Board of Trustees

Libby Giles is the current Board Chair, Education Director for the Centres of Asia Pacific Excellence, Programme Coordinator of the Global Citizenship and Education Programme for NZCGS, and a co-founder of Global Citizenship New Zealand.

She is a specialist global citizenship education practitioner and consultant, with considerable experience in the field of transformative education. Her approach to global citizenship education is centred in philosophical enquiry and responsibility.

Libby seeks to empower and equip young people with the knowledge and skills to think critically, act responsibly, and live well. Libby is committed to meeting local and international requirements and goals, and helping others do the same by sharing practical experience.

Prof Chris Gallavin is the current Director of NZCGS. He is the Chief Executive of Sisters of Compassion Group Ltd and the former Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Massey University.

Chris is recognised nationally and internationally as an expert in the area of criminal justice. He has presented at more than 35 conferences, and has in excess of 1000 media citations.

His contribution to Independent Research Solutions is highly valuable and ensures complex legal policy concerns are considered. Chris offers legal consultancy services of the highest standard.

Tahir Nawaz is a senior analyst of Muslim affairs based in Wellington. He has been involved in community service as the President of the International Muslim Associations of New Zealand and First Vice President of Federation of Islamic Association of New Zealand.

Tahir has a Master’s degree in Human Science and specialised in Political Science (International University of Malaysia. IIUM) Tahir is the Current Chairperson of Deen Welfare Trust and provides his services in the roles of NZCGS Board Member; National Executive, Celebration Association of New Zealand; As an Adjunct Fellow in the Wellington Faculty of Education and University Chaplain; Tahir is a White Ribbon Ambassador, and he continues to advocate for equal rights and end to violence towards women; Tahir is also Justice of the Peace for New Zealand. Read more

Jeremy Webb has over 20 years experience on issues of climate change, water, energy, minerals, environmental accounting and development, both in New Zealand and with the United Nations.

He also has a PhD in Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy from University College London where he was “Exploring Preconditions for Effective Global Responses to Climate Change”.

Jeremy recently established the Tiaki Institute including its flagship programme on green growth.

Jamie is director and senior lecturer in Global Studies at the University of Auckland. He trained as a geographer at the University of Colorado (PhD 2008) and the University of Kentucky (MA 2003), and in business at Virginia Tech (BS 1999).

Jamie’s research interests centre on societies and everyday life in mainland Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam. He has written extensively about tourism, with a concentration on the politics of tourism, and maintains active research on urbanization, rural-urban relations, agrarian change, and culture. Jamie’s academic website is here: https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/jamie-gillen.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Auckland Jamie worked at the National University of Singapore (2011-2019), Auburn University (2010-2011), and Miami University-Ohio (2007-2010).

Claire is a Barrister & Solicitor of the NZ High Court with a focus on International Law. She has a MSc in International Relations (LSE, London); and an LLB and BA (Hons) in Diplomacy & International Relations (Canterbury University). She is currently working as a Sustainability / Climate Advisor to accelerate the transition within the aviation sector towards zero carbon.

A member of the NZ Institute of Directors, NZ Institute of International Affairs, Board Member for Ōtautahi/Kaikoura Lottery Community Board, Director of Hollin Consulting NZ.

Previous roles include International Secretary for the Asia Pacific Green Federation, Parliamentary Researcher and Issues Assistant for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Policy Officer.

Guy Fiti Sinclair BA/LLB(Hons) (Auck), LLM(Hons) (Auck), JSD (NYU) is Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Pasifika) at Auckland Law School, and a Senior Research Fellow of the NZ Centre for Public Law (NZCPL). He was previously Ass. Prof. at VUW’s Faculty of Law.

Guy’s principal areas of teaching and research are public international law, the law of international organisations, and international economic law. He was recipient in 2018 of the European Society of International Law Book Prize for “To Reform the World: International Organizations and the Making of Modern States” (OUP, 2017).

He currently has a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship of the NZ Royal Society – Te Aparāngi and was recently accorded a Student Choice Teaching Excellence Award by Auckland University. Guy is also the Programme Coordinator of the NZCGS Global Law and Governance Programme.

Dr Ria Shibata earned her Masters degree in global studies from Sophia University, and Ph.D. in peace and conflict studies from the University of Otago, New Zealand.

She is the Centre’s first Senior Research Fellow, with the support of Toda Peace Institute (Tokyo). She is also a Visiting Scholar at the University of Auckland.

Her primary research interest is in conflict resolution and reconciliation in Northeast Asia with particular focus on the intricate aspects of national identity, historical memory, and competitive victimhood. One of her interests lies in understanding the way collective memories of historical traumas shape a group’s identity, often acting as impediments in restoring damaged relationships between the aggrieved and the aggressor. Read more