical strategies.

  • Former Toastmasters World Championship competitor and Rotorua Kaumatua

    Kia ora e te whanau, Kingi Biddle here from the capital of the world, the centre of the universe, the awesome city of Rotorua. I am a son, a husband, a father, a grandfather, brother, friend and someone who believes in the goodness and the kindness of the human spirit.

    I was raised alongside my Kaumātua and Pakeke and that was where I got my love of Story-Telling. Mind you, Benny Hill and Kenny Everett helped along the way too.

    I like to use this knowledge to powerfully communicate messages. I have been a Radio Announcer, a Television Programme Presenter and a Professional Master of Ceremonies for many events within New Zealand. .

    In 2011 I competed in the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking which was a tremendous achievement. In 2013 I placed second in the World Championship of Public Speaking. Every year over 33,000 people enter these contests and only 10 make the World Championships.

    See you soon and I’ll bring along a kete full of stories, fun and a smidgeon of insight.

  • Master of Ceremonies

    Jonathan Usher always wanted to be a comedian but was scared people would laugh at him. 

    In 1999, Jonathan attended a work Christmas party and he saw someone perform a magic trick.  Fascinated by the method of the trick, and the reactions it generated, Jonathan purchased the trick the next day and starting performing for his workmates.  At the time there was a magic shop in Christchurch so every time he visited the city, you would buy a trick to annoy his workmates even more with. 

    A couple of years later, one of his workmates asked him to perform a magic show at their children’s birthday party.  The show went okay so he started advertising shows and the bookings rolled in. 

    He’s now been a comedy magician since 2003 and performs all over New Zealand and Australia at corporate events, functions, parties, weddings and conferences performing more than 150 shows each year. 

    He is one of New Zealand’s finest comedy magicians.  In 2021 at the New Zealand Magicians convention in Auckland, Jonathan cleaned up taking away the awards for the best comedy magician, the best performance of the convention, as well as the best performance in the evening Gala Show. In 2022, the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand awarded him the prestigious Variety Artist of the Year. 

    In his real life, he is a Z Retailer and operates 14 Z service stations in the lower half of the South Island. 

    A proud Rotarian, Jonathan joined Rotary in 1997 and has enjoyed a number of roles including District Governor in 2014/2015.  He’s currently a member of the Rotary Club of Cromwell and has just finished his term as a Trustee on the J R McKenzie Trust, a significant family philanthropic trust with a long and proud connection with Rotary. 

    He resides in Cromwell with his wife Lisa. 

  • 
Swedish mechanical engineer and lecturer at the University of Auckland

    Dr. Eva Håkansson is a Mechanical Engineer, entrepreneur, and eco-activist in disguise. She became the world’s fastest female motorcycle rider with her electric motorcycle the KillaJoule, which she built herself in her backyard garage.

    Eva uses high speed racing to open people’s eyes and minds for sustainable technology and she is passionate about inspiring young people to study STEM and to build amazing things with their hands.

    In 2020 Eva and her husband Bill founded KiwFil, now New Zealand’s largest manufacturer of 3D printing filament. Their focus is on recycled materials and bio-plastic, and the goal is to close the loop on 3D printing.

    Prior to starting her own business, Eva was a lecturer at the University of Auckland where she taught CAD, drawing and engineering design to one thousand first year engineering students every year.

    Eva is currently working on her latest project, an electric motorcycle called Green Envy with the goal of becoming the fastest motorcycle on Earth. That record is currently 605 km/h, quite a bit higher than Eva’s current top speed of 434 km/h.

    Eva holds Bachelor degrees in Business Administration and Environmental Sciences, a Master degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

    Originally from Sweden, Eva spent a number of years living and working in the US and she has now settled in Tokoroa, New Zealand with her husband Bill Dube.

  • Mana Whānau Charitable Trust

    Adele Keefe is a mother of 6 and a grandmother of 6. She was raised in Napier and currently lives in Nelson where she founded and stewards a charitable Trust called Mana Whānau and runs Wānanga and programs for women. She's also an author of the workbook overcoming trauma where she shares the tools she learned through her faith journey to renew her mind after such horrific experiences due to living in domestic violence and meth addiction. 

  • UNICEF Representative to the Pacific Island Countries

    Mr. Jonathan Veitch, a citizen of the United Kingdom, was appointed to the position of UNICEF Pacific Representative in August 2021 and is based in Suva, Fiji. As the UNICEF Pacific Representative, he oversees UNICEF’s programmes and operations in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

    Prior to this current appointment, Mr. Veitch was the Deputy Director of the Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division at UNICEF, based in Geneva, responsible for the relationship with UNICEF’s 33 National Committees. He brings with him extensive experience working on children’s issues at the country and global level, especially in dealing with complex emergencies, peacebuilding and maternal and child health.

    Mr. Veitch served as the UNICEF Representative in South Sudan from 2014 to 2016, and in Kyrgyzstan between 2010 to 2014. Prior to that Mr. Veitch was a Senior Programme Officer at the World Health Organisation in Geneva, responsible for liaison between the two organisations, especially in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

    Mr. Veitch was the Senior Programme Officer for UNICEF in Sudan, and he also spent several years working in Somalia as the UNICEF head of Central and Southern zones. He has worked for the UN and NGOs in several other countries in Africa and Asia.

    Mr. Veitch holds a Master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He is married with three children and is currently in Fiji with his family.

  • 
Associate Professor, Centre for Pacific and Global Health

    Sir Collin Tukuitonga is a Niuean Public Health Medicine Specialist currently Associate Dean Pacific at the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Co-director for the University of Auckland Research Centre for Pacific and Global Health (Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa) and Associate Professor of Public Health.  

    Collin is a career public servant with extensive experience in NZ, the Pacific and internationally.