Philip Alexander-Crawford - Chair
Phil joined our board in October 2019. He is the Director Transition Management at NorthTec overseeing ROVE. Over the last 20 years he has taught law and business part time at NorthTec and other institutions in New Zealand and China. He has combined that with practising law, working in the property industry and most recently bringing his experience to help Māori organisations to support tauira in their studies.
10 Things you didn't know about Benjamin:
- My middle name is Nitama. This was in honor of Dr. Manahi Nitama Paewai, a close whanau friend in Kaikohe where I was born.
- I was involved with project work as a 16 year old schoolboy with the Community Arts Council in Whangarei which started to teach me about event management, fundraising and having a good time.
- My favorite musician is Miles Davis whose album 'Kind of Blue' I play whenever I write (and never gets sick of).
- I'm a published author of 4 chapters on Commercial Law in NZ (Thomson Reuters) a project that took 5 years.
- I studied Art and Art History throughout my school years, something that has been invaluable in life.
- I'm an avid collector of Tonka trucks since age 6 which I fully intend to restore one day.
- I've been married to Nicki since 1993 and we have 4 children living, studying or working in Whangarei, Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin.
- I spend a day a week working voluntarily on boards including the Sisters of Mercy Taiaki Manatu Trust with faith being a big part of his makeup.
- I went through a phase of owning V8 Holden's but now I prefer to catch the bus to work when I can.
- I'm trying to complete my PHD and have been for some time.
Dr Carol Peters - Trustee (WDC Representative)
Carol is our WDC appointed representative to the board. She is a strong advocate for the arts, social and community development.
Her links in Northland include One Double Five Community House Whare Awhina, best known for its free legal services; Tai Tokerau Emergency Housing Trust; Open Arms day centre for the homeless; and Northland’s Food Rescue. She is also a key member of Tai Tokerau Climate Change Action and a founding member of Northland television channel and video production company CNorth.
10 Things you didn't know about Carol P:
- I built our own house
- I have collected shells all my life
- In our ngahere, there are glow worms
- I illustrated children books for a living in Singapore
- My 3 children were born in different countries – Saudi Arabia, Singapore and New Zealand
- I was the first ‘ticket girl’ for the first rodeo in Whangarei
- I have painted and drawn all my life and exhibited with friends as the ‘Stroppy Tarts”
- All our family still live on our family farm in Maunu. We have lived there for 5 generations – since 1907
- For 20 years my high jump was the record for Whangarei Girls High School
- In 1982 I coded an early animation of a cat. It was written on a 8 bit, 16 kb, ZX Spectrum Computer
Carol Ashton
Carol loves her job as Programme Manager for Springboard Trust in Northland, supporting Principals with strategic planning and leadership development programmes.
Carol says ‘I am really excited by the opportunity to become a trustee for Creative Northland, and to contribute to fostering creativity, especially for our young people’.
10 Things you didn't know about Carol A:
- I love World Music
- I love to create with fabric – especially upcycling items
- I am a proud foundation member of Intercept Fabric Rescue
- I came to Northland as a very young teacher in Kawakawa
- I am the proud mother of three wonderful young men and three delightful stepchildren
- I am Granny Carol to six grandchildren
- I spent six years teaching in International Baccalaureate schools in Indonesia and China
- My wife Dee and I love to cook, and entertain - a passion for sourdough bread and soups
- My best ever travel experience was hot air ballooning in Cappadoccia, Turkey
- My second best was a cruise up the coast of Alaska
Geoff Bartlett
In his career, Geoff has worked as an actor, journalist, author and script writer. As an actor, Geoff has appeared in feature roles on Australian TV shows such as All Saints, Big Sky, Water Rats, and Home and Away. As a journalist, his articles and interviews have run in The Sydney Morning Herald, The West Australian, The New Zealand Herald and Pacific Island Paradises. He is also the author of four books and has taught writing workshops in both NZ and previously at the Australian Writers Centre in Sydney for 10 years. As a script writer, Geoff wrote for TV programs such as Good News Week, Comedy Inc and Life Support. He has written and produced three short films and in 2019, he had a feature film script, Memory Lane optioned by a local film production company.
10 Things you didn't know about Geoff:
- I play bridge
- I am left handed
- I grew up in Sydney
- I have been living in Whangarei for 5 years
- I played baseball for over 20 years
- I have had three books commercially published
- Last year I had a feature film script optioned in NZ
- In Australia, I taught workshops in improvisation
- I acted in the play, Calendar Girls at the Octagon theatre in 2017
- I was a travel writer for 10 years
Ataria Rangipikitia Sharman
Ataria Sharman (Ngāpuhi, Tapuika and Pākehā) is a writer and editor. She is the creator of Awa Wahine, Kaiwāwāhi Kaupapa Māori at The Pantograph Punch and a Creative Northland board member. Ataria has a Masters of Arts in Māori Studies and her dissertation focussed on Mana Wahine and the Atua Wāhine. During her Master’s studies she wrote the manuscript for children’s fiction novel Hine and the Tohunga’s Portal. This was one of five selected for Te Papa Tupu 2018 and is scheduled to be published by Huia Publishers in July 2021. Ataria’s writing has been published on E-Tangata, The Pantograph Punch, Awa Wahine, Ensemble, Love in the Time of COVID: A Chronicle of a Pandemic, Creative Junction and The Māori Literature Trust, and her poetry was featured in IHO: A Collaborative Exhibition about Māori Hair. Ataria curated two events for Verb Festival in 2019. Ataria grew up in Te Whanganui-a-Tara and now lives in Whangārei, Te Tai Tokerau with her partner Te Piha Niha.
10 Things you didn't know about Ataria:
- My marae in Te Tai Tokerau is in Matauri Bay
- My partner and I adopted a stray cat called Piko
- Huia Publishers are publishing my first children's fiction novel 'Hine and the Tohunga Portal'
- I did my Masters of Arts in Māori Studies on Mana Wahine and Atua Wāhine
- I created a digital platform called Awa Wahine for wāhine to share their writing
- I grew up in Te Whanganui-a-Tara
- I am obsessed with Anime and Webtoons
- I work part-time at Whangarei District Council in the Community Development team
- My partner and I have a herbal tea business called Tī Aroha which you can find locally in the InnoNative pop-up store and Forward
- I am a Co-Editor at The Pantograph Punch