Action Education is run by a dedicated and passionate core team of creatives surrounded by a community of creators, facilitators, mentors and artists who support our programmes on a volunteer and contract basis.
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Ramon NarayanMANAGER | yOUTH wORKER | pOET | fACILITATORRamon is a Poet, DJ, Youth Worker and Facilitator and has worked with young people for the last 20 years. In 2016 he was honoured with a Local Hero award for his work in the community.
He is the co-founder of the South Auckland Poets Collective and has served young people in many different capacities from facilitating groups, leading youth advisory and participation processes, mentoring to coordinating events and developing youth development tools and models. In 2010 Ramon took on the role of Action Education Manager, which has seen him facilitate and develop several programmes including the DJ Breakdown, Drama Toolkit, WORD – The Front Line and spoken word poetry programmes, while supporting a team of youth workers and facilitators. |
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Ken Arkindteam leader | POET | EducatorKen Arkind is a poet and performer with over 16 years of experience as a spoken word arts educator and youth worker.
A United States National Poetry Slam Champion Ken has performed his work and facilitated workshops across the world. He helps produce the NZ National Poetry Slam and is the author of two collections of poetry. Ken has appeared on multiple TEDx Stages, HBO, NBA.COM, The Huffington Post, TVNZ, and in numerous anthologies. He is deeply passionate about the power of using creativity as a tool for youth development and social change and believes that art can be a compass that we use to navigate the world. He holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Creative Writing from the Manukau Institute of Technology. |
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Julia RahuiFunding Coordinator | AdvocateJulia comes from a large Irish and Māori whānau and is passionate about tikanga, te taio, social justice and community connection. She is particularly interested in indigenous knowledge and its positive impact on human development.
Julia works as the Action Education Funding Coordinator, and she manages several key stakeholder relationships. She has more than 20 years’ experience in the non-profit sector. Her career spans project management, youth development work, coordination of a community radio station and art gallery and experience working in Vanuatu for an indigenous music and arts trust. |
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Hannah FeenstraAdministrator | Organiser | good sortHannahs supports organisations doing great things to achieve their purpose and vision.
Her varied career includes work in both the non-profit and business sectors from conservation, co-housing and the coffee industry to mobility support services and running her own cafe. She enjoys the challenge of finding solutions and strategies that support, enable and empower people. She holds Bachelor of Health Science from the University of Auckland and a Masters in Entrepreneurship from the University of Otago. In her spare time you will find her cooking, eating or exploring Aotearoa’s beautiful outdoors. |
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Talia StanleyFacilitator | Poet | AlumniTalia is a poet, facilitator and WORD - The Front Line alumni. She has nine years of experience performing, supporting and facilitating spoken word poetry.
Talia is currently studying a Bachelor Of Arts in Creative Writing at Massey University. She is passionate about encouraging and creating spaces for young people to cultivate their creativity for truth, progression and change. |
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Manaia Tuwhare-HoaniPoet | youth development worker | MentorManaia Tuwhare-Hoani (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai) is a young wahine Māori spoken word poet with a passion for storytelling. She does this as part of the poetry collective, Ngā Hinepūkōrero.
Together, Ngā Hinepūkōrero participated in WORD - The Front Line 2018 in Auckland, the Trans Tasman Slam in Melbourne and came out champions. They were the first team from Aotearoa to represent at the 2019 Brave New Voices, the largest international youth poetry slam in the world. She has appeared in media such as Te Karere, The Hui, RNZ and many others. In 2021 NHP did a writers residency at the Auckland Art Gallery as part of the Toi Tū, Toi Ora exhibition. Manaia uses spoken word as a platform to bring unspoken mana Māori issues and topics to light, to explore and expand her own creativity and identity within her culture and to bring that into the classroom. |
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Eric SoakaiPOET | YOUTH DEVELOPMENT WORKER | FacilitatorEric Soakai (they/him) is a Samoan (Poutasi/Falealili) & Tongan (Pangai/Ha’apai) poet/ performance artist born and based out of South Auckland.
