Dr. Anabel Fernandez
Innovation Lead
“As a migrant and speaker of English as a second language, I am passionate about the importance of heart languages and cultures in the wellbeing of whānau and pēpi.”
Ana has a background in social science, communication and social innovation. Ana brings to the team her passion for equity and her critical thinking. Her role is to keep a robust connection between Talking Matters’ strategy and action. Ana uses co-design and social innovation tools to develop Talking Matters' resources and strategies alongside the team and our partners.
Her experience creating and implementing culturally affirming strategies for social innovation supports the team to deliver and continually improve the Talking Matters kaupapa while keeping whānau and communities at the centre as agents of change.
Ana completed her Ph.D in Social Science at AUT, focusing on culturally affirming methodologies for knowledge construction. She was an editor and contributor of the book "Affirming Methodologies: Research and Education in the Caribbean" recently published by Routledge. Her passion is to connect the tools of research and design thinking with community action to drive social change.
Contact Anabel
Phone: 09 307 2098
Mobile: 021 701 665