Toni Taylor
Community Hub Team Lead
Community Hub Team Lead
Ko Ngāti Maniapoto ko Ngāti Tūwharetoa ko Ngāti Raukawa ngā Iwi.
Born and bred in Whanganui-a-Tara, Toni has seen many changes in the growth and diversity of our city and surrounding suburbs. Watching her own young adult rangatahi growing up here with their friends, sees the importance of supporting the new growing generation and what their impact will bring. So, joining the BGI team has been an especially exciting move.
Connecting with Parents, caregivers, mentors, and mentees of the Challenge for Change programme has been a special highlight. A community bonding together providing connection and support for one another is always a bonus.
Currently as a student at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Toni has found that connecting back into Te Ao Māori perspectives in her Kaitiakitanga Pūtaiao studies, gives a stronger grounding in her approach in manaakitanga for the team and whānau she works with, a crucial backbone in going forward in our ever-changing world.
To my younger self - Reach out to people you respect for guidance. The right person will eventually guide you. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or ask questions no matter how silly you think they may be. Find your passion and follow your dream!
Toni is also the administrator for the Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi courses we host.
Ruth Prentice
Te Awhi Parenting Coordinator
Te Awhi Parenting Coordinator
Ruth Prentice was born in Leeds and grew up in West Yorkshire. She moved to New Zealand in 1998 after studying and working in Edinburgh. She calls Wellington home now and has three children who were all born and raised here.
With a professional background in strategic HR, Ruth has been drawn into the refugee resettlement sector over the last decade, whilst navigating the world of neurodiversity through her youngest daughter.
She is the parenting facilitator on our Challenge for change team, where she can empathise and support other families who find themselves in similar situations, with children who may struggle to fit into a neurotypical world.
She loves the nurturing and inclusive culture at BGI, with the community kitchen/ garden/cooks always there to create a nourishing welcome.
Outside of BGI Ruth runs a community initiative "Aroha Afternoons" which is all about breaking down barriers and bringing people together from different backgrounds, cultures and religions to share lived experience over kai and kōrero.
Music often features at these sessions as she also plays a blue electric violin and loves nothing more than to connect with different musicians from other parts of the world.