The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust

Kate Milligan Edger 

• First woman in NZ to gain a university degree (in 1877)
• First woman in British Empire to gain a BA degree
• A trailblazer for women's education
• A role model for and champion of the female suffrage movement
• A vocal exponent for women's contributions to public life
• A committed and compassionate teacher, involved in social work, a family person

Margaret has been with the Trust since 2009 alongside her role as Manager of Scholarships and Graduations at the University of Auckland.   On an annual basis, the university administers more than $40M of scholarships to its students.  With the use of scholarships as a recruitment tool, the office has an important strategic role at the University.

Margaret sees students from their arrival at University from school, right up to their graduation - at undergraduate and post-graduate level.  One of the most enjoyable parts of Margaret's role, she feels, is helping students to complete their education with financial support - and reading the success stories as they graduate.

Margaret graduated with an MBA with specialisations in Corporate Governance and Negotiation, both of which have helped in her role as a trust member.

Sonia Pechner  BSc (Hons), MPA, Accounting
Business Development Manager, Wellbeing
Skills Consulting Group

Sonia has been a KEECT trustee since 2012, driven by her passion for the higher education sector.  In her current role as Business Development Manager, she works across the wellbeing and consulting teams, identifying solutions and programmes that respond to market needs, embedding strong partnerships with existing customers and leading growth strategies to expand the client base.  She has been instrumental in developing new client relationships across a range of sectors including: higher education; construction; shipping and logistics; manufacturing; finance; and the public sector.

With her background in leading and growing international business, and her nearly 10 years Board experience, she is currently contributing to the development of new governance programmes within the Skills Consulting Group, including a targeted course for Māori leadership and an Applied Directorship Programme.

Professor Linda Bryder  MA (1^st Class Hons) (Auck) DPhil (Oxon) FRSNZ FNZAH

Linda is the newest Trustee, coming on board in early 2021. She has taught in the Department of History, University of Auckland, since 1988 and has been Professor of History since 2005. Originally completing her MA (1^st Class Hons) at the University of Auckland in 1980, she was awarded her DPhil at the University of Oxford in 1985, where she held a Research Fellowship and subsequently a British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Queen’s College Oxford. She maintains her links with Britain; since 2007 she has been an Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Since joining the academic staff of the University of Auckland in 1988, Linda has served on many University and Faculty Committees, including Research, Staffing and Library Committees. She has been Head of Department, and has served as Associate Dean Research for the Faculty of Arts. She has been awarded a University Research Excellence Award and a Teaching Excellence Award. The latter was based on her successful record of mentoring and supervising graduate students, particularly at PhD level. She has also mentored in the University’s  Women in Leadership programme. She currently serves on the Auckland Libraries Heritage Trust, and is co-editor of the New Zealand Journal of History.

Nina Tomaszyk, BSocSci
nina.tomaszyk@kateedgertrust.org.nz

Nina has been at the helm of the organisation since 2017, and her considerable experience in both the corporate and not-for-profit worlds has given her a unique perspective on the importance of running a social enterprise that funds and supports a charitable trust.  “With The KEECT Awards Programme funding $600,000 awards annually and being almost entirely dependent on the proceeds of Academic Dress Hire, it is a balancing act of providing the best customer experience in the most cost-effective way.”

Nina is passionate about education and the opportunity it provides to create better outcomes.  The KEECT’s mission to fund, encourage, advance and promote education is at the heart of every decision she makes, and building meaningful and ongoing relationships with staff, graduates, awardees and sponsor partners is something that Nina excels at.  Her goal for 2022 is to expand the Trust's sponsor partnership funding arm to be able to offer even more awards in the future.

“Being able to provide valuable financial and emotional support that ensures successful educational outcomes is my driving force. Seeing our awardees stand proudly at the Awards Ceremony having their hard work and success acknowledged in front of their friends and whānau is what it’s all about for me. And I get that same wonderful experience when customers come for their graduation and legal regalia. It is a real ‘moment’ for them and whānau, sometimes it is their first real achievement.”