TEDxŌmokoroa

Join us for the first ever TEDxŌmokoroa.

We are delighted to welcome our 5 speakers to the stage, sharing their inspiring engaging and insightful talks.

Matt Ensor, an Aucklander, became a civil engineer in 1990, driven by his passion for shaping cities to meet the needs of growing communities.
In 2018, he began exploring how Artificial Intelligence (AI) could contribute to this goal and founded FranklyAI in 2021 to bring these ideas to life. In 2024, Matt established a new company focused on accelerating the adoption of generative AI within New Zealand organisations.

Sarah Lockwood is a Senior Research Fellow at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and has a background in non-profit management and academia. Her PhD and subsequent research examines sociocultural responses to crisis events and maternal inequities in crisis events.
Sarah has presented to industry and academic conferences around the world, and her specialty knowledge has resulted in invitations from international aid organisations and governments to assist in shifting their perspectives on their crisis response strategies.

Helena van der Merwe grew up in rural South Africa and has lived in New Zealand since 2003. She studied singing and music under well-acclaimed masters.
Helena has had a remarkable career spanning music, broadcasting, and social impact.
Music has remained a vital part of her life and fuels her purpose driven approach. She tells us her husband Johan is the love of her life and that she now enjoys life in the slower lane, although she admits it does not always feel like that.

Agam Namgul leads the food Safety Innovation Portfolio for Zespri International, a role focused on mitigating food safety risks across the local and global supply chain.
Agam has a PhD in food safety from the University of Sydney. He has almost 15 years of experience in fresh produce sector, leading programmes on food safety, postharvest, disaster management and market access.
He is passionate about raising food safety awareness across the globe.

Sandra Portegys with over 30 years in education, Sandra is an experienced teacher and leader in a range of New Zealand schools. Sandra has a Diploma in Teaching, a Bachelor of Education and a Masters of Educational Leadership.
Currently Sandra is principal of Ōmokoroa Point School which we think has the best view of any school in New Zealand! Sandra relishes the opportunities she has to explore schooling systems in other countries and reads extensively about leadership, using her knowledge to improve educational outcomes for her students, staff and communitites.