Kia ora from Jess,
Marianne holding her farewell gift of a kete
I have the bittersweet job of leading the farewell of our wonderful co-founder and Director Marianne Elliott.
It is bittersweet because we will miss Marianne in so many ways that words can not do justice to.
We will miss her constant ability to stay so open and curious, and to keep listening to what is needed and responding with humility, graciousness, and fierceness combined. We will miss how fun she is to have around.
While we are so sad to see Marianne go, we fully support her decision to focus her phenomenal brain, considerable energy, steely determination, and generous heart on her new role at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission. Last night some of the team gathered to acknowledge, celebrate and farewell Marianne.
Marianne has been gradually phasing out her time at The Workshop over the last few months as she increased her focus on Te Kāhui Tika Tangata. Her final day with The Workshop team was Thursday 4 April, however Marianne is remaining on the board of The Workshop to ensure we have a stable transition to our new structure and the organisation will continue to benefit from her wisdom and knowledge.
When Marianne and I started The Workshop, it was very much an experiment. Would an organisation, one that investigated how to talk about complex issues to achieve ambitious things for people and the planet, have a place in Aotearoa? Would the work have an impact on those ambitious goals? Six years on as Marianne shifts her focus from The Workshop, we have proven there is a place for this work. And more importantly what we hear is the seeds we have planted are growing as people use and experiment with the work. Marianne has been central to both planting the seeds and nurturing this growth.
Marianne and I came, as we like to say, from different sides of the mountain. Me a nerd with heart, Marianne a lawyer with activism in her blood. We brought different strengths and challenges, and wove them together, and it made us more impactful as an organisation.
We were able to start The Workshop because of the faith and trust that the Peter Mckenzie Project board and Iain Hines had in our shared leadership. This co-leadership journey with Marianne has taught me much I am deeply grateful for.
Marianne’s legacy is significant. Some of the things that stand out over her time with us include:
Her expertise in campaigning, advocacy, and movement building helped us understand as an organisation how big change happens, and the role of narratives in that work.
Her strategic mind combined with her strong sense of justice, kept our focus on the people we are here to serve, to always ask what their needs are.
Her storytelling and communication skills carved out a way for us to work that really connected with people.
Listening to the team talk at Lizzie’s welcome Carolyn, our training manager, wisely said what keeps people at a place is often different from what brings them to it. And what I heard from all our team — Julie, Minette, Kiki, Tom, Ellen, and Carolyn — about what keeps them at The Workshop is a sense of kindness, generosity and care (with a good sprinkle of pragmatism).
Some of The Workshop team celebrating Marianne’s farewell. From left Minette, Marianne, Jess, Carolyn, Tom, Julie and Amanda.
Marianne has always been adamant that care for people in the organisation is key. Bringing a generous and open spirit towards people’s full lives and the complexities that brings is central to Marianne’s way of working and being. As my own life has had many complexities in the last few years, I have been very grateful for Marianne not just believing in caring for people having a tough time, but being a leader who acts on that in practical ways. Solidarity is something she lives in that sense.
The values Marianne embodies of justice, usefulness, care and solidarity will continue as part of her legacy, remaining at the core of The Workshop as well as being at the centre of her work at Te Kāhui Tika Tangata.
Ngā mihi Marianne
From Jess and The Workshop whānau