Kingi Biddle
Principal
Kingi Biddle comes from the capital of the world, the centre of the universe, the awesome city of Rotorua. Kingi is a son, a husband, a father, a grandfather, brother, friend and someone who believes in the goodness and the kindness of the human spirit.
His friends call him Kingi but you can call him…. Principal Kingi
Kingi was raised alongside his elders and was taught the art of Story-Telling. Kingi uses this knowledge to powerfully communicate messages. He has been a Radio Announcer, a Television Programme Presenter and a Professional Master of Ceremonies for many events within New Zealand. .
In 2011 he competed in the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking which he considers to be a tremendous achievement. In 2013 he placed second in the World Championship of Public Speaking. Every year over 33,000 people enter these contests and only 10 make the World Championships. Kingi made it twice.
He will bring a kete full of stories, fun and a smidgeon of insight.
The bell is about to ring, get ready for class.
Billie Jordan
Lesson Leader
After surviving an ab
usive childhood and repeated trauma in the Christchurch Earthquake, Billie Jordan used these experiences as a catalyst for improving the lives of people in her community. She established The Hip Op-eration Crew; a hip hop dance group consisting of members aged 72 to 96 years old. They are in the Guinness World Records as the oldest dance group in the world and have performed at the World Hip Hop Championships in Las Vegas, to an audience of 15,000 at the Taipei Arena in Taiwan and to crowds of fans in Japan. They have competed in the NZ National Hip Hop Championships three times and won their division at the Auckland Regional Hip Hop Championships in 2016. A feature documentary film called Hip Hoperation about Billie’s mission to get her elderly neighbours to the World Hip Hop championships has been playing in cinemas all over the world and has won many prestigious awards. Billie is the recipient of a Queens Honour (MNZM) in 2016 and received the New Zealander of the Year award in the Local Hero category in 2015. She has done a Ted Talk to critical acclaim and been a guest speaker at the Beehive and at many corporate events around NZ. She has now launched her Hip Op-eration Dance Academy in every country in the world. Hollywood have just purchased the rights to her life story and plan on making a block buster film about her. Hear the inspiring story of how Billie changed the lives of her elderly neighbours and how they changed hers.
Rachael Robertson
Lesson Leader
Rachael Robertson returned to Australia after 12 months in the Antarctic, where she successfully led an expedition to Davis Station. She is only the second female to ever lead a team at the Station and one of the youngest ever leaders.
This leadership role is a truly unique experience. Antarctica in winter is totally inaccessible which means once the last ship leaves at the end of February, no one can leave the base under any circumstance until the ship returns in November. It’s a 24 hour a day, every day of the year, leadership role.
Rachael led a team of 18 people through the long, dark, Antarctic winter. It’s the most extreme workplace on the planet where a culture of safety leadership is vital. Through trial and error she built a resilient and highly successful team based on the foundation that ‘respect trumps harmony’.
Prior to leading the expedition Rachael had 16 years experience in a variety of senior operational roles in complex and challenging environments.
Since returning to Australia, Rachael has completed her MBA, written a best-selling book on her experience, Leading on the Edge, and has presented at over 1000 conferences and events around the world.