Regi Gallina

I have worked as chef for 30 years which includes restaurants both in Auckland and Taupo, and I have worked as Culinary Arts Tutor.  I am a proud Kiwi Brazilian of Italian and Spanish heritage and I have a passion for Italian, Spanish, and South American flavours. Spending time sharing my passion with others is my happy place!

Riccardo Lucignani

Riccardo is from Civitavecchia, the port of Rome, and moved to New Zealand in 2019. He is an architect, interior designer and landscape architect and has presented seminarsat the Dunedin School of Art and at the Auckland Dante Alighieri Society.

He enjoys teaching Italian to adult speakers of other languages, sharing his love of Italian culture. He describes his teaching approach as task based and learner centred with a focus on effective communication.

Richard Holtz

Classical Studies teacher at Taylors College, with degrees in Ancient and Medieval History from the University of Alberta, Canada.

Rome, as a link between the world of antiquity and that of the Middle Ages, has always been a subject of interest to me. I have solid academic background in Roman history, have visited Rome several times and have participated in excavations at Roman dig sites.

Richard Moore

Introducing Richard Moore:

Richard works for a Chartered Accountants firm in public practice, and has extensive business and accounting experience from this, as well as his own accounting practice some years ago. He has up-to-date knowledge of practical accounting, as well as a sound theoretical grounding in the subject.

Rina Poerwadi Rich

For over two decades, I've dedicated myself to Holistic Therapy. From 2002 to 2012, I managed clinics in Hong Kong and Jakarta, specialising in Holistic Aromatherapy & Massage Practice and Education. Since settling in New Zealand in 2013, my focus shifted to education. Until July 2023, I taught at Wellpark College and contributed to the Naturopathy Programme at the South Pacific College of Natural Medicine.

My expertise revolves around guiding newcomers and mentoring professionals in aromatherapy and massage. Since 2014, I've operated a home clinic where I deliver comforting aromatherapy massages using premium essential oils sourced from New Zealand. My collection boasts 40 oils tailored for diverse therapies.

Beyond just oils, my approach extends aromatherapy to harness scents for enhancing memory, managing emotions, and improving overall wellness. I incorporate these practices not only within classroom activities but also through nature-based exercises involving walks and inhalation of natural scents.

I was involved in the "Mom Can Cook" program for Moms & Teens and I published a cookbook in Indonesian language and appeared on local TV in Indonesia. 

Risa Meura

Rob Kennedy

Rob is the founder of Paperscape, a small batch paper mill located on the Kāpiti Coast in Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Paperscape specialise in turning native plants into bespoke pulp and paper products. Enhancing native biodiversity, making use of waste, and sharing the craft are the key principles that underpin the business.

"Papermaking brings together my love of science, nature and making things." Rob Kennedy.

Robert Watson

I've been teaching ​a range of dance/exercise classes ​for over two years in Auckland​ ​and I've been amazed at how much ​of a ​difference​ these classes have made to peoples lives. I want to share with you my passion for dancing​ and music and fitness.​ I specialise in offering easy-to-follow choreography that focuses on your balance​, range of motion and ​​coordination, and ​I include ​some cardio to help increase your fitness levels. You won't even realise you're working out​! Everyone is welcome no matter what age your fitness level I'll make sure you have a good time ​- ​keeping you healthy and happy!!

Robyn Penn

Robyn Penn is a South African-New Zealander artist with a background in both countries. After returning to New Zealand in 2020, she settled in Tāmaki Makaurau and pursues her art and teaching career here.

For more than 20 years, Robyn has passionately educated students, as young as five years old, in Fine Arts and creative thinking. Her students consistently achieve top awards and distinctions in Visual Art and Design, often progressing to prestigious tertiary institutions.

