NZ ANTARCTIC SOCIETY COUNCIL 2020

Dr Linda Kestle – President (2017 – )
Linda has been an active member of the Society since 2000 after her first visit to Antarctica. She was a member of the inaugural University of Canterbury Graduate Certificate course, which included camping out by White Island for a week in late 1999. She completed her PhD at the University of Canterbury on Antarctic project management in 2009.

In 2011–12 Linda was selected as one of the two people to be on the Antarctica New Zealand–NZAS volunteer programme, with five weeks scraping, sanding, and repainting Scott Base windows. She enjoyed discovering and being a part of Scott Base life and the community there.
She then became Auckland Branch Chair (2012–) and in 2014 North Island Vice-President.

She continues to be passionate about all things Antarctic, whether scientific, sociological, educational, getting others enthused, or simply being an ambassador for Antarctica. Her professional background is in Construction Project Management and Architecture consultancy practice, research, and academia based at UNITEC, Auckland.

Stuart Grayson – Secretary (2019 – )

Pantelis Roussakis – Treasurer (2018 – )
I’ve always had a fascination with Antarctica. A handful of friends and colleagues have travelled to “the Ice” over the years. I’ve held chunks of Antarctic bedrock in my hands and yearned to go. In life I’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced other pristine environments on Earth and attempted to live sustainably because of it. Given the opportunity I think others would too.
Fine Arts, Cinema, TV and Advertising is my pedigree. I moved from Melbourne to Auckland in mid-2017 for work. A colleague introduced me to Gigi in late July this year. I subsequently joined the Society and feel that I could be of some service. I’ve held a variety of roles in volunteer and community organisations since the early 80s. As Treasurer I’ll try to be fair and proactive about finding future funding and revenue streams for the Society.

Nicholas O’Flaherty – North Island Vice-President (2018- )
and Editor, Antarctic (2019- )
Nicholas O’Flaherty is a communications professional, having run his own public relations business in Auckland for the last 20 years. He has a passionate interest in Antarctica. In 2014 Nicholas managed the public outreach for the biennial conference of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, held in Auckland that year. He has since
presented at SCAR conferences in Malaysia and Switzerland.

In 2016 he launched an online news and information site, The Antarctic Report, which is dedicated to all things on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. In particular, the site showcases the hard science which underlines the importance of Antarctica as a bellwether of global climate change. Nicholas partnered with the Royal Society of New Zealand and AUT university to hold a high-level conference in 2016 on the impact of sea-level rise in New Zealand, featuring a number of New Zealand scientists with an interest in Antarctica.

Nicholas has participated in two Winter Schools organised by Antarctica New Zealand, and is one of the organisers of the Auckland Antarctic Science Meet Up, a series of free monthly presentations for the public.

Bill Nye – South Island Vice-President (2018- )
Reading and collecting books within the literature of adventure led to a fascination with the Historic Age of Antarctic and polar exploration. Following an eventful career as a Fluids Engineer working on all seven continents, I started up a bookshop in Christchurch. Timing didn’t work out, as the shop was destroyed in the February 2011 earthquake. Since then I’ve been operating in Oamaru the only Antarctic and Mountaineering specialist bookshop in New Zealand.

The highlight of my career was working as Fluids Engineer for both ANDRILL seasons in Antarctica: 2006–7, and 2007–8. It was a co-operative project and I loved the Antarctic experience.

Like many who return from the Ice I’ve tried to be an ambassador for the continent, and have sponsored many lectures at the bookshop. So I’m interested in contributing to public awareness of science news and environmental causes from an Antarctic perspective, especially through the Society’s excellent journal, Antarctic. Through the bookshop I find it fulfilling to be a venue for Antarctic talks, and in helping distribute information and knowledge about Antarctica.

Ken Livingston – Auckland Branch Co-chair (2019- )

Robyn Denize – Auckland Branch Co-chair (2019 – )

Christoph Kraus – Wellington Branch Deputy Chair (2019 – )

Shirley Russ – Canterbury Branch Co-chair (2017 – )
Hidden in Antarctica are the stepping stones to the life we currently have. Each person who lands on the continent returns changed. For myself this change presents as a passion which has grown for over 30 years. Based in Christchurch, New Zealand’s gateway city to Antarctica, I am privileged to be a part of the diverse Antarctic community and welcome you to join us for Antarctic events through the Antarctic Society.  How we tell the Antarctic stories and science of today and the past will be our future for the understanding of the continent and its surrounding Southern Ocean.

John Rogers – Canterbury Branch Co-chair and Secretary (2017 – )

Gracie Scott – Membership Manager (2019- )

Stefan Jendersie – Webmaster (2020- )