Anne Blyth, Director Museums and Heritage
Anne has recently joined the Museum. She has over 13 years of management experience in Local Government. During this time she has worked for the Hamilton City Council as the Libraries and Museum Unit Business Support Manager. She also held the position of acting Collections Manager and Visitor Experience Manager at the Waikato Museum. Anne has spent time at Te Papa as the Senior Manager of National Services.
In 2003 Anne completed the He Kahui Kakakura Strategic Leadership Programme offered by Victoria University of Wellington and Te Papa National Services Te Paerangi.
Catherine Jehly, Collections Manager
Catherine holds an Honours degree in Social Anthropology and Maori Development from Waikato University and has over ten years’ experience working in museums. She worked at Waikato Museum before moving to Auckland where she was Assistant Curator Maori at Auckland Museum.
Catherine joined Te Awamutu Museum as Archivist in 2008, and is now responsible for managing the museum collection and administering the archives research service.
Catherine is studying towards a Master of Information Studies and has a strong interest in the digitisation of heritage material.
Alan Reilly, Museum Educator
Alan gained his Bachelor of Education in 2000 and taught in North Otago for two years. In 2003 he returned to Waikato University to complete his Honours in Education, and subsequently worked for a private company facilitating one-day courses motivating secondary school students to get the most of school. With this company he delivered courses all over New Zealand, England and parts of Asia.
In 2007 Alan joined Te Awamutu Museum in a part-time educator role, which quickly became full-time. Alan’s core responsibilities include developing, promoting, and facilitating education programmes for students aged 5-18, including the museum’s Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom (LEOTC) programme, which brings more than 4,000 children from 90 schools to the district’s museums each year.
Alan is currently working towards a museum studies qualification. He lives in Kihikihi with his wife and three children and finds the history embedded in the Waipa district makes for a fascinating place to live, work and play.
Nathalie Metz, Museum Administrator
Nathalie has been with Te Awamutu Museum full time since 2008. Her role includes frontline customer service, of which she has extensive experience. Nathalie is also responsible for museum administration and volunteer coordination. She is involved in coordinating exhibition openings and other events, as well as marketing and merchandising.
Nathalie has an Honours degree in Language, Literature and Civilisation from the Sorbonne University in France. She has taught English and worked as a translator in Paris. She also has a Master of Philosophy from Queensland University and is currently completing Museum Studies with ATTTO.
Rosemary Deane, Exhibitions Coordinator
Rosemary joined the museum staff in 2011. After a long career in libraries, she made the move to museums in 1999 when she went to work at the New Zealand National Maritime Museum. She then went on to work at MOTAT (Museum of Transport & Technology) in both exhibitions and collections roles and completed a Postgraduate Diploma of Museum Studies through Massey University.
Between 2008 and 2010 Rosemary project managed a project to catalogue a collection relating to Crown Lynn for a Trust based in New Lynn. Not surprisingly she has a keen interest in ceramics and New Zealand design generally. Rosemary is passionate about bringing museum objects alive through story-telling and is looking forward to working on the exciting exhibitions planned for the museum.