Apart from private art classes, Robyn is involved in community art projects, aiming to promote art and creativity within communities. She initiated and facilitated children's art education programs at WITS Art Museum and the Turbine Art Fair in Johannesburg. She also conducted pro-bono workshops for underprivileged children in South Africa. Robyn is part of the Creatives in Schools Programme, collaborating with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatū Taonga, and Creative New Zealand. In 2022, she collaborated with Good Shepherd School to create a large ceramic mural with 200 junior school students.

Robyn's artistic practice spans drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and film installations. Her work focuses on the natural world, time's elusive nature, and the sublime. She received her training from the University of the Witswatersrand and Canterbury University, Ilam. She is a fellow of the Ampersand Trust and exhibits internationally, with pieces in collections across the world, including works in the Victoria and Albert Collection, UK and The Smithsonian, USA.

Ronja Schipper

I love applying the lease of scarcity to my creative work and am passionate about all things up-cycled. There are so many resources that we can give a second or third life to! I love sharing my passion for turning trash into treasure with people and get a kick out of inspiring others.

Ruby Porter

Ruby Porter is a writer, artist and teacher. She tutors creative writing at the University of Auckland, and in high schools. Ruby was the winner of the Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Award in 2017, and the inaugural winner of the Michael Gifkins Prize in 2018, with her debut novel Attraction. Attraction was written during her Masters of Creative Writing at the University of Auckland, and published in 2019 by Melbourne-based Text Publishing. It is distributed throughout Australia, New Zealand and North America.

Sally Barron

I am a Tāmaki Makaurau based artist who is always learning and loves to share that experience. Oil paints can be such a joy to paint with - there is always something new to try and a world of colour and effects.

Sallyanne Mason

Sandra Harding Smith

I first discovered Pilates for myself as I had a very bad back from sitting at a desk job all day.  I loved it so much that when I had my children, I decided to train to become a teacher (Stott trained) and now 21 years later my passion is even greater. I love how Pilates is for everyone as it is very individual to you.  Pilates builds core strength, improves your posture and balance, tones the body and connects you mindfully with ease.  It is so satisfying to see my clients confidence grow, their strength increase, pain levels reduce and it gives me great happiness to see them enjoy the benefits of their hard work. 

Change happens through movement and movement heals – Joseph Pilates

Sandra Morris

Sandra Morris had her first book, 'One Lonely Kakapo', published in 1990 while studying for her MFA at Elam School of Fine Arts, winning the Russell Clark Award for illustration in 1992. Since then she has written and illustrated a number of award winning books. In 1996, Sandra gained a graduate diploma in plant and wildlife illustration from the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. She has worked in educational publishing for many years and has also taught at tertiary level for 4 years.  For more information about Sandra Morris and her illustration agency visit www.illustration.co.nz. Sandra has more than 12 years experience teaching in community education settings.

See details of an interview on Radio New Zealand Standing Room Only here

Sanjay Theodore

Sanjay Theodore is a New Zealand conceptual artist who has exhibited in France, India, Australia and Aotearoa. His works are in collections such as The Tate Britain Library, The Royal College of Art and the National Art Library at the Victoria & Albert Museum amongst others.

Saskia Herren

Saskia Herren is an expert in Latin language and literature who has taught and tutored courses in Roman history, Latin, and Ancient Greek language at the University of Auckland. She recently received her Master's in Ancient History with first-class honours from the University of Auckland. In 2020, Saskia was the Provost Scholar at Worcester College in Oxford where she researched Latin magical texts. Her research interests include representations of sexuality, gender, power, ethnicity, magic, and sex-work in Greek and Latin literature.

Seann Lautner

Seann is an award-winning speaker, certified coach and digital marketing strategist. Seann's previous experience encompasses public relation events for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) specialised in campaign strategy and creativity, marketing communication, key visual branding, event management for corporate clients of Fortune 500 companies, developing his abilities to a high level in solution selling and digital creative campaigns.

Currently working as a digital learning consultant and an institutional director of LX (Learning Experience), Seann has over 20 years experience in corporate training strategy, adult education and 'train the trainer' programmes.

