Our leadership team

Deputy Secretary Early Learning, Parents and Whānau: Rawiri Brell

Rawiri, of Te Arawa (Ngāti Whakaue – Ngāti Rangitihi), trained as a teacher in Hamilton and is a graduate of the University of Waikato and Victoria University of Wellington.

He specialised in bilingual education as a Principal and Senior Lecturer and became head of Māori Studies at Hamilton Teachers College in 1990.

He spent three years as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Ministry of Education’s management and organisation policy section before an appointment as Education Manager in the Office of the Race Relations Conciliator.

In 1992 he was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship to study teacher education policy and multiculturalism in England, Scotland and Wales. Rawiri returned to the Ministry in May 1994. In 2001 he participated in the Henley Management College’s Executive Management Programme.

The Early Learning, Parents and Whānau Group has overall responsibility for Early Learning and Early Childhood Education. Complementing this are responsibilities for overseeing the implementation of Ka Hikitia and the Pasifika Education Plan. The group has two regionally based teams, one that supports relationships with over fifty iwi and a smaller number of pan Māori education organisations. The second team works directly with whānau principally to develop and implement whānau education plans. The Better Public Service goal of 98% participation in ECE in 2016 is the responsibility of this group.

Deputy Secretary Priority Education Assignments: Apryll Parata

In July 2013, Apryll was appointed to the role of Deputy Secretary Priority Education Assignments. This group has been established to respond to urgent projects identified by the Secretary for Education.

Apryll has previously held two other Deputy Secretary roles within the Ministry. Deputy Secretary Māori Education in late February 2007, bringing a wealth of experience in education to this position. Deputy Secretary Performance and Change in April 2012. This group was charged with organisation-wide performance measurement, monitoring and improvement.

She has taught and held management positions in a number of secondary schools on the East Coast and in the Wairarapa.

Apryll has a BA in Māori Studies from Waikato University and a Diploma of Secondary Teaching. As well as being a teacher she has been Principal of Ngata Memorial College in Ruatoria, a Private Secretary to a Minister of the Crown and has also been the Director Education Practice at Gardiner Parata Ltd since 1997.

Some of her work as a consultant has included working in the area of Māori medium education, and facilitating reviews of planning processes at Te Puni Kōkiri.

Apryll has tribal affiliations with Ngāti Porou and Ngāi Tahu.

Deputy Secretary Sector Enablement and Support: Katrina Casey

Katrina was appointed to the role of Deputy Secretary Sector Enablement and Support in July 2012.

Prior to this, Katrina was General Manager Community Probation Services at the Department of Corrections, leading 2,500 staff across 220 locations to manage offenders serving community sentences and orders. Katrina joined Corrections as General Manager Strategic Development when it was formed as a new Department in 1995. She had previously worked in the Inland Revenue Department and the Ministry of Works and Development.

Katrina holds a Bachelor of Science from Canterbury University and a Masters in Regional and Resource Planning (with Distinction) from Otago University.

In her role as Deputy Secretary Sector Enablement and Support, Katrina is responsible for ensuring all support to the sector and operations and programmes provided directly to learners focus on maximising learner achievement.

Sector Enablement and Support was newly formed in early 2012 to bring together the Ministry’s service delivery functions into one place. Also a critical priority is the significant Education Renewal Programme in Christchurch, which will provide considerable learning opportunities for the rest of the country.

Deputy Secretary, Graduate Achievement, Vocations and Careers: Claire Douglas

Claire joined the Ministry on 1 May as Deputy Secretary Graduate Achievement, Vocations and Careers. Claire is from Wellington and has held a number of policy leadership roles in central government on education policy matters. Her most recent role was at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Prior to that Claire worked in the Treasury from 2004 to 2010 and as a senior manager in the Ministry of Education from 1990 to 2004. An earlier role held by Claire was in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries as an Agricultural economist.

Claire has a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Victoria University and an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Science.

The Graduate Achievement, Vocations and Careers Group is responsible for tertiary education strategy, policy, sector performance analysis, youth guarantee and vocational pathways, and international education. We work in a variety of ways to ensure young people transition successfully into work or further study. We also help New Zealand compete internationally as a place to study.

Deputy Secretary Early Learning and Student Achievement: Lisa Rodgers

Lisa was appointed to role of Deputy Secretary, Early Learning and Student Achievement in October 2015.

Prior to this, Lisa was the Deputy Secretary Evidence, Data and Knowledge where she built a strong group and function focused on using research and analysis to identify where effort and resources can best help children, young people and students achieve.  Lisa has held several other significant posts at the Ministry and has a strong public sector background in strategic policy, research and insights analysis with the Ministry of Justice, the University of Wales and the British Army.

Lisa has two children aged 15 and 11. In her limited spare time she runs marathons to relax. 

Deputy Secretary, Education System Performance: Dr Andrea Schöllmann

Andrea took on the role of Deputy Secretary, Education System Performance, in November 2013. She joined the Ministry of Education in 2007, and since then has held a number of senior management roles, in the tertiary, international and system performance areas. Prior to this, Andrea worked at the then Ministry of Economic Development, in regional and sectoral development roles for 7 years, 4 of those in management positions.

The Education System Performance Group is responsible for strategic policy advice on education system settings, including advice on the system’s ability to deliver material improvements for learners at all levels. It has a particular focus on strengthening the medium to longer term strategic focus of the education system, including questioning current approaches. The Group also manages the Vote Education and Vote Tertiary Education Budgets, and has responsibility for monitoring the education system Crown entities.

Andrea holds a PhD and a Masters degree from Lincoln University, where she lectured for some years in tourism geography. She emigrated to New Zealand from Germany in 1990, so she also holds a number of German qualifications in the area of business management and administration, and she worked in the private sector in Germany.

Head of Education Infrastructure Service: Kim Shannon

Kim is a highly experienced operational and policy leader, who has been with the Ministry since 2000. She has led significant change in the Ministry, specialising in building value, driving good business practice and high standards of public service.

She has led programmes to unwind bulk funding, bring together multiple policy teams into one group, and managed major staffing reviews. As Programme Director for the Schools Plus initiative, she led a cross-government approach to lift achievement in education by developing pathways between secondary and tertiary education.

Kim was involved in the early part of Christchurch’s recovery, driving the business case for the capital works programme through to Cabinet’s approval. Kim also delivered the first new schools PPP (public-private partnership) in education.

As Head of Education Infrastructure Service (EIS), Kim is responsible for ensuring New Zealand’s schools are safe and inspiring learning environments, and oversees management of a $22.7 billion property portfolio, with a $600 million annual property spend.

EIS also delivers school transport assistance to more than 100,000 students in rural areas and students with special needs, drives better use of technology in schools through improved ICT infrastructure, and the upgrades of all school IT networks, and ensures accurate, on-time payment for state education school employees.

Kim has also worked at the Department of Internal Affairs, the State Services Commission and for the Minister of Education.

Deputy Secretary People, Capability and Resources: Zoe Griffiths

Zoe was appointed Deputy Secretary of the new People, Capability and Resources group on 16 February 2015.

The role is responsible for the Ministry’s organisational capability ensuring the critical people, processes, systems and infrastructure is in place to achieve the business strategies of the Ministry. The functions within this group include: IT, Finance, Procurement, Shared Services, Human Resources, Business Continuity and Privacy and Security.

Prior to working for the Ministry, Zoe was seconded from the Ministry of Social Development to work as Director of the Ministerial Inquiry into Novopay. She was appointed to the Ministry’s Leadership Team as the Director of the Secretary’s Office on 1 June 2014.

Prior to this Zoe has held a range of senior roles in the Ministry of Social Development, including General Manager – Care and Protection Support in the Child, Youth and Family Service and General Manager Strategy and Service Development in Work and Income.

Zoe has a Bachelor of Laws from Auckland University.

Deputy Secretary Strategy, Planning and Governance: Ellen MacGregor-Reid

Ellen started with the Ministry of Education as Deputy Secretary Strategy, Planning and Governance on 28 May 2015. In this role Ellen is responsible for business strategy, education system stewardship, planning and governance, risk and assurance, legal services, communications, ministerial services and support for the Chief Executive.

Ellen joined the Ministry from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), where she was Deputy Director for the Policy Advisory Group and policy advisor to the Prime Minister on social sector issues. Prior to her three years with DPMC, Ellen had spent almost 5 years at the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).

At MSD Ellen held a variety of roles including General Manager Social Sector Strategy, General Manager Planning, Performance and Governance, and Deputy Director of the Chief Executive's Office.

Ellen began her public service career at the Treasury over 13 years ago. She holds a Master of Arts in Geography from the University of Auckland.

Raukura/Chief Advisor Te Ao Māori -
Te Raumawhitu Kupenga

Te Rau has been appointed to a new senior leadership role which works across the Ministry to ensure all our work helps us to lift Māori achievement. Te Rau supports the Secretary for Education and the Leadership Team by providing advice on policy issues and the ministry’s capability and performance in cultural contexts.

Te Rau joins us from the Ministry of the Environment, where he was a Deputy Secretary supporting strategic direction and governance for the Ministry and Ministers on Treaty of Waitangi negotiations and iwi relationships.  Previously he was Chief Legal Counsel for the Office of the Māori Trustee, a presenter on both TVNZ and Māori Television and a board member of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, the first Māori Board Member in the 21 year history of the authority.