Born in Germany with family in Russia, Nikita decided to backpack around New Zealand in 2011 where he met his wife Freya in Picton (of all places!). After stealing her away to Germany for a while they returned to Nelson in 2016 and are now parents to their adorable (mostly) children Alice and Liam.
A trained and registered Social Worker, he coordinates Barnardos Child and Family social services across Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough, and serves on the board of He Matapuna Ora trust, governing coordination of the Family Start service in the Upper South.
When he’s not busy dreaming up new projects for his colleagues or wrestling little toddlers, you can find Nikita exploring the surrounding trails, outside stargazing or nose-deep in a new book. With a love for a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, he has a particular interest in fantasy, philosophy, history, politics, technological innovation, AI and space flight.
His passionate belief in the amazing benefits of hands-on learning through projects and exploration drew him to the Ministry of Inspiration, and he’s excited to help realize the organisations vision with children, youth and their parents all over New Zealand.
"In addition to working with the Ministry of Inspiration Kieron is Director of Product Development for a large global Fintech. Starting out with an Arts degree in Documentary Photography he’s worked across the globe in a plethora of weird and wonderful roles, from Baker to Web Designer. Eventually settling on building customer-focused businesses through software products, with a passion for learning and experimentation.
Father of three (plus two rabbits, and a dog!) who all keep him busy with new projects and regular requests to bake more cakes. In any free time when not learning to play the Ukulele or tinkering with his 3D printer, you’ll find him tramping or mountain biking the stunning landscapes of New Zealand."
Sacha MacDonald of Ngā Puhi, Ngati Ruanui, Ngā Ruahine and European decent has over 20 years experience in business management, human resources, capability development and management accounting. Frequently called upon for organisational capability, recruitment and human capital development projects.
An entrepreneur herself, currently founder and co-founder several businesses, Sacha utilises her years of experience managing businesses and teams to effectively deliver excellence. Her philosophy to business is to develop the people within the business, building their capability to be successful. She is passionate about Maori business and how this can transpire into developing individuals and the wider community around them.
Her primary business Rezource is an outsourcing company. Rezource is a workforce management and recruitment company, operating a shared employee model delivering shared capability and skills with a number of our clients.
Her passion for Maori entrepreneurship is ignited through her company Arewa. Arewa supports Maori development initiatives, organisations and individuals looking to grow agile businesses.
A graduate of the Darden School of Business, an Edmund Hillary Fellow and an EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women 2017, Sacha is driven to create social impact initiatives by creating agile and scalable business models where people are at the heart of the organisation.
Padma, A long-time advocate of learning by discovery and integrating disciplines to inspire and facilitate creative learning
Unintentionally, my own training and work experience seamlessly crosses several disciplines arts-design-mathematics-science and culture which provides me with good insight to support MOI’s STEAMS based programme.