Sergio Alvarez

Hola, my name is Sergio Alvarez, I hail from Bolivia, and I'm passionate about teaching languages.

I'm an enthusiastic individual and I have had substantial experience teaching English, Portuguese and Spanish language over the past 10 years. I've had the pleasure of teaching over 1000 students ranging from early childhood to seniors.

In December 2012 I arrived in New Zealand and have thoroughly enjoyed teaching Spanish in language schools, in companies, and to private students. For some time I also held the position of Academic Director at Auckland Language Academy. Recently I returned to the University of Auckland to continue my own education.

My teaching methods are adaptable and I tailor these to suit the learning style of the student or group. Together with traditional written and oral teaching techniques I bring dynamic and effective ideas to the learning environment. I have had great success with the use of audio and video aids, role-playing, and real-life scenario tests to inspire and motivate students' learning.

Sharon McLean

I began solo traveling in 2012 and my first trip was Mexico and I spoke no Spanish.  I decided to go for four months and spend a couple of those months volunteering to familiarise myself with the country, the culture and the people.  After my volunteering was over, I stepped out into the big wide open and began to travel.  Back in those days, technology consisted of going to the internet cafe to check Facebook and emailing home, sometimes I would book a bed on the Hostelworld website.

Travelling solo also meant I could go where I wanted, when I wanted without the restrictions of time or having to rely or wait for other people. 

A great source of information back then was the Lonely Planet Guide and everybody used it to plan their journeys.  It was not uncommon to go to the next destination, only to find that I would meet up with people who had been at the last destination.  Sometimes we would all travel together for a couple of days.  Having confidence in myself and by talking to other travellers led to me leaving Mexico and spending my final month in Guatemala.

I have since traveled solo to 24 countries and have never looked back.  My world has never been the same….

Sheena Hendon

Sheena is qualified in nutrition and dietetics, transformational health coach, master neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and MBIT practitioner and the founder of well-regarded Auckland based health clinic, Elementa. Sheena takes a holistic and natural approach to health and works with the mind and body to get some profound results with her individual clients and through empowering group seminars and workshops.

Her clients range from teenage tennis stars and high profile business people to stay at home mums, and children. She treats both the symptoms and causes of a variety of health and wellness issues from weight and stress management to chronic fatigue, insomnia and sports performance to name but a few.

Additionally, using NLP and other life coaching skills she works with individuals and groups on anxiety/stress, motivation, effective communication, business and sports performance, self-esteem, being the best you can be and more...

She believes that both orthodox and complementary medicine have a part to play in a person’s quest for health – neither has all the answers but used together they can have incredible results. 

Sheena focuses on NLP/Transformational coaching and holistic health and nutrition in New Zealand and overseas as well as running community and corporate seminars and workshops and writing for health and wellness articles for magazines. See www.sheenahendonhealth.co.nz.

Shona Hurndell

I lost my husband suddenly and everything in my world changed. Two and half years later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have discovered that we are all more powerful than what we think we are. We cannot change life’s events however with changing perception we discover new gifts.

Sibylle Kiehne

I am a kinesiologist, and modern kinesiology uses a lot of wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I noticed that when feminism came up, females learned to copy male energy. No matter whether male or female we need the positive poles of both energies. To spread this information is a deep inner need of mine.

Siobhan Harvey

Siobhan Harvey is the author of eight books, including Ghosts (Otago University Press, 2021 which was long-listed for the 2022 New Zealand Book Awards. She was awarded the 2021 Janet Frame Literary Trust Award for Poetry, 2020 New Zealand Society of Authors Peter & Dianne Beatson Fellowship, 2019 Kathleen Grattan Award for a Sequence of Poems and 2019 Robert Burns Poetry Prize. She's a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Centre for Creative Writing, Auckland University of Technology.

