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.
Ramon Narayan
Manager | Youth Worker | Poet | Facilitator
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Ramon is a Poet, DJ, Youth Worker and Facilitator and has worked with young people for the last 19 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 Arkind
Poet | Facilitator | Educator | Mentor
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Ken Arkind is an poet and performer with over 15 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 is the author of two collections of poetry, and has appeared on multiple TEDx Stages, HBO, The Huffington Post, TVNZ, and in the pages of Forbes Magazine. Ken 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 Rahui
Funding Coordinator | Administrator | Advocate
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Julia comes from a large Irish and Māori whānau and is passionate about culture, art, music, social justice and community. She is particularly interested in the intersection between the arts and youth development.
Julia works as the Action Education Funding Coordinator. She has more than 17 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 Feenstra
Administrator | Organiser | good sort
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Hannahs 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. |
Talia Stanley
Facilitator | Poet | Alumni
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Talia 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. |
Manaia Tuwhare-Hoani
Poet | youth development worker | intern
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Manaia (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai) is a young wahine Māori spoken word poet with a passion for storytelling.
She uses spoken word as a platform to bring unspoken Māori issues and topics to light. She does this as part of the poetry collective, Ngā Hinepūkōrero. Together, Ngā Hinepūkōrero have participated in and won WORD - The Front Line in Auckland, the Trans Tasman Slam in Melbourne, and been semi-finalists at Brave New Voices, the largest international youth poetry slam in the world. |
OUR COLLABORATORS
Meet the team of volunteers and contractors who support our programmes, projects and events.
Marina AlefosioMarina Alefosio is a proud NZ-born Samoan, South Aucklander and the Mum of two amazing teenagers. She is a passionate artist continuously learning new methods and modes of storytelling with the aim of supporting youth and communities to develop their sense of voice and agency to articulate their identity and purpose in the world.
She is currently the Youth Development Lead at health and wellbeing organisation Le Va Pasifika. |
Onehou StricklandOnehou Strickland is a poet and facilitator from the heart of South Auckland. She now finds herself in the world of film and TV as a writer, editor, media operator and director.
Amongst the hussle and bustle of her day jobs, Onehou has a not-so-secret love for poetry and rangatahi and will jump ship as much as possible to visit with future leaders and help them explore their poetic gifts. |
DJ StashDJ Stash (Ngā Puhi) is an underground rapper and DJ.
He can often be found lending his talents at Action Education events big and small. |
Laurent DunninghamLaurent Dunningham is a passionate spoken word artist, professional hip hop dancer, choreographer and singer. In 2010 she moved to Melbourne where she competed in the Victorian State slam finals, and worked as a facilitator for The Centre for Poetics and Justice.
Poetry has taken Laurent to New York where she taught spoken word poetry at Camp Amerikids in 2011/12. She has been a member of The South Auckland Collective Poets since 2015. |
Arihia HallArihia Hall (Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Tukorehe, Te Arawa) is a spoken word poet and student at the University of Auckland.
She is a member of the spoken word and arts collective Ngā Hinepūkōrero. Together, Ngā Hinepūkōrero have travelled to Australia, the United States and across Aotearoa sharing stories that highlight Māori people and mana wahine. |
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. |