Board of Trustees
Libby Giles
Libby Giles is the Education Director for the Centres of Asia Pacific Excellence, Director of the New Zealand Centre of Global Studies, 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
Prof Chris Gallavin 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.
Dr Kennedy Graham
Dr Kennedy Graham is the Founding Director (2013-20); Board member; and Coordinator of the Global Law & Governance Programme. He has been a diplomat, UN official, university teacher and Member of Parliament. He has a B.Com. (accounting / economics) and MA & PhD in International Relations. He taught at College of Europe, Bruges, (2005-7); Canterbury University, Christchurch, NZ (2006-8); Victoria University, Wellington, NZ (1985-6; 2006-7), and has had fellowships at Cambridge University, UK; Rockefeller Centre (Bellagio, Italy) and Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (Dhaka).
Dr Graham’s current affiliations outside NZCGS are: member, Global Studies Advisory Council (University of Auckland); and Senior Associate, Institute of Governance & Policy Studies (VUW). Read more
Renée Moorjani
Renee Moorjani is a Barrister/Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. She is a commercial lawyer at Fyers Joyce Lawyers, a boutique business law firm in Auckland Central specialising in commercial transactions and dispute negotiation. Renee is currently completing her Masters in Applied Law at the College of Law after completing her LLB/BSc at the University of Auckland.
Renee has served as the Secretary of NZCGS for three years. She is currently a Trustee and Programme Coordinator for the Global Security and Disarmament Programme. Renee has undertaken work on Nuclear Disarmament: TPNW for NZCGS, for which she has represented young global citizens in New Zealand Parliament and at Australian governmental and non-governmental bodies for advocating towards global ratification of the Nuclear Ban Treaty.
Her areas of expertise include Nuclear Disarmament, International Law, Business Strategy and Dispute Resolution.
Catherine Iorns
Prof Catherine Iorns has more than 25 years’ experience on indigenous rights, environmental law, international law and statutory interpretation, and has received several awards for her environmental law teaching and research.
Her research and teaching interests and expertise are wide-ranging but her current focus is on environmental law and conservation, with projects on: Fundamental environmental principles; Rights for nature plus human responsibilities for it; Climate adaptation laws; Sustainable food systems; Pesticide regulation.
Her academic positions include NZ Council of Legal Education, New Zealand1 Jul 2007 – present; Member, National Bioethics Panel; Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, New Zealand 1 Mar 2017 – 31 May 2019; Adviser at Environmental Law Initiative, New Zealand 1 Apr 2020 – present. Read more
Catherine Leining
Catherine Leining is a Policy Fellow, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research and Commissioner, New Zealand Climate Change Commission (He Pou a Rangi) and NZCGS Board Member.
Catherine’s expertise is in domestic and international climate change mitigation policy with specialisation in market-based mechanisms like emissions trading. She holds a BS in biology and French from Duke University (USA).
Catherine currently leads Motu’s programme “Shaping New Zealand’s Low-Emission Future,” which includes policy research and stakeholder dialogue on climate change mitigation. Her work has focused on the history and evaluation of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme; sectoral pathways for decarbonisation; and managing the distributional impacts of climate change mitigation policies. As part of the Climate Change Commission, she is providing independent advice to the government on achieving a thriving, climate-resilient and low-emission Aotearoa. Read more
Tahir Nawaz
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
Dr Jeremy Webb
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.
Professor Kevin P Clements
Professor Kevin P Clements, Foundation Chair and Emeritus Professor the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Current Director of the Toda Peace Institute, Tokyo Japan is a NZCGS Board Member. Kevin’s academic interests lie in Peace and Conflict Research with a specific focus on Development and Peacebuilding and Building Stable Peace in North East Asia. His main affiliations include his role as Emeritus Professor, National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies; Director the Toda Peace Institute; Chair of the Peninsula Branch of the Labour Party and Former Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association.
Kevin is currently working on “The Decline of the West and the Unravelling of the democratic Project“; Japan-Korea Relations; Building Trust in North Est Asia. Read more
Professor Klaus Bosselmann
Klaus’ academic and policy expertise lies in the conceptual, international and comparative issues of environmental law and governance from an ecological (ecocentric) perspective (e.g. sustainability, Earth system approach, Earth trusteeship).
Outside the Centre, his affiliations include the roles of Director, New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law (NZCEL), Faculty of Law, University of Auckland, Chair, Ecological Law and Governance Association (ELGA), Chair, IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Ethics Specialist Group, Co-Chair, Global Ecological Integrity Group, Co-Chair, Scientific Committee, Common Home of Humanity (CHH), Chair, Earth Trusteeship Initiative (ETI), Knowledge Network Expert, UN General Assembly Dialogue “Harmony with Nature”, Legal Expert, Global Pact for the Environment. Read more
Jayden van Leeuwen
Jayden is Board Member and Young Global Scholar for NZCGS. He recently graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a conjoint Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours and Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Political Science and History), and currently works as a solicitor in the public law team at Buddle Findlay.
Jayden was the National President of United Nations Youth New Zealand, NZ’s largest youth-run educational charity, and also served on its Establishment Board of Directors. He has been a Trustee on the NZ Youth Global Awareness Trust and tutored criminal law at Victoria University.
Much of Jayden’s studies and research have focused on international law, human rights and the United Nations system, as he has a keen interest in international affairs – his article “Addressing the Gap: Accountability Mechanisms for Peacekeepers Accused of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse” was published in the Victoria University of Wellington Law Review in 2019. Jayden also has a keen interest in criminal law, as well as international development policy.
Rod Oram
Business journalist Rod Oram contributes weekly to Newsroom, Nine to Noon, and Newstalk ZB. He is a public speaker on deep sustainability, business, economics, and innovation. Rod is a member of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, which brings together innovators and investors from here and abroad who seek to contribute to global change from Aotearoa.
In Citigroup’s annual global journalism awards, Rod was the winner in 2019 in the General Business category in the Australia and NZ region for his columns in Newsroom on Fonterra; and he was the NZ Journalist of the year. In the 2018 New Zealand Shareholder Association Business Journalism Awards, Rod won the Business Commentary category for his Newsroom columns.
Rod was a founding trustee and the second chairman of Ākina Foundation, which helps socia enterprises develop their business models in areas of sustainability. He remains actively involved with the foundation and the ventures it supports.
Claire Waghorn
Barrister & Solicitor of the NZ High Court with a focus on International Law, MSc in International Relations (LSE, London); and an LLB and BA (Hons) in Diplomacy & International Relations (Canterbury University).
Currently working as a Sustainability/Climate Advisor to accelerate the transition within the aviation sector towards zero carbon.
Member of the NZ Institute of Directors, NZ Institute of International Affairs, Board Member for Otautahi/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.
Dr Jamie Gillen
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).