Sophie Spittle

Steve Murray

Steve grew up on the family farm. After leaving school, he worked as an apprentice carpenter and also acquired some joinery skills. Steve gained his trade certificate in carpentry and continued to work for various building companies and contractors in Pokeno, Whangarei and Los Angeles. He returned to Auckland in 1982 and worked as a self-employed builder. Steve owned and operated a Hire-A-Hubby franchise from 2002 - 2023.

Strett Nicolson

Strett has been turning for eight years and tutors alongside others at S2 level and coordinates training at the South Auckland Woodturners Guild. He enjoys helping others learn, develop craft skills and achieve their best.

Sunhee Lee

Sunhee Lee - Japanese

I graduated with a degree in Business Administration from a prestigious university in Japan and completed my postgraduate studies in the same field. Following my academic achievements, I spent seven fulfilling years teaching Japanese at the Tokyo Communication Arts College, primarily working with international students. This experience honed my ability to tailor lessons to meet the diverse needs of learners and foster a supportive learning environment. In 2008, I immigrated to New Zealand and embarked on a rewarding journey as a Japanese home tutor. I engaged with college students, providing support for Japanese language proficiency exams and assisting with coursework. Additionally, I extended my teaching services to adults with a keen interest in Japanese language and culture. This diverse teaching experience has equipped me with the flexibility to adapt my instruction to various age groups and learning preferences. Teaching brings me immense joy, and I find great satisfaction in witnessing the growth and achievements of my students.

Susan Nicoll

I am a well experienced practitioner working full-time to support people of all ages and backgrounds to create the lives they wish for themselves with the resources they currently have. My background includes private counselling, delivery of treatment programmes addressing Alcohol and Drug dependency and supporting those in custody and community settings serving a criminal sentence. I have experience delivering both individual and group based interventions, as well as management experience in a therapeutic setting. I teach this course as I am deeply passionate about guiding people to equip themselves, gain better self-awareness and learn basic skills to make navigating life a pleasure and one through which we can continue to grow.

Susannah MacDonald

I am an artist/musician and art tutor from Auckland, New Zealand. I have a lifelong interest in metaphysics that I express through art and writing. A major theme in all my work, is portals leading to other planes.

Since 2019 part 1,2 and 3 of my four part book series, Echoes From A Time Passage have been published, soon to be followed by 4.

You can find out more at my personal website.

Sushila Sharma

Teresita del Valle Garro Castro

Hello / Hola! My name is Teresita. I am a native Spanish teacher with more than 10 years of certified experience as a teacher.

I am from Argentina but have called New Zealand my home since 2018. I have two degrees: a Bachelor of Educational Psychology and a Teacher of Educational Psychology.

I have taught Spanish to students of different ages at all levels. My teaching experiences have been very positive and I realized how wonderful and gratifying it was to be able to share my own culture with the students and also something that fills me with happiness is to be able to see the progress of those students who start by just saying hello and now they can hold a conversation.

Terry Hobin

An Aucklander born and bred, Terry has been "stumbling along between the immensities" for seven decades. Along the way he developed a passion for his city, its people and history and is now committed to sharing its uniqueness with locals and visitors.

A graduate of Auckland University in Communications and Marketing, other interests include music, art, sport, travel and wine.

Following a lengthy competitions management career with the Auckland and Northern Football Federations, Terry's passion for history brought him into the guiding fraternity. He guides groups across the city sharing multitude stories and insights into who we are and where we are going as a city that now embraces cultures from all around the world. 

Terry has also developed a keen interest in the Maori and European history of Aotearoa New Zealand, having discovered through family history research that several 2x and 3x Great Grandparents were actively involved in the Waikato War of the 1860s.

Thiago Cagna

I have worked with sustainability since 2011 and started to make terrariums six years ago. I like the closed terrarium because I can see how nature behaves. I like to imagine that is how things would be in our planet without us.

