At the time of the hearing Iona Holsted was the Secretary for Education and Chief Executive of Te Tāhuhu (the Ministry of Education).  A trained teacher, she held senior roles in the public sector including Chief Executive and Chief Review Officer of the Education Review Office, Deputy Chief Executive Ministry for Social Development and Deputy Commissioner State Services Commission. Iona’s previous roles had also included leadership of a community-controlled primary health care service, five years with the Public Service Association and President of the Student Teachers’ Association of NZ.  Iona’s evidence included information about Te Tāhuhu and its role and operations pertinent to the hearing.

David Wales

At the time of the hearing David Wales was the National Director Learning Support Delivery within Te Mahau. He held this position for eight years and holds a PhD and a Diploma in Clinical Psychology. Prior to joining Te Tāhuhu David worked for the New Zealand Department of Corrections for 20 years – holding a range of senior positions including Director of Psychological Services, and other senior roles leading the development of effective rehabilitation interventions. He spent 10 months on secondment to the Treasury where, as Manager Analytics and Insights, he established a new team to conduct system level analysis on government data to provide a cross-agency evidence base for policy makers to develop solutions to social issues.  Earlier in his career he worked in the alcohol and drug treatment field and in a regional forensic psychiatry service in the United Kingdom. In his role as National Director, he led the shift in Te Tāhuhu’s focus from special education to the wider notion of learning support and introduced better ways of delivering specialist services to children with learning needs. 

Rachael Vinck

At the time of the hearing Rachael Vinck was Te Tāhuhu’s Manager, National Service Support and Guidance, Learning Support Service Delivery, Te Pae Aronui. Rachael had worked in Learning Support service delivery since she graduated in 2002. Initially, as a speech language therapist working directly with whānau and educators before a range of regional leadership roles, and then in her national role, managing a team of specialists providing advice on evidence based and inclusive learning supports in the New Zealand education system.

Yvette Guttenbeil Po’uhila

Yvette Guttenbeil Po’uhila, Ko Moana nui a Kiwa Ahau, Ko au ko Moana Nui a Kiwa. Yvette’s heritage spans the Pacific and found roots in Tonga and Aotearoa. She is a daughter of the Pacific migration, settlor of central west Auckland and co-navigator with her whānau, her chosen whanau and the systems and spaces that they have collectively encountered, some successfully others not so. In her position at the time of the hearing, Yvette managed the Auckland Pacific work programme, seeking and creating opportunities for Pacific learners, their families and communities to thrive in learning, achievement and lived experiences. Yvette had been in this role for 3 years. Previously, she had managed education area teams, regional early learning teams, network and assessment teams in Auckland and Te Tai Tokerau. Yvette had also worked with Child Youth and Family, Auckland Public Health, Health Research Council and Pacific Community Health. She had been principal investigator for research projects for Family Violence and Gambling and continued to have an interest in sovereignty and integrity of research, data and insights. Yvette had recently been seconded to work on the Te Mahau operating model.