Te Whānau o Te Whare Taonga Museum Team 

David was elected Chairperson in March 2020 having previously served as Deputy Chairperson. He was appointed by the Waimakariri and Hurunui District Councils to the Canterbury Museum Trust Board in February 2011. He was Mayor of Waimakariri from 2010 until he stepped down in 2019. David was an elected member for 27 years, from 1993 to 2001 and from 2007 to 2019. He was a secondary teacher, teaching at Mairehau, Cashmere and Rangiora High Schools and has an MA in History from the University of Canterbury.

Tom has been a City Council business appointee to the Museum Trust Board since 2017. He has over 50 years experience in the manufacturing sector, the majority with the company he heads as Managing Director, Elastomer Products Ltd (EPL Group).

A life member and former President of both Plastics NZ and The New Zealand, Manufacturers and Exports Association, he was awarded a fellowship of the New Zealand Institute of Management in 2008.

A former Volunteer Fisheries Officer and current FENZ Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Motunau Rural brigade, he is a current board Member of the United Fire Brigade Association and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.

Tom was made and an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to Industry and the community in 2019.

Christchurch born and raised, Melanie has a BSc(Hons) from the University of Canterbury, and a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Otago.

Melanie founded the education company AHeadStart Ltd in 2009. Today AHeadStart helps students of all ages to reach their academic goals.

Melanie is the Christchurch City Councillor for Spreydon, and was first elected to the Spreydon/Heathcote community board in 2013.

Melanie is passionate about empowering local communities, youth, and those from all walks of life. Melanie and her partner Michael have a four-year-old daughter.

Rob moved to Christchurch from the UK in 2002. He has a PhD in genetics from University College London and is currently a lecturer in the School of Earth & Environment at the University of Canterbury. He worked for several years for Christchurch City Libraries, mostly in a community education role, and prior that was Lecturer in Entomology in the Ecology Department at Lincoln University.

Tyrone grew up in Lyttelton and was elected as councillor for Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū/Banks Peninsula in 2022. He worked in the UK as an analyst in the finance sector before retraining as a social worker. He travelled extensively pursuing a passion for history and heritage, before settling in Christchurch to raise two children.

Michael represents the Friends of Canterbury Museum. He represented Selwyn District Council on the Board from December 2007 to March 2021, and served as Chairperson from February 2008 to March 2020 and Vice Chairperson from March 2020 to March 2023. Michael was previously Mayor of Selwyn from 1995 to 2007. He has held a number of not-for-profit and community roles on boards, trusts and local committees. He is a long-term St John supporter and governance director and was Commissioner for Red Cross Earthquake Appeal Fund 2010-2015. He is a member of the Institute of Directors. 

“Children are the future” is the ultimate cliché and yet that’s exactly what drives Puamiria. A future where cultural identity, confidence and pride is the norm, is the legacy Puamiria wants to leave behind for her mokopuna.

A descendant of Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha and Ngāti Kahungunu, Puamiria has over 30 years’ experience in the arts, culture and heritage sectors. She is a member of the Ngāi Tahu Fund, Te Pae Kōrako Ngāi Tahu Archives, Canterbury Museum Trust Board and the Arts Council of New Zealand.

Shayne is completing a 3-year governance appointment as the Pro Chancellor at the University of Canterbury, having served the board for near 8 years to date and brings experience in governing during the significant infrastructure rebuild at the University. Shayne is a principal relationship consultant in the engineering, environmental and architectural space in Ōtautahi Christchurch and is a descendant of Ngāi Tahu.

A retired civil engineer, Rex has has held a number of appointments in the building industry and governance roles in a wide variety of private enterprise and local government activities. He was appointed to the Museum Trust Board by Selwyn District Council in October 2022.

Anthony has been Director of Canterbury Museum since 1996. He trained as a botanist, becoming Curator of Botany at Auckland Museum in 1980. After 10 years in this role he progressed through wider collections management and assistant director roles culminating in periods as redevelopment director and acting museum director.

At Canterbury Museum, Anthony has overseen a growth in visitor numbers to a record 800,000 in 2018. The Canterbury earthquakes of 2010/11 saw the Museum closed for six months, and an extensive recovery and remediation programme is underway. The Museum opened a second central city site in 2013, Quake City, to tell the earthquake stories.