Tibor Matus

Tibor is an experienced chef who has been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years. He worked in several Hungarian and Austrian restaurants before moving to New Zealand. He enjoys creating dishes that combine authentic flavours with a modern twist.

Tim Gasson

Tim currently teaches Hospitality and Food Technology fulltime at McAuley High School. Early life was spent between the Hospitality industry as a chef, barman/cellarman/caterer and youth worker, and latter life in secondary education.

Tipene Message

I am currently completing my degree in a Bachelor of Teaching in te reo Māori, and as part of this I have really enjoyed my placements within Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Maungarongo. I am really looking forward to being able to share my knowledge of te reo and encouraging each person on their learning journey. 

Tony Hailwood

Following 10 years as a mortgage advisor I left the industry to focus on coaching individuals with personal money management. With an increasing focus in the industry to build financial literacy, there was a gap between that knowledge and application. My goal was to create a program that could help individuals connect the knowledge to engagement.

Since 2014 I have assisted hundreds of individuals to become more actively engaged with their personal finances empowering them to achieve things they never thought possible.

Tony McNeight

Tutor of Graphic Design students at AUT. Travel Sketch tutor for three years. Advertising art director and commissioned painter, plus children's book illustrator and How to Sketch tutor. I teach because I love seeing the results people get that they never thought possible.

Troy Mentor

I have built a substantial career in hospitality over the last 25 years and have a wealth of experience working within the restaurants and cafes of Auckland and abroad.  My true passion however lies with travels to Mexico to indulge in their vibrant culture and especially tasting the beautiful, complex cuisine built up over the ages. 

I enjoy studying the heritage recipes from various regions of Mexico and have partaken in several cooking school experiences in Oaxaca amongst others to garner further experience in this space. 

Currently I live out on Auckland’s west coast at Piha where I enjoy surfing, long walks on the beach with my fiancé and listening to jazz. 

Trudy Van Zyl

I'm a Personal Stylist / Image Consultant who loves helping people to look their very best. I believe everyone has the ability to look great. It's just a matter of knowledge.  And, wow, how fantastic people look once they know what colours are right for them.

Tutor TBA

Ursula Utting

Gelatin plate printing is a wonderful way to play with printmaking at home with relative ease. The softness of the gelatin plates allows you to capture and print great detail and the results are impressive. With a background in design and an obsession with colour, gel plate printing allows me to play with these elements!

B.F.A Fashion Major, current student PGDip Creative Arts Therapies

Vanessa Manalo

As a qualified and experienced educator, I enjoy teaching, coaching, and developing people and giving them confidence in their strengths and abilities.

Known for my positive disposition, I have the ability to motivate those around me (colleagues and students) to be the best they can be. I believe in engagement and collaboration as a means of getting high value, high quality results; my work and results are always more than just the sum of the tasks I undertake.

Veronica Ferrer

I am originally from Colombia. I left Colombia in 2001 to go to Melbourne to finish my university studies in Business and Marketing. I moved to NZ in late 2016 and live in Warkworth. In early 2018 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the end of the year I decided to take some time off to properly recover and that is when I discovered my love for dots. On a trip to Colombia I fell in love with a gigantic lazy Susan decorated only with dots and took some classes then. I have always considered myself to be more analytical than artistic and dot painting has provided me with an outlet to explore my artistic side. I really love Dot Art and the world of possibilities that come with it. I find it very relaxing and even meditative. Although I have so far focused on what I call ‘Usable Art’ I am continuously looking for and trying new techniques and applications. I look forward to showing you the basic techniques I use and hope that you enjoy your time with me and leave feeling confident to start your own artistic journey.

Victoria Martinez Azaro

I always thought of the Fashion Industry as my industry. My great grandparents emigrated from Italy to Argentina in the 1900 bringing their textile knowledge and traditions with them. They built a life for themselves in the New World by weaving thick woollen blankets in their factory in Villa Alsina, Buenos Aires. My mother remembers going to Italy for six months in the 1940’s when she was only four years old while my grandfather acquired weaving machines and technical equipment and support for their factory in Argentina.

