Get in touch
The potential of young people in Aotearoa New Zealand is limitless. Access to opportunity is not; nor is it evenly distributed. Aotearoa has one of the highest levels of educational inequality in the developed world. We are working to change this.
Visit
Level 4
228 Queen Street
Auckland
PO Box 2121,
Shortland Street,
Auckland 1140,
Aotearoa, New Zealand
Contact details
For general enquiries:
To enquire about our programme or your application:
To enquire about becoming an Ako Mātātupu partner school:
To enquire about becoming a supporter of our work:
For media enquiries:
Meet the team
Jay Allnutt - Chief Executive
Jay leads Ako Mātātupu the charity, and the Teach First NZ Programme. He started his career as a teacher serving low-income communities, and has worked in education and the non-profit sector throughout his career.
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Michelle Johansson - Programme Director
Michelle is committed to holding courageous spaces for our teachers to step up and change the world. She is particularly interested in the spaces where Education and Equity meet for Pasifika peoples.
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Jono Smith - Programme Director
Jono works to support the network of schools who employ Teach First NZ Programme participants, to effectively support participants to have a positive impact on students and school communities.
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Liam Munday - Recruitment Director
Ko Tarata te maunga, ko Whangaroa te moana, ko Mamaru te waka, ko Ngatikahu ki Whangaroa te iwi. As a part of the Ako Mātātupu recruitment team Liam leads the drive to bring outstanding teachers and future leaders into our flagship programme.
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Sophie Jones - Attraction Lead
Sophie sees education as a strong platform for social change and is passionate about working collaboratively towards an equitable world. Sophie is an alumna of the Teach First NZ Programme, where she was privileged to teach English at Wesley College.
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Jenny Jefferson - Selection Lead
Prior to joining the team Jenny was privileged to teach Primary and is an alumna of Teach First UK. Jenny believes teachers play an essential role in nurturing the next generation, so that all young people can limitlessly achieve their aspirations.
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Joshua Iosefo - Recruitment Advisor
With experience in the education and non-profit sectors, Joshua has worked within schools across Aotearoa. A firm believer in social change, Joshua is passionate about empathy being an important factor in effective teaching.
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Ali Carroll - Recruitment Advisor
An alumna of the Teach First NZ Programme, Ali has had the joy of learning from young people in two of our partner schools, De La Salle College, and Mount Roskill Grammar School and currently supports candidates as the apply for the programme.
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Chas Carroll - Recruitment Advisor
Chas works to ensure the best teachers, leaders, and change-makers are both applying and selected to take part in Ako Mātātupu: Teach First NZ's flagship programme.
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Hannah Renwick - Recruitment Coordinator
Hannah aims to support the stories, spaces, and values of our future teachers and leaders. Working with incredible social-change advocates is her main focus, she wants all individuals to see themselves represented in the education sector of Aotearoa.
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Emily Looker - CEO Coordinator
Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu. Though Emily's role seems small, her role contributes to the greater mission of Ako Mātātupu by taking pressure of the rest of the whānau in their roles, and filling the table with a good spread when the occasion allows.
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Seira Aukuso-Su'e - Pre-Programme Coordinator
Seira works with the Pre-Programme team in supporting our participants and schools network to influence positive change. With roots in Falealili & Mangere, she believes that the next generation will always be, and do, greater things than the last.
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Charles Looker - Kaihautū
A Kaihautū is one who keeps the timing for paddlers on their voyage; so does Charles in ensuring that needs for Māori are met at every stage of the kaupapa, so that our paddlers have all that they need to continue their journey.
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Billy Revell - Programme Manager
A firm believer of servant-leadership, Billy strives in his journey with us to create safe and creative spaces to allow others to tell their story whilst facilitating the growth of our village (Community).
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Jeremy Downing - Programme Manager
Jeremy’s work focuses on the learning, professional development and wellbeing of Teach First NZ participants. He was part of the 2015 cohort, taught for four years at James Cook High School and is actively involved in the Kairapu network.
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Bina Mehta - Accounts Administrator
Bina is passionate about education and the impact it has on young people and thus joined the Ako Mātātupu team in 2015 and has supported the organisation to keep the accounts and finances in order.
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Take our eligibility quiz
Are you eligible to join our flagship programme? Our quiz will help you understand whether you meet our eligibility criteria as well as what subjects you may be able to teach.
Take the eligibility quiz!
Request an info pack
If you would like to find out more about our programme, how it works and who we are looking for, we have created an information pack just for you!