Alongside his Canterbury Museum role, Anthony is Chair of Christchurch’s Public Art Advisory Group, Deputy Chair of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, President of the New Zealand Botanical Society and a trustee of several science, arts and cultural trusts. He has served four terms as Chair of Museums Aotearoa, New Zealand’s peak professional body for museums.

Sarah Murray is responsible for the curatorial, inventory and registration teams and the Museum’s volunteers. Sarah has been with the Museum since 2007 and has extensive experience in curatorial and collections roles as well as people management. Sarah has an MA(Dis) and BA(Hons) from Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka and is the author of several books and journal articles. She is an Adjunct Fellow in History at the University of Canterbury.

Stephen Pennruscoe is responsible for the Museum's short-term and long-term exhibitions, education, visitor services, communications, marketing, and development activities. Stephen started his career in museums in 1996 as part of the team who set up Te Papa Tongarewa. He has worked for several New Zealand museums, including Canterbury Museum (2006–2013) and overseas for the British Museum in London. He also has spent 4 years in Libraries, where he was the Director of Hamilton City Libraries. He re-joined the Canterbury Museum team in 2022. Stephen prides himself as a leader and mentor, promoting focused customer experiences and best practices. He is driven by a desire to achieve the best for the Museum and our visitors.

Cam and his team are responsible for finance, IT, security, risk, building operations and facilities, plus learning and development. Cam has been with the Museum since late 2022 and he has extensive experience in sales, marketing, management, operations, strategy and leadership. Cam has a Bachelor of Commerce degree (BCom - Double major in Management and Marketing Management) from the University of Otago along with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Canterbury.

Outside of work, Cam loves spending time with his wife, son and daughter. In addition, Cam loves watching and playing sport. If Cam is not spending time with his family, then you will find him on a golf course.

With a background in project delivery and human resources, Lynell facilitates the planning, resourcing and delivery of the current Museum redevelopment project and our ongoing strategic goals. Working alongside both internal and external stakeholders, she ensures we remain on track to create and deliver inspiring new exhibitions for visitors to the redeveloped Museum.

Vicki has many years' experience working in public relations, marketing, sponsorship and internal communications for public and private sector organisations in Christchurch and in London. An avid supporter of the arts, she is chair of WORD Christchurch and a trustee of the Christchurch Arts Audience Development Group.

Jerry Champion has worked at Canterbury Museum since 2005. Originally the Curatorial Manager, he now holds the position of Customer Experience & Education Manager. Jerry worked in various management roles for the Royal Mail in the UK before relocating to Christchurch with his Kiwi wife and children in 2003.

Kelvin joined the team at Canterbury Museum in 2003 after a considerable career in government service, employed by the Department of Corrections and Parliamentary Service. Kelvin’s strengths are in people management and emergency response with a focus on building facilities management.

After 10 years at the Museum's Exhibition Manager, Neil was appointed Curatorial Manager in 2023. He started his museum career at Otago Museum in 1997 and has also worked at Whanganui Regional Museum and Te Manawa in Palmerston North.

Isa’ako is the youngest member of leadership team. Despite this, he has 16 years of security experience under his belt. In his security career Isa’ako has worked in various roles from bar work to corporate security as well as managing in the health sector and event management. Isa’ako thrives under pressure and likes to meet challenges head-on. Isa’ako is a qualified trainer which drives his workplace passion. In 2020 he was nominated for the national Security Trainer or Workplace Assessor of the Year award through the New Zealand Security Association.

Kristen studied object conservation in Canada prior to her shift to New Zealand where she has worked at Canterbury Museum in various collections care positions since 2004. She started her current position in 2017 with the formation of the Collections Inventory team, which is responsible for checking the approximately 2.3 million objects in the Museum’s collection.

Scott has worked in the museum industry since 2000, focusing on collection management and registration. As Registrar, he champions our data, making sure we know what we’ve got and where it is. He’s involved in access to the collections in a variety of ways, from loans to Collections Online.

When Nigel isn’t managing the Museum's finances, he will be with his family. He grew up on a small farm in Orepuki, Southland, worked as a chartered accountant for KPMG and then did his big OE to Houston, London and Dublin before joining the Museum in 2003.