At age 18 I started my Fashion Design degree in The UBA, Universidad de Buenos Aires. That was the beginning of an exciting career in the fashion industry which saw me acting as a fashion stylist, fashion editor, fashion PR, fashion designer, fashion design lecturer, installation artist…and I fell in love with the process of telling my story through cloth. Also, the best part is that by traveling for work and for study within the industry I met my husband, then moved to New Zealand.

More recently, I have devoted myself to teaching and to my art/design practice. I became an advocate for immigrant women using cloth to tell their story, sustain their craft and celebrate their language and culture.

Sustaining and revaluing cultural practices through fashion has become a crusade of mine. It always was (unconsciously at the beginning) and will always be. Now, with the current fast fashion scenario I feel it’s a MUST to use my knowledge and experience to contribute to the fashion industry in a positive way, to sustain its production as a valuable tool and vehicle for collaboration, for exploration and communication of cultural identity, social awareness and memory, and above all for cultural appreciation in an way which is respectful of our precious planet boundaries and can be sustained for millions of years to come.

CV: Mother of three, fashion designer, fine artist, fashion design lecturer, fashion sustainability advocate, children’s books author/illustrator, passionate about sustaining textile crafts, creator of The Traveling Sewing Box Project (C), researcher of cultural value and  memory in textiles…

 Victoria's blog here

Vinay Gupta

Vinay is a self taught chef, combining a passion for food with a structured logic to his cooking. He has cooked in practically every country in Europe, picking up intricate skills and techniques along the way.  He has also run his  own cooking school and is passionate about teaching and inspiring  people to get joy from their food. 

Wanda Lis

I have recently completed the camino so have lots of relevant tips and info to share with you. As I plan to undertake another camino soon, you may even see me on the trail. Buen camino!

Wayne Lloyd

I have had over 25 years’ experience as an IELTS and ESOL teacher, examiner, and trainer. My IELTS experience extends not only in New Zealand but all around the world with postings in Indonesia, Colombia, Japan, and Vietnam. I am well known and an expert in this field with a mission and a passion to share my knowledge to others. I believe face to face classes covering the strategies and skills needed with direct feedback on writing is essential.

Student comment July 2024: 

Good afternoon,

I would like to send this email to express my congratulations on the courses you offer. Since the beginning of the year, I have been participating in your English courses.

Firstly, I would like to mention Wayne, who is an excellent teacher and has demonstrated a solid knowledge of IELTS. Moreover, he has an exceptional ability to explain difficult concepts clearly. His patience and ability to adapt lessons according to different learning styles ensure that all students can understand the content. He is without a doubt a great teacher, and I would recommend everyone to take IELTS classes with him.

Secondly, Christine. Through dynamic activities and games, she motivated us to improve our pronunciation. Her experience inspires us to travel more and to have more confidence when speaking English. Finally, the teacher who replaced Christine in the pronunciation class was excellent in my opinion. Although I only had one class with her, I could clearly appreciate her knowledge and experience.

Thank you for offering such enriching courses and for having such dedicated and talented teachers.

Best regards, FP

Yu Takano

I’m a Japanese pastry chef and mum. I have been living New Zealand for 5 years and I run a small patisserie business from home. I hope to share my love of baking with you all.

Yvonne van Dongen

Yvonne van Dongen has been a travel editor and writer for over 20 years. She's edited the travel section of the largest newspaper in New Zealand as well as the country's first dedicated glossy travel magazine. She's worked at Conde Nast Traveler in New York. Yvonne has won numerous travel writing awards including a fellowship to study travel writing at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

Yvonne has a BA in English & Religious Studies, as well as a post-graduate diploma of Journalism from the University of Canterbury. In 2016 she did an MA in Creative Writing at the IIML in Wellington. She also teaches travel writing at the University of Auckland, and lives in Auckland City.