About Multicultural Nelson Tasman
Our Governance
Felicity Palmer
Felicity Palmer was born and raised on the unceded land of the Cammeraygal people of the
Eora Nation, in Sydney, Australia. Until her move to Te Tau Ihu in 2021, Felicity lived for
twenty years in the USA. She is deeply committed to anti-racism, equity, and being part of a
welcoming and diverse society. Felicity has a wealth of experience in the nonprofit and
charitable sector, including as Vice President of Development and Communications for
Executive Service Corps of Southern California, where she was responsible for fundraising
and external communications. She has also served on the board of the Angeles Chorale and
of the Los Angeles chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Felicity holds a
Ph.D. in comparative literature from Columbia University. An immigrant twice over, she is
enjoying life back in the antipodes and loves the natural beauty and friendly, down-to-earth
people of the Nelson Tasman region. She is excited to bring her energy, dedication and
community leadership skills to Multicultural Nelson Tasman.
Marie Lindaya
Marie came to New Zealand to settle in 1990 after having worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Ever since, she has worked with the public and private sectors – Department of Internal Affairs, ACC, Nelson City Council where I professionally learned governance matters, including being the Mayor’s PA for 15 years.
In 1992 whilst with Internal Affairs, Marie organised the first meeting of the Nelson Multi-Ethnic Council, which has now evolved to Multicultural Nelson Tasman, 27 years on. In between work and life, Marie dedicates her time to community volunteering which grounds her to grass root community issues and allowed her to build relations with and help individuals and groups of diverse culture, age and gender. Her formal governance training continues and is put into direct practice on the Board of community organisations including MNT. Her advocacy and community engagement extend to our tangata whenua, former refugees, vulnerable folks, environmental forums, business sustainability, InterFaith groups, source project funding & sponsorship, and volunteering – her way to pay forward and thank this place she calls home, Aotearoa.
Monique Dyson
Monique was born in South Thailand, at the Isthmus of Kra, from a mixed race parentage, of a Malay-Chinese mother and a Thai Father.
Monique is a trained teacher in Mathematics and Science. She is also a registered nurse and a registered midwife. She worked in Sydney and the outbacks of Australia for 30 years. Monique holds degrees in Masters of Nursing, Midwifery, Counselling and Genetics counselling. Her PhD is in Psychology, and her research work in Sydney was in familial mutations in Breast and ovarian cancer.
Monique came to New Zealand to be a Lecturer in Nursing and Midwifery at NMIT. Monique’s interest in Multicultural community came from being a multicultural Lifeline Counsellor in Paramatta, Sydney for 5 years. Monique moved to Nelson to settle here in 2017 and appreciates her chance to be involved in Multicultural work. Currently she teaches English on a one to one basis to Karena students living in Victory through the English Language Partners.
Bill Dyson
Bill was born in Sydney, Australia and lived there for 61 years. During that time he was employed as an engineering draughtsman Otis Elevator Company. After retiring from work he came to Nelson, New Zealand and studied a course in Architectural Draughting. Bill believes in the rights and freedom of all human beings. He is very keen to offer his assistance for the improvement of living conditions of other people.
Mary Bronsteter
Mary was born and raised in South Korea. She holds a BA in Political Science with East Asian Emphasis & TESL certification. Mary regards herself as a lifelong student of justice. She believes in the intrinsic value of celebrating cultural diversity, promoting peace and understanding of all people.
Her goal: To foster 'Unity in Diversity' - kotahitanga i roto i te kanorau.
Tie Jian
A teacher With Middle Eastern / Chinese blood. I lived in both the Middle East and China, in addition to South East Asia, Canada and New Zealand. Having visited more than 20 countries globally, and having mixed deeply and thoroughly with local populations in countries where he lived, Tie Jian has been active in his local community in New Zealand. He was supported by Waitaki Multicultural Council team to join the Nelson Multicultural Council, because of his multicultural experience, and ability to connect to different teams and organisations.
Carol Morgan
Originally from Yorkshire in the UK, Carol has been in NZ since 2004. She has extensive experience as an English Language teacher and youth and community worker, particularly with young people who do not have English as their first language. She worked for the British Council in Singapore and with new migrants and former refugees in high schools in the north of England and South Auckland.
Waimea College welcomed Carol as their International Dean in 2008 and she was there for 12 years until her retirement. She has always been an advocate for her students and their families in any way possible and now volunteers at the Citizens Advice Bureau so she can continue to help people facing challenges in their new country.
Carol has been involved with the Multicultural Council for many years; she was part of the group who helped establish the Speak Out programme and has been a keen supporter of the Multicultural Festival ( formerly Race Unity Day), persuading young people to share their cultures, national costumes and musical and dancing talents with the wider Nelson community. She is particularly keen to assist the MYNT group with their stellar work.
Julia Panfylova
Julia is a writer, ASMRtis, biologist and community development specialist. She was born in Ukraine, lived in Poland and moved to Aotearoa in 2014. Julia has been working with the non-profit sector for many years, sitting on governance boards, managing projects and volunteering. She joined Multicultural Nelson Tasman because she wants migrants to be happy and fulfilled and there is no better place in the world than Aotearoa, where everyone can feel belonging and develop to their full potential.
Karen Ramirez
My name is Karen Ramirez and I hail from Peru. By 2024 I would have been 14 years in New Zealand. Although I first arrived to Auckland Nelson has become our home now. I believe that Nelson is a great place to settle down and a fantastic nest for entrepreneurs. I worked for NGOs such as Red Cross settling refugees but also well experience in Sales in the private sector. With these two spectrums I hope to contribute the fantastic team of Multicultural with their growth.
Rajai Shram
Born in Jordan, lived and raised between Jordan and Palestine. After finishing studying mechanical engineering, travelled around few countries, settled in New Zealand for 20 years now with family. Rajai believes in the right of the freedom of all human beings. He is keen to work alongside with Multicultural Nelson Tasman.
Deep Thapa
Deep came to New Zealand in 2017 as a student from Nepal. He has been living in Nelson for the last 5 years and is currently president of the Nelson Nepalese Community. He completed a Graduate Diploma in Management from NMIT, and has a diverse work experience background, including ECA coordinator, event management, fine arts teaching and choreography, production management and also as a manager in a local supermarket.
Deep is honoured to get the chance to be a part of Multicultural Nelson Tasman. He is passionate about supporting supporting newcomers who need assistance and and also building up strong relationships amongst all the communities in Nelson-Tasman region, where he can share his culture, norms and values.