Te Rōpū Kaitohutohu Take Hapori Iwi Takatāpui Rainbow Communities Advisory Panel

The Rainbow Communities Advisory Panel offers advice based on their experiences living as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ+) people, to help us improve outcomes for this community.

They will:

• identify issues that are important to members of rainbow communities
• provide advice on our regional strategies, policies and plans
• help us to effectively engage with rainbow communities.

Ashe Black is a youth worker for Takapuna youth innovation hub, Shore Junction. His role consists of:

• connecting and engaging with rangatahi
• running the hub's arts and LGBT+ spaces
• cultivating a space for the hub's neurodiverse and disabled youth.

He is also a committee member for I.Lead, a disabled youth-run group that aims to support and amplify disabled youth voices.

Ashe is a disabled and queer transgender man with a lifetime of lived experience and a love for community, acceptance and growth.

He is eager to better understand minority groups so he can better support them in every space possible.

Ella Sargison is a short-statured, well-travelled rainbow member with a degree in Education.

She is currently the Tāmaki Makaurau School Coordinator for InsideOut Kōaro.

In this role, she works in schools across Auckland with Rainbow Diversity groups, parents and whānau, as well as facilitating workshops for staff and students.

She has lived-experience in the disabled and queer community and descends from Te Arawa.

She runs the LPNZ (Little People of New Zealand) Rainbow group and has been a camp counsellor in Harbour Camps, New Hampshire, United States for transgender and non-binary youth.

With a background in education and non-profit charity work, Ella sees the importance in standing up for those from minority groups. She is passionate about positive representation amongst the rainbow, takatāpui and disabled communities.

Eric Chou was born and raised in Taiwan and notes, “I inherited Taiwanese indigenous blood, so I am Austronesian”.

Eric is a hotel manager and volunteer at the Taiwanese Hwa-Hsia Society of New Zealand in charge of public relations and community engagement.

Josh Martin (Te Arawa/Ngā Puhi) is a champion for community and youth empowerment with over two decades of experience.

He was a founding member of Prestige Dance Crew, where he played a critical role in building New Zealand's hip-hop dance community, earning the country's first-ever medal at the Hip Hop International dance competition in 2006.

Now, as the Community and Youth Development Director of Shore Junction - a youth innovation hub in Takapuna - Josh and his team built membership to almost 3000 rangatahi in just over two years.

During the 100-day lockdown, the team created the world's first Discord-hosted digital youth centre, providing a vital means of connection, engagement, and mental health support which has garnered national recognition.

Josh's dynamic leadership experience underpins his commitment to advocate for inclusivity and empowerment.

Luca (he/him) is a 72-year-old gay trans man. His great-grandparents settled in the Manawatū from the United Kingdom and Italy. He and he grew up in the Manawatū, however, he has lived beside Grey Lynn Park in Tāmaki Makaurau for 40 years.

He has a son and daughter and two wonderful mokopuna. He enjoys swimming, cycling, tramping and yoga with rainbow groups.

Luca came out as queer in 1978 and has been politically active since then, including campaigns for Homosexual Law Reform and the Marriage Amendment Act.

He became involved with HIV activism in 1988 and is a delegate on the National HIV Forum. In 2021 Luca joined the board of OutLine Aotearoa and currently serves as secretary. He's particularly interested in finding ways to support rainbow elders.

Luca has worked as a midwife and educator, retiring in 2020. His Masters research looked at LGBTQI+ people’s experience of maternity care. He now volunteers with Hato Hone Aotearoa and Mercy Hospice.

His Shetland Sheepdog Maggie is a therapy pet, supporting elders receiving palliative care and rangatahi with mental health challenges.

Luis Meirelle's whakapapa connections are to Brazil with a rich cultural heritage, including indigenous, African, and Italian roots.

With a career dedicated to serving the community, Luis has a Bachelor's degree in Communications and is studying a postgraduate degree in human rights.

He currently serves as a Practice Team Leader and Rainbow Development Coordinator at Youthline, where he uses his skills and experience to tautoko rangatahi and promote inclusion.

Luis is deeply committed to advocating for the rights of indigenous and queer communities, and works tirelessly to promote equality and social justice, while creating safe rainbow spaces.

With his experience and passion for Human Rights, Luis set his sights on working with the New Zealand Human Rights Commission and the United Nations. He believes these organisations offer unique opportunities to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people around the world.

Shayde Young (Te Whakatōhea/Ngā Puhi) identifies as takatāpui (she/her/ia). She is an advocate for the rainbow community.

In 2022, Shayde won the Chorus Ambassadorship Award at the New Zealand Rainbow Excellence Awards. This award acknowledged her mahi and dedication to making Foodstuffs North Island a more inclusive workspace.

In 2023, she was asked to be on the judging panel at the New Zealand Rainbow Excellence Awards. At these awards the Gender Affirmation Policy she promoted at Foodstuffs North Island, won the Pride Pledge Innovation Award.

Shayde has since left the corporate world and now works for a grassroots non-profit organisation in South Auckland as a Relationship Manager and Community Team Lead.

She also sits on the Executive Board for Rainbow Youth as an Executive Advisor.

Teresa has worked for over 20 years in central government and not-for-profit organisations on regional and national projects.

She has extensive experience working in governance, providing secretariat services to Trust boards and community committees for the Department of Internal Affairs in the Community Development area.

A contractor for the last decade, she has worked on large national projects for NZ Post and the Ministry of Education.

Teresa’s passion is collaborating within the not-for-profit sector. She has worked with HELP Auckland, Presbyterian Support Northern and several smaller youth-based trusts.

Teresa is the co-chair of the Pacific Rainbow Games Trust, an organisation hosting an LGBTQI+ multi-sport event in Tāmaki Makaurau in 2024 (Rainbow Games Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland).

She also sits on the board of the Charlotte Lesbian Museum.

Teresa has completed a Master of Arts in Women’s Studies and Master in Public Management. She is currently finishing a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling at the University of Auckland.

She and her wife foster children through Key Assets, volunteer on the Dominion Road School Parents Group and help puppies through Auckland Puppy Rescue.

Theo van de Klundert (they/he) is a public servant at the Ministry of Health. He is also the board chairperson of Spectrum Work Aotearoa, an employment advocacy service that supports neurodiverse and rainbow individuals.

He was formerly the twice-elected Queer Rights Officer and a board member for Auckland University Students Association (AUSA).

Theo has acted as an advocate across a wide range of areas including:

• student and disability advocacy
• rainbow tertiary policy
• not-for-profit governance
• commercial mergers and acquisitions.

Theo describes himself as a generalist. He combines his academic understanding of Tāmaki Makarau's rainbow community with strong technical problem solving and analytical skills.

He is a big believer in the value of curiosity and using intrigue to sharpen intellect.

Tux is Takatāpui with strong interpersonal skills, and experience of navigating diverse needs and working collaboratively to achieve outcomes.

He credits this to his role in capturing and celebrating Auckland’s rainbow community through photography and writing contributions to LGBTQ publication Express magazine for the past decade.

Tux feels that the council has helped to create a positive shift in attitudes towards rainbow communities – particularly in south Auckland.

However, he feels more can be done to reduce violence towards rainbow people, increase rainbow visibility throughout the region, support trans inclusion in sport and recreation and consider the needs of rainbow seniors.

The Rainbow Communities Advisory Panel holds scheduled meetings and a number of workshops with staff each year.

Scheduled meetings are open to the public.

For dates, agendas and minutes, see Rainbow Communities' Advisory Panel meetings

Email rainbowadvisorypanel@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz to:

• attend a meeting
• present at a meeting
• find more information.