Board of Trustees
It takes a group of passionate people to drive an idea. FEED is lucky to have gathered just such a group together.
Kevin Gilbert – Dunedin City Council
Born and raised in Christchurch, Kevin trained first as a baker, then as a chef, before entering the world of hotel management. He moved back to Dunedin, his wife’s hometown, in 2006 when they purchased our first business and says that “from the moment I set foot in town, I knew I was home.”
He has spent decades gathering broad experiences in leadership and business management including 5 years as president of Baking New Zealand, representing the hopes and needs of an entire industry within the halls of parliament and in the lens of the media.
Along with his wife, he has grown several successful businesses, with a philosophy of driving waste minimisation and recycling opportunities; focusing on financial, social, environmental, and ecological sustainability.
Elected as a Dunedin City Councillor in 2022, Kevin is Deputy Chair of the Strategy, Planning, and Engagement Committee; Councillor Representative on the Saddle Hill Community Board, Otago Settlers Association, Toitu – Otago Settlers Museum, and Keep Dunedin Beautiful.
Esther Gilbert – Gilbert’s Fine Food
Born in Switzerland Esther moved to New Zealand with her family in 1986. Her Swiss background has had an influence on many of the products available at Gilbert’s and continues to be a source of inspiration.
After high school and attending the University of Otago, Esther spent almost a decade working in hotels in Queenstown, Wellington and Auckland.
A couple of positions in senior management followed by a decade working as executive assistant for a local professional services firm provided a good grounding for the work Esther does for Gilbert’s – namely, all things admin.
With her business governance experience and a Bachelor of Applied Management, Esther is well versed in leading organisations through periods of change.
Esther holds various governance roles including the Dunedin Rudolf Steiner School, Dunedin Community Charity Trust, RMHC Supper Club, and as advisor to The Otago Farmers Market Trust.
Deborah Manning – KiwiHarvest
Deborah is the founder of KiwiHarvest, an accomplished entrepreneur, and strategic engagement advisor with a passion for creating impactful change.
Deborah’s journey began with a profound desire to address the pressing challenges of food waste and food insecurity and make a positive impact on society. In 2012, from the back of her car, she founded KiwiHarvest in Dunedin expanding to Auckland in 2015.
She further established the New Zealand Food Network in 2020 to support food rescues and food hubs across the country and provide a socially positive solution for businesses to provide surplus and short-dated food.
As the Strategic Engagement Advisor, Deborah plays a crucial role in helping establish and maintain relationships with stakeholders while identifying emerging opportunities and potential challenges in a rapidly changing business environment.
Deborah sits on the boards of KiwiHarvest, the New Zealand Food Network and New Zealand Food Waste Champions 12.3.
Rod Philip – Retired farmer
Rod has farmed just north of Palmerston all his life on land his family has owned since 1923. Rod took over from his parents in 1980 and got into growing asparagus around this time when the government was encouraging farmers to diversify away from sheep farming.
Palmerston Asparagus developed over the decades undertaking mostly local gate sales plus supplying Otago restaurants and businesses. For a period exports were sent to Japan and supplies to a canning factory in Central Otago. For more than 15 years Rod was a highly sought-after seasonal vendor of quality fresh asparagus at the Market, and become renowned as the “The Asparagus Man”.
Rod is now a valued member of the Otago Farmers Market Trust for his experience in business and his valuable first-hand experience as a vendor at the Market.
Indrawati Oey – Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo | University of Otago
Indra is the Food Science Head of Department. She is actively involved in the teaching and supervision of students.
Her research focuses on the development of smart processing strategies using conventional and advanced food technologies to create safe and healthier food products with unique sensory characteristics. Understanding consumer perception and acceptance of food products as well as processing technologies used is essential to achieve sustainable production and marketability of food products.
Indra is a Fellow for Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), a Fellow for International Academy for Food Science and Technology (IAFST), a Fellow at the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology and a Professional member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), United States. She was the Chair of Training and Development for European Project funded NovelQ project (2005-2008). She has been awarded as Distinguished Professor by Institute of Food Science and Technology from Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2017.
She is a Science Leader in the Ngā iwi i Te Rohe o Te Waiariki Working Group for Māori Aquaculture programme and a Principal Investigator of the Riddet Institute Center for Research Excellence (CoRE)
Professor Oey is an active member of Food Waste Innovation, a University of Otago Research Theme which measures food waste, develops reduction strategies, applies innovative technology, and works to modify producer and consumer behaviour.
Sean Connelly – Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo | University of Otago
Community response to sustainability challenges is a recurring theme in Sean’s teaching and research.
He completed his PhD in Geography at Simon Fraser University on community engagement for sustainable community development in 2009, based on case study research of urban, rural and First Nation community sustainability initiatives. He was able to research local food initiatives as a catalyst for sustainability through a post-doctoral fellowship with BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance.
Prior to commencing PhD studies, he worked for ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability in the Johannesburg office in preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
In Dunedin, he is also a member of Our Food Network whose mission is to stimulate the production, distribution and consumption of local food and in that way contributes to the building of a resilient and prosperous community, and writes a regular column “Seeds for Change” in the Otago Daily Times on food and sustainability.
Timothy Lynch – Food Design Institute | Otago Polytechnic
Tim is a senior lecturer and second year co-ordinator at the Food Design Institute at Otago Polytechnic.
His background is as a chef with over two decades professional cooking experience within New Zealand and internationally. As a natural extension of the skills, he had developed as a chef he shifted from cooking to culinary product development and education. Within this transition was the completion of a Bachelor of Culinary Arts, and post graduate master’s degree in design and enterprise.
He is also currently a candidate for a Doctorate of Professional Practice with his field of research being carbon neutral restaurant models and how sustainability can contribute to social justice and wider equity, topics on which he has presented, and published internationally.
Cr. Andrew Whiley – Advisor
Elected to the Dunedin City Council in October 2013, Andrew is now in his fourth elected term. He is Chair of Economic Development Committee, Councillor Representative on the Peninsula Community Board, NZ Masters Games Trust Board, Shanghai Sister City Committee, Puketai Residents Committee and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Society.
Andrew is a Certified Resource Management Act (RMA) Commissioner and member of the Institute of Directors. He is Board Chair of Volunteering Otago, Board Chair of Dunedin Community House and Past-President of Dunedin South Rotary Club.
A PGA Golf Professional since 1984, Andrew maintains active involvement in the golf industry through his golf tourism company and as Caddymaster at the NZ Open. He has been on the NZPGA Board of Directors since 2008 and in 2022 was elected President.
Originally from Wellington, Andrew and wife Jackie and family moved to Dunedin from Canada in 2003 and made it their home.