About Diversityworks Trust
- The advancement of social and community welfare including the support of disabled people and other disenfranchised groups and individuals, together with their families and dependants, and the promotion of their value, inclusion and participation within the community;
- The establishment of community based projects promoting community development to enhance social and economic participation, with an emphasis on artistic and creative processes;
- The advancement of culture and heritage, including the promotion and fostering of the New Zealand heritage, and the practice and development of Tikanga Maori and Te Reo Maori.
Diversityworks Trust is registered with the NZ Charities Commission (Number CC28433) and is a member of the EEO Trust's Employers Group.
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DIVERSITY, CREATIVITY, SOCIAL CHANGE
THE KEYS TO A WISER FUTURE
Strategic plan 2012-14 (click for text version)
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Below is information about our trustees and our team. Please contact us for more information of if you wish to contribute to our work.
OUR TRUSTEES AND TEAM
PHILIP PATSTON
FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Philip is a social and creative entrepreneur with fifteen years’ experience as a professional comedian. His passion is working with people when they want to explore and extend how they think about diversity, creativity and change. Highlights of Philip's professional life include being appointed the Patron of Rainbow Youth, becoming one of NZ's first recognized Social Entrepreneur Fellows, speaking at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford and setting up not-for-profit organizations including the Diversityworks Trust, Ripple Trust, Manawanui inCharge and Auckland Disability Law. Learn more about Philip atphilippatston.com
CAROL WATERMAN
CHAIR
Carol has 20 years experience in counseling, youth development and education. Carol also worked as a counsellor at Youthline for five years, including a year as Director in 1988-89. She went on to spend four years as programme director at Action Education and was a Lecturer on the Bachelor of Maori Studies at AUT’s Te Ara Poutama from 1994 to 1999. Carol’s ability in group-work, facilitation, conflict resolution and therapy are highly developed and her strength lies in taking people at face value, working with them to achieve their desired outcomes. Carol prefers to do process work these days, but has training in NLP, art therapy, psychodrama, Transactional Analysis, Gestalt addiction work and transpersonal work (under Groff’s model). Her ex-students describe her as “one of a kind, she is one of those people who make a difference in your life, which in turn has a flow-on effect to others.”
JEREMY PATSTON
TRUSTEE
Jeremy is a former musician turned lawyer, who now works in a boutique legal practice providing commercial and business advice. In his 16 years as a practising solicitor, he has worked in private practice and as in-house counsel, both in NZ and abroad. Jeremy is Philip’s little twin brother and has been a Diversityworks trustee for 5 years. Jeremy is dad to Matt and Sophie and has a passion for affordable BMW cars, motorcycles and cycling.
SARAH TRAVAGLIA
TRUSTEE
Sarah has an extensive background in the Health and Disability Sector. Initially qualifying as a Registered Nurse, Sarah then moved on to complete further tertiary studies in Management and Health Case Management. She has worked in senior management roles in Government, Commercial and the Not for Profit sectors. Sarah is currently a mother of twin boys and works part time as the General Manager of PhysioACTION, a large Physiotherapy Company based in Auckland. Sarah has been involved in a number of start up business initiatives and has a passion for business development and growth. Previous roles have also included being President of the New Zealand Federation of Disability Information Centre and currently a Board member of the Disability Resource Centre Auckland.
ANNA NELSON
PROJECT MANAGER
Anna is a project manager with responsibility for Diversityworks' Social Network, DPSN, since being a member of the Network's design project team which began in May 2009. Anna has a physical disability, but doesn't let it dictate her life. However, she says, it does help create a very solid path at times. She enjoys interacting with people and sharing experiences, and finds it exciting when sharing can be helpful or inspirational. When she isn't working with us, Anna works at AUT University as the Community/Disability Scholarship Advisor. Before that she was the Community Worker for Auckland Disability Law.
BARBARA PIKE
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT/PROJECT MANAGER
Barbara works as Philip's assistant as well as a project manager for Diversityworks. She is also currently completing her Master of Health Science in Psychology at AUT University, with the aim to register and practice as a Psychologist. Barbara's main area of interest is mental health and she hopes to extend the work of Diversityworks Trust to provide additional support and creative outlets for those with unique mental experiences which, she imagines, includes most of us at one stage or another. Barbara is also a volunteer phone counsellor at Youthline.