They are the 2019 National Poetry Slam (NZ) Champion, recipient of the Indigenous Story Telling Residency in Banff, Canada (2020) has works published and forth coming in various journals including the New Zealand Performance Poetry Anthology (AUP 2022). Eric currently works as a poet and youth worker for Action Education where he creates and facilitates poetry-based workshops for youth across the motu as a means to help pass on the artistic tools that have helped him stand proudly as the person he is today. |
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Zoe WilliamsFUNDING COORDINATORZoe Williams is a freelance funding coordinator and copywriter, alongside rural & off-grid life in Northland, Kaipara.
A decade or two in Arts Management in Auckland and a Communications degree led Zoe to hold skills and arts specific experience in Producing, Marketing, General Management and now Funding. Zoe held a long-term position as Producer & Marketing Director with leading contemporary dance collective, Atamira Dance Company. Learning, in this time – the hard graft of organising professional artist groups and selling their wares! A westie by roots, Zoe came from and shared an ongoing connection with West Auckland arts cornerstone, Corban Estate Arts Centre. “I am interested in dynamic projects, equally dynamic people and something on the forefront, surprisingly I also enjoy the structure that funding coordination brings”. Zoe remembers finding solace in her own poetry in the past; being a regular of K’rds Poetry Live a few years back. “Expression through our words is one of the most accessible forms available!” |
OUR COLLABORATORS
Meet the team of contractors who support our programmes, projects and events.
Noah BrownNoah Te Atakura Brown is a spoken word artist who has been writing and performing poetry for almost 5 years and has loved every second of it.
He is of Samoan and Cook Island descent and carries those cultures and family within his pen whenever he writes. Noah is part of the Verses & Vibes Team, a Word- The Front Line Alumni, and Graphic Designer. |
Matilda ClackMatilda Clack is a poet currently residing in Tāmaki Makaurau. A Word-Up runner up and Word-The Front Line finalist in her final year of high school, Matilda has been involved in coaching, facilitating and performing poetry since. She is a two-time JAFA Regional Finalist and Trans-Tasman Poetry Slam Champion, and her work typically utilises a personal lens to articulate aspects of the human experience.
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DJ MateoDJ Mateo lives by the Mantra "There is no life wihtout music".
Originally from NYC, his work as a live DJ , especially for cruise lines, has lead him to work and live all over the world. Mateo is passionate about entertaining folks from all walks of life. He regularly DJ's Action Education's large slams as well as other community events across Aotearoa. |
Takunda MuzondiwaThere is a lot of power in spoken word, and even more so coming through the lived experience of young creative, Takunda Muzondiwa is a performance artist, speaker and poet from Zimbabwe, Southern Afrika.
She is the 2022 NZ Poetry Slam National Champion, a WTFL Finalist, alumni, and coach. Through spoken word, Takunda expresses the importance of identity and culture as a tool for both self-empowerment for strengthening communities. |
Luani NansenLuani Nansen is a NZ-born Samoan poet hailing from the villages of Falese'elā, Vaiusu, Satapuala, Lauli'i and Apolima Tai.
He is 1/4 of the Verses & Vibes Crew, proud WTFL alumni, and poet. He aspires to be a Grammy award winner for white noise. nah joking. he aspires to be a solid orator, facilitating space, and working with the coolest crew frfr! |
Kamal SunkerKamal Sunker is a proud South African, South Aucklander and New Zealander. Kamal moved to New Zealand in the 1990s and witnessed first hand the challenges that immigrants and families of colour face. He uses digital storytelling as a means to decolonise spaces and tell stories that challenge mainstream ideologies.
Kamal is passionate about mental health, and environmental and social justice. In his spare time he enjoys amplifying the voices of indigenous cultures through music and photography. |
Jack Glaciér
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Jack Glaciér (aka DJ Jack Daniels) is a producer, DJ & party promoter based in central Tamaki Makaurau. A former Word-The Front Line finalist and alumni member, he now contributes to the Action Ed community sonically from behind the decks. Most of his recent work is involved with his DJ crew & club night 'Phys Ed', targeting an audience for alternative dance music & the Karangahape Road club community.
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