Liz is a queer, tangata Tiriti writer, editor, performer and facilitator of Polish, Irish and English descent based in Ōtepoti Dunedin. 

Their third poem collection Show You’re Working Out will be published in August 2025 by Dead Bird Books, based partly on poems written during their creative/critical doctoral studies titled ‘Show You’re Working Out: a Queer Exploration of Gender, Space and Violence in Pākehā Stories of the Rural South of Te Waipounamu’.

An award-winning journalist and broadcaster of Samoan (Iva, Vaisaulu, Lepa, Saleaula) and Tongan (Nukunuku) heritage. 

Mariner has worked for several media outlets, including at Radio New Zealand where he led its coverage of the Dawn Raids government apology. 

After a successful stint as Flava’s drivetime host, he moved to Pasifika-led PHO The Cause Collective. 

Mariner’s work is driven by a commitment to storytelling that uplifts and empowers his community.

Jo Robertson is a sex therapist with a Master of Science in Medicine, specialising in sexuality, relationships, and the cultural influences shaping sexual norms. Her dissertation focused on adolescent porn consumption and its impacts. She has over 15 years’ experience in sexual health, education, and counselling. 

Jo has worked as a child and youth trauma counsellor and has provided training to professionals, parents, and young people on navigating online sexual experiences. Jo currently works in advocacy, focusing on policy and regulation for childrens online safety. She has delivered a TEDx talk, speaks internationally on intimacy, parenting, and sexual culture, and most recently developed Tricky Chats — anevidence-based parenting course for guiding young peoples sexual health, safety and device use. 

Dr Samantha Keene is a Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Criminology at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. 

Samantha’s research interests include the relationship between pornography and experiences of harm, ‘rough sex’, sexual choking/strangulation, and criminal justice system responses to victims/survivors. 

Samantha is the author of recent book ‘Pornography, rough sex and gendered harm: Just sex on screen?’ and has recently conducted in-depth interviews with women living in Aotearoa New Zealand about their experiences of being choked during partnered sexual activity. 

Samantha is a regular commentator across both national and international media outlets and contributes to the delivery of training about ‘rough sex’ and choking/non-fatal strangulation for practitioners.

Dr Kris Taylor is a psychology researcher and workshop facilitator based in Aotearoa New Zealand. His previous work addressed pornography viewing amongst men, investigating how pornography is understood by its viewers, and what such pornography viewership means in the context of both historic and modern clinical practise, modes of sexuality, and considerations of citizenship. 

For the last 6 years Kris has been working with groups of young men, teachers, and youth workers to better understand the impact of online masculinity influencers, why their messages appeal, and how to speak with young people without alienating them. This work touches on how we make sense of concepts of masculinity as it applies to young men and how to understand the online world that young people are negotiating.

Nikki Denholm, MNZM, has a health background specialising in emerging sexual health issues. Following senior health management roles, she founded the New Zealand Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and HIV/AIDS African Programmes.

She recently established The Light Project - a workforce development service which equips and strengthens the workforce to support young people with safely navigating their digital sexual worlds. The Light Project’s two websites, Light Project and In the Know, are New Zealand’s leading go-to platforms for information, tools and support on the digital sexual landscape for youth, families, and youth services.

In her spare time, Nikki serves on the boards of several NGOs working to combat human trafficking across Southeast Asia. 

Debbs Murray is the Founder of ECLIPSE Family Violence Services and a published author of her book One Soul, One Survivor – From Entrapped to Empowered she has translated her experiences of family and sexual violence into an opportunity to share and raise awareness.

Debbs has worked in the family violence sector for 20+ years and she utilises and intersects her lived experiences of violence, and sectoral practice and systems, to change the current narrative of judgement and often misinformed response.

Debbs shares her knowledge of coercive control as a critical and intentional umbrella tactic of family and sexual violence and has developed her own successful concepts and frameworks to ensure more appropriately informed response occurs. Debbs recognises whānau as the experts in their own lives.

Debbs lives by the final line in her book and translates trauma into teaching “Contrast is a blessing, for we can never know and celebrate the beauty of walking in the light if we have not firstly known what it is to walk in the darkness”.

Sandra Dickson (she/they) is a Pākehā gender non-conforming woman of Scottish, Canadian and English descent. She has 30 years’ experience working in Takatāpui and Rainbow communities and family and sexual violence prevention at local, national and international levels. She is also autistic, bisexual, and a survivor. 

To bring a specific focus on Takatāpui and Rainbow people’s experiences of violence, Sandra informally founded Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura in 2015. 

Today, Sandra is involved with Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura’s research, community development, and violence response mahi and holds advisory roles for Vine and government. 

Bex Fraser (they/them) is a Pākehā non-binary trans bisexual person who has worked as a facilitator, manager, and volunteer in community organisations for 23 years. Their focus is social justice, intercultural practice and violence prevention for marginalised people, including former refugees and migrants, single parents and queer people. 

They have been involved with Hohou te Rongo Kahukura since 2015, and currently co-ordinate the Sensitive Claims Service, working with Takatapui and Rainbow people who have experienced sexual harm. In 2022, they developed Kōrero Mai to help parents and caregivers prevent sexual harm for Takatāpui and Rainbow children, by learning to have conversations about sexuality, gender and safety with kids. 

He uri ahau no Ngāti Raukawa, me Ngāti Tahu – Ngāti Whaoa, me Ngāti Kahungunu, me Ngāti Hāmua. They are also the second generation of English and Irish immigrants.

Kahukura (They/Them/Ia) is a Takatāpui (Trans, non-binary, queer) neurodivergent person with over 15 years of experience working in community led development, arts, mental health, and advocacy. Kahukura has a love for organising, Te Ao Māori, and interculturalism. Working with and for communities has always been a driving force in their life, as is their joy for working with people. They are a parent which deeply influences their passion for helping to create safer environments for whaanau and young people to thrive in.

In Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura, Kahukura is the Whaanau Worker for the Integrated Safety Response with NZ Police. They provide crisis intervention for Takatāpui and Rainbow people who have faced a recent family harm incident and reported it to the police. They also provide social work support for other members of the community who approach Hohou te Rongo Kahukura directly and do not want to approach the police.

Scarlet Bennett (he/him/they) identifies as queer and is based in Christchurch. They have worked in the education sector since 2008 and has been volunteering in the health and support sectors since 2017. Scarlet is passionate about social justice and equity, with a particular interest in supporting people living with HIV. 

Scarlet became involved with Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura in 2021, becoming the first Tauiwi co-chair. They have also facilitated Club Kahukura - a healthy relationships programme for adults who wish to explore their gender and sexuality.