Secretary for Education: Iona Holsted
Iona Holsted was appointed as Secretary for Education on 5 December 2016.
Prior to this, Iona was the Chief Review Officer and Chief Executive of the Education Review Office. She was appointed to this role in July 2014.
Between 2007 and 2014 Iona held four senior management roles at the Ministry of Social Development, most recently as Deputy Chief Executive, Students, Seniors and Integrity Services. In this role she was responsible for services to seniors (superannuation payments), Studylink, and the integrity of the benefit system.
Iona also spent six years as a Deputy Commissioner at the State Services Commission.
She started her career as a primary school teacher in Auckland, later becoming an advocate and researcher for the Public Service Association and then as General Manager of a community controlled primary health care organisation.
Iona has completed an executive leadership programme at the INSEAD Business School, and studied strategic leadership at Oxford University.
She has been a mentor with the New Zealand Institute of Management since 2007, a Member of the Executive Leadership Learning Network and has served on Barnardos and YMCA Greater Wellington Boards.
Iona has a Higher Diploma of Teaching from Victoria University of Wellington and trained as a teacher at Waikato College of Teacher Education.
Deputy Secretary, Sector Enablement and Support: Katrina Casey
Katrina is Deputy Secretary for Sector Enablement and Support at the Ministry, responsible for ensuring all support to the sector and operations and programmes provided directly to learners are focused on maximising learner achievement.
Katrina has extensive experience across a range of public sector settings. She was General Manager of 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.
Deputy Secretary, Parents, Whānau and Communities: 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.
Head of Education Infrastructure Service (EIS): 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. As Head of EIS, Kim introduced the first new schools PPP (public-private partnership) in education.
In Kim’s role of Head of Education Infrastructure Service (EIS), she is responsible for ensuring New Zealand’s schools are safe and inspiring learning environments, and oversees management of a $23.5 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 holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and English and a Diploma in Secondary Teaching from Canterbury University. Prior to joining the Ministry, Kim worked at the Department of Internal Affairs and the State Services Commission.
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.
Acting Deputy Secretary Early Learning and Student Achievement: Karl Le Quesne
Karl was seconded to the acting Deputy Secretary Early Learning and Student Achievement in October 2016.
His previous role was Associate Deputy Secretary Early Learning and Student Achievement. He has led a number of functions in the Ministry including policy, funding, regulatory, Better Public Services, and ICT programmes, covering special education, early childhood education and other areas.
Karl has been with the Ministry since 2000 and has held a number of significant roles within the organisation such as Group Manager, Education Work Programme, Group Manager, Early Childhood Education, Director, Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Programme, Senior Manager, Education Management Policy, among others.
Karl has an Honours Degree in Geography from Victoria University of Wellington, and was a Leadership Development Centre Fellow in 2014.
Deputy Secretary, Education System Policy: Dr Andrea Schöllmann
Andrea took on the role of Deputy Secretary, Education System Policy, 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 policy areas. Prior to this, Andrea worked at the then Ministry of Economic Development, in regional and sector development roles, for 7 years.
The Education System Policy 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. The group provides policy advice on early childhood education and schooling, and on the performance of the education system for Māori and Pasifika learners. It also has a focus on strengthening the medium to longer term strategic focus of the education system, and manages the Vote Education Budget. The group is also leading the development of a social investment framework for education.
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.
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, People Capability, Business Services and Procurement.
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 3 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: Kingi Matutaera Ihaka (Matu)
Māori: Te Raumawhitu Kupenga MatuTe 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. MatuTe Rau supports the Secretary for Education and the Leadership Team by providing advice on policy issues and the Ministry’sministry’s capability and performance in cultural contexts.
Matu has been part of the Te Ao Māori team supporting the previous Chief Advisor, Te Rau Kupenga, working acrossjoins us from the Ministry to support Māori achievement. Heof the Environment, where he was contracting ata Deputy Secretary supporting strategic direction and governance for the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, whereMinisters on Treaty of Waitangi negotiations and iwi relationships. Previously he supportedwas Chief Legal Counsel for the refreshOffice of theirthe Māori Strategy, Te Arataki,Trustee, a presenter on both TVNZ and engagement with iwi/Māori. He has also contracted to the Ministry of Health supporting Māori Health Providers from Te Hāpua to Awarua (Bluff)Television and was recently a board member of the National Health Information Technology HealthBroadcasting Standards Authority, the first Māori Board Consumer Panel and Patients First Steering Group. Currently a member ofMember in the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners Quality Advisory Committee, Matu was a member21 year history of the Steering Group for Aiming for Excellence, a quality improvement framework for GPs throughout New Zealand, released in August 2016.authority.
Deputy Secretary Evidence, Data and Knowledge: Dr Craig Jones
Craig was appointed to the role of Deputy Secretary, Evidence, Data and Knowledge in May 2016.
Originally from Invercargill and a graduate of Otago University, Craig has been involved in the New South Wales public service for most of his career. All of his roles have had a strong focus on research and evaluation to inform policy decisions with evidence about ‘what works’, for whom and under what conditions. He has held leadership roles in Justice and in the NSW Treasury and, most recently, at the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation within the New South Wales Department of Education. In his most recent role, Craig was overseeing the evaluation of major reform initiatives across the NSW education system and other strategic research projects to inform education policy decision-making. Craig holds a PhD in forensic psychology from the University of New South Wales.