Our people

The Workshop is made up of our team (the Co-Directors and staff) who carry out the work of the trust, our Board of Trustees who provide strategic direction, advice and governance and our associates, who bring their specific skills and expertise to our collaborations with them.

The Team

The Workshop was founded by co-directors Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw and Marianne Elliott.  As a collaborative, The Workshop works with a range of associates who bring diverse expertise and experience to our work.

Marianne Elliott, Co-Director

Jess Berentson-Shaw, Co-Director

Carolyn Blackwell, Training Manager

Carolyn has worked in central and local government, in volunteer roles for community organisations and as a freelance photographer, designer and artist. Most recently, she worked in the director's office of the Waitangi Tribunal as a Senior Business Advisor. Carolyn enjoys working in spaces where she can use her creative, analytical and organisation skills, and workplaces committed to increasing equity for all New Zealanders. She has a background in visual arts and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Carolyn is interested in social psychology, how people connect, communicate and organise themselves.

Email: carolyn@theworkshop.org.nz

Julie Fairfield, Senior Narrative Implementation Advisor

Minette Hillyer, Senior Narrative Advisor - Insights

Minette is a researcher, analyst and writer with more than twenty years’ experience studying and teaching ways of making meaning in the fields of ethnographic, sociological and popular visual culture. She holds a PhD in Rhetoric with a designated emphasis in Film from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was supported by a Fulbright Graduate Student Fellowship, and has been awarded a number of teaching and research fellowships and awards. Before joining The Workshop, she was a member of the Media Studies program at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.

Email: minette@theworkshop.org.nz

Advisory Board & Trustees

The Workshop’s Advisory Board (who are also the trustees) provides advice, guidance and oversight to ensure that The Workshop is implementing its strategy and delivering on our values and mission.

Amanda Reid (Chair) is a researcher with nearly 20 years of experience working in the social and health sectors, covering research, evaluation, and monitoring; service design and delivery; and management and governance.  As a Principal Consultant at BERL, she has worked predominantly on research on the Māori economy; on education and workforce issues; and on monitoring and evaluation projects.  She has an interest in governance following time at the Institute of Directors in the Governance Leadership Centre, and experience on boards, including Dress for Success, Trade Aid, and the Wellington Film Society.

Julie Fry is a consulting economist who divides her time between New York and New Zealand. She is the author of Going Places and Better Lives. Her current work is focused on using wellbeing frameworks to improve outcomes, migration, and encouraging more New Zealanders to be more ambitious about more things.

Associates