Board of Trustees
Steven Khov – Co Chairperson
steven@haroldthegiraffe.co.nz
I remember visiting a Life Education classroom when I was in primary school, meeting Harold and seeing the stars on the roof. I became involved with Life Ed because I am passionate about our tamariki learning about healthy habits and making good choices. I also hope that they share their learnings from Life Ed and Harold with their whanau and community. I also have a strong interest in governance which aligns with being part of LETAW as a trustee.
I am currently the co-chair of LETAW and with our two mobile classrooms and educators we bring the Life Ed program to as many primary and intermediate schools in the Auckland West area as we can. With the challenges in todays society, I believe Life Ed plays an even more vital role with educating our tamariki from a young age to understand that making good choices are important.
Outside of Life Ed, I have a day job as a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner and I am also on the BoT of Summerland Primary School. I have two tamariki of my own, Isaac and Katie, a beagle named Brian and cat named Muffin. Apart from weekend sport duties and life admin, I value any spare time I have by spending it with family and close friends.
Peter Young – Co Chairperson
peter@haroldthegiraffe.co.nz
Peter is a proud Westie, having lived in West Auckland for 25 years. He is married and has three children; the youngest of whom, Dylan, is hearing impaired. Their experiences with their young son have led both he and his wife to be past Parent Ambassadors for Ronald McDonald House and Peter is a past Trustee for Hearing Dogs New Zealand.
Peter and his family spend their weekends playing a variety of sports – football, horse riding, and even bowls.
Professionally, Peter has over 30 years’ experience in the New Zealand and Australasian IT industry across both the reseller and distribution sectors. He is currently a member of the Senior Leadership Team for Lexel Systems in New Zealand and has been an active mentor with Business Mentors New Zealand. Peter is currently also a long term member of the Board of Community Waitakere who are a community development organisation committed to achieving their vision of connected, thriving and sustainable West Auckland communities.
Peter joined the Board of Life Education Trust nearly a year ago, inspired by the impact a visit from Harold had on his son Dylan and to further his passion for quality education for our children, whānau, and wider communities.
Warren Howe - Trustee
My name is Warren Howe and I have been a trustee with Life Education Auckland West since 2009. I was encouraged to join the Trust by my brother in law who had been a trustee for many years prior. It is a decision I am pleased I made as the tasks involved are very rewarding not to mention working alongside the other trustees who are a fun and dedicated group.
During my time as a Trustee I continue to be amazed at the creative, interesting, and often inspired ways in which the Educators deliver the specialized lessons to the primary and intermediate aged pupils. The Life Education Trust provides a much needed educational community service which dovetails with the Primary school education system, enhancing learning by providing added resources and technology in an engaging manner.
August Prescott - Treasurer
Kia ora, My Name's August (Gus) and I'm a trustee for the Life Education Trust - Auckland West. I'm the proud father of two children who have both been through the Auckland West Life Ed classroom. Their memories of that experience were amazing! The impact that a simple classroom visit made on them is quite enlightening, I still remember the day that my eight year old came home and said "Dad, the lady in Harold's classroom said that we need to talk about my lunchbox, it's got too much sugar". Like a lot of parents, the lunchbox we packed was more driven by the convenience of a quick pack, so I can hit the road to get to work. After that visit with Harold and one of our amazing educators, his lunchbox has never looked healthier and tasted better even all these years later. That visit also made us reassess how we eat as a family beyond just lunch.
And that's why I'm so passionate of Life Education Trust! I've experienced first-hand the positive impact a visit from our classroom has on kids and the ongoing change it can make around eating healthier, making smart choices, dealing with peer pressure and a lot more.
Brenda Cronin
Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa
Ko Waikato tōku awa
Ko Taupiri tōku Maunga
Nō Pukekohe ahau
Ko Terry tōku pāpā
Ko Mary tōku māmā
Ko Mike toku tāne
Ko Kate rāua ko Damian, kō Becky, kō Gareth ōku tamariki
Ko Peninsula Primary o te Te Atatu toku kura
Ko Brenda Cronin tōku ingoa
No reira
Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa
I hail from Pukekohe but have spent most of my working life in West Auckland. I am a trained teacher and now a Principal at a local West Auckland school. I live in Waitakere and enjoy the rural outlook that only West Auckland gives.
I had always wanted to join a board to give back to the community and so my education experience was a really good fit with LETAW. The values around Life Education and teachin our akōnga mirros my own. I love being a part of this great charity and the Auckland West team.
Emma Monaghan
I currently works at Forsyth Barr as an Investment Adviser. I moved to New Zealand in 2007 from the UK. Having a young daughter at primary school, I find the Life Education messages particularly pertinent, especially in terms of empowering kids be become better informed to make safe and healthy choices.
I’m delighted to be part of the awesome team that supports Life Education Auckland West and supporting the great work they do in West Auckland.
Stacey Millar
I’m a born and bred West Auckland native and have always retained super fond memories of visiting Harold at primary school and in my intermediate years.
I value the important messages and teachings that the Life Education delivers to young people and am motivated by the mission to ensure that as many children as possible get the opportunity to learn from and experience Harold. We play an important role in supporting the regular curriculum of learning in NZ schools.
I work for the Hynds Group where I lead the Strategy and Innovation teams. I am also a Board member of Infrastructure NZ.
Karla Morrison - Community Liaison Manager
Karlas career has been focused in various Sales, Marketing and Operations roles for large corporations in both NZ and overseas. She loves to travel and has lived in London, Dublin and Melbourne. Now a proud mum, she is fully engaged in fundraising efforts for her children's school, this led to a role as a one-on-one Teacher Aide working with new entrant neuro diverse children. Being in a classroom environment highlighted to her the extra support teachers require to help educate children on making healthy choices and building meaningful relationships with their classmates.
If you have any questions, or would like to arrange a visit from Harold, I'm the best person to contact and I'd love to hear from